Deputy Director- Finance

Eastern Cape

,

East London

**Main purpose / objective**
The main purpose of this position is to provide technical expertise to the Finance department as whole. This includes all the technical accounting solutions due to the ever-changing International financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). To provide solutions to the technical audit and finance matters. To ensure the proper practices are followed for all University Finance policies and procedures. To ensure preparation and accurate presentation and disclosure University’s annual financial statements (AFS). To be responsible to the Audit process and develop the Audit Intervention Plan to address the findings from the audit process. To lead in the tax compliance and awareness with the University.

**Key job functions**:

- **Financial statements planning**:

- Engage management, staff and auditors in development of AFS plan
- Consider changes in policy, standards and circumstances in formulating plan timelines
- Reconcile AFS plan activities against Audit Intervention Plan (AIP) issues to ensure plans are completed and timelines