Permanent - Regional Group Financial Manager - Johannesburg - South Africa

Reporting to: CFO

Role Summary:

The Financial Manager - Africa will be responsible for establishing, implementing, and overseeing the financial operations of the Group's entities across Africa. The role will have overall responsibility for the financial setup of new and existing African entities, including coordinating with legal advisors, tax advisors, company secretarial providers, consultants, and in-country accountants to ensure that each entity is appropriately established, compliant, and operational from a finance perspective. The Financial Manager will also oversee the monthly billing process across the African entities and ensure that robust monthly financial reporting processes are established and maintained. This includes coordinating with in-country accountants to ensure that accurate and complete financial information is received, reviewed, consolidated where appropriate, and reported to management on a timely basis. The role requires a hands-on finance professional who is comfortable working across multiple African jurisdictions, managing external advisors, implementing processes, and driving accountability for financial deliverables

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

1. African Entity Establishment and Setup:

• Take overall responsibility for the financial and administrative setup of new entities across Africa.

Coordinate the establishment of entities with internal stakeholders and external legal, tax, accounting, company secretarial, and other professional advisors. 

Work closely with legal advisors and consultants to ensure that all required registrations, licences, tax registrations, banking arrangements, and statutory requirements are completed. 

Coordinate the opening of local bank accounts and establishment of appropriate banking mandates and controls. 

Ensure that accounting systems, financial processes, chart of accounts, reporting structures, and financial controls are established for each new entity. 

Establish appropriate relationships with local accounting firms and/or in-country accountants. 

Ensure that finance-related requirements are incorporated into the entity setup process from inception. 

Maintain an entity setup checklist and ensure that all required actions are tracked through to completion. 

Identify and escalate any legal, tax, accounting, regulatory, or operational issues arising during the establishment process.

2. Monthly Billing and Revenue Management:

Take overall responsibility for coordinating the monthly billing process across the African entities. 

Work closely with in-country accountants and relevant operational teams to ensure that all monthly billing is completed accurately and on time. 

Establish and maintain a standardised monthly billing process and timetable. 

Ensure that billing information, supporting documentation, customer details, contracts, and applicable tax requirements are appropriately captured. 

Review billing reports and investigate significant variances, omissions, or unusual items.

Ensure that invoices are issued in accordance with agreed contractual terms and internal policies. 

Monitor outstanding billing and coordinate with relevant stakeholders to resolve billing queries or delays. 

Continuously improve the billing process to ensure consistency, accuracy, and efficiency across jurisdictions.

3. Monthly Financial Reporting:

Take responsibility for ensuring that a robust monthly financial reporting process is implemented across all African entities.

Establish a standardised monthly reporting pack, reporting timetable, and financial close process.

Coordinate with in-country accountants to ensure that monthly accounting records are closed and reporting information is submitted accurately and timeously. 

Review monthly management accounts and financial information received from each country. 

Perform analytical reviews of revenue, expenses, working capital, cash flow, balance sheet accounts, and key financial indicators. 

Investigate significant variances and obtain explanations from in-country finance teams and/or operational management. 

Ensure that reconciliations, accruals, provisions, intercompany balances, and other key accounting processes are completed appropriately.

Ensure that monthly reporting deadlines are consistently achieved. 

Consolidate and/or prepare regional African financial reporting for submission to Group Finance and senior management, where applicable. 

Develop appropriate reporting dashboards and key performance indicators to provide management with visibility over the financial performance of the African operations.

4. Financial Controls and Governance:

Establish and maintain appropriate financial controls across the African entities.

Ensure segregation of duties and appropriate approval processes are implemented.

Establish standard operating procedures for key finance processes. 

Monitor compliance with Group financial policies and procedures. 

Identify financial control weaknesses and implement appropriate corrective actions.

Ensure that accounting records are maintained accurately and in accordance with applicable accounting standards and Group policies. 

Support internal and external audits and coordinate the provision of information required by auditors.

5. Tax and Statutory Compliance Coordination:

Coordinate with local tax advisors, accountants, consultants, and legal advisors to ensure that statutory and tax obligations are identified and managed.

Maintain oversight of statutory filing and tax compliance calendars for each African jurisdiction.

Ensure that VAT/GST, corporate income tax, payroll taxes, withholding taxes, and other applicable taxes are appropriately addressed. 

Monitor statutory deadlines and ensure that submissions and payments are completed on time. 

Coordinate responses to tax authorities, auditors, and other regulatory bodies where required.

Escalate potential tax, regulatory, or compliance risks to senior management and/or Group Finance.

6. In-Country Accountant Management and Coordination:

Act as the primary finance coordination point for in-country accountants and external accounting service providers. 

Clearly communicate monthly deadlines, reporting requirements, and Group finance expectations.

Monitor the quality, completeness, and timeliness of information provided by in country finance teams.

Provide guidance and support to local accountants where required. 

Hold in-country finance providers accountable for agreed deliverables and deadlines.

Identify gaps in local finance capabilities and recommend appropriate solutions, including additional resources or external support. 

Develop strong working relationships with finance teams and professional advisors across the various jurisdictions.

7. Cash Flow and Treasury Oversight:

Monitor cash balances and cash flow requirements across African entities. 

Coordinate cash flow forecasts with in-country accountants and operational management. 

Monitor intercompany funding requirements and cash transfers.

Ensure that appropriate banking controls and authorisation procedures are maintained. 

Identify potential cash flow risks and escalate these to Group Finance

8. Process Development and Continuous Improvement:

Develop standardised finance processes across the African operations.

Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, automation, controls, and reporting.

Implement appropriate finance policies, procedures, checklists, and reporting templates.

Drive consistency in accounting and reporting practices across jurisdictions.

Assist with the implementation of accounting systems, ERP systems, reporting tools, and other finance technology as required.

Ensure that processes are scalable as the Group expands into additional African countries.

Qualifications and Experience Essential: 

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field. 

Professional accounting qualification such as CA(SA), ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent would be advantageous.

At least 5-8 years' relevant financial management experience. 

Experience working with entities across multiple African jurisdictions. 

Experience in setting up new legal entities and coordinating with legal, tax, accounting, and other professional advisors. 

Strong understanding of monthly management accounting and financial reporting. 

Experience managing or coordinating in-country accounting teams or external accounting service providers.

Strong understanding of financial controls and accounting processes. 

Experience with monthly billing and revenue processes. 

Good understanding of statutory and tax compliance requirements.

Advanced Excel and financial reporting skills. 

Experience with ERP/accounting systems.

Advantageous: 

Experience in a multinational or multi-jurisdictional environment. 

Experience in emerging markets or developing African markets. 

Experience with cross-border transactions and intercompany accounting. 

Experience with foreign exchange and multi-currency environments. 

Experience implementing finance systems and processes in newly established entities. 

Experience working with Big Four or other professional advisory firms.

Competencies and Skills The successful candidate should demonstrate:

Strong financial and commercial acumen. 

Excellent organisational and project management skills. 

Strong attention to detail and accuracy. 

Ability to manage multiple jurisdictions and competing deadlines. 

Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

Ability to work effectively with legal advisors, tax advisors, consultants, accountants, auditors, and operational management. 

Strong problem-solving and analytical skills. 

Ability to work independently and take ownership of deliverables. 

Strong process and control orientation. 

Ability to establish structure and processes where none currently exist.

High level of accountability and ownership. 

Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, fast-growing environment. 

Cultural awareness and ability to work effectively with diverse teams across Africa.

Key Relationships:

Internal:

• Group CFO • Group Finance Team • Regional and Country Management • Operations Teams • Commercial / Sales Teams • HR and Payroll • Legal and Compliance

External:

• In-country accountants • Legal advisors • Tax advisors • Company secretarial providers • Auditors • Banks and financial institutions • Government and regulatory authorities • Other professional consultants

Role Profile:

This is a high-ownership, multi-jurisdictional finance role suited to an individual who is capable of moving beyond traditional financial management and taking responsibility for building and maintaining the finance infrastructure of a growing African operation. The successful candidate will be expected to take ownership rather than simply coordinate. They will be responsible for ensuring that each African entity has the appropriate financial structures, systems, processes, controls, reporting, and external support in place, while ensuring that monthly billing and financial reporting are delivered accurately and on time.

The role will therefore require a combination of technical accounting knowledge, project management capability, commercial awareness, stakeholder management, and the ability to operate across different African jurisdictions and regulatory environments.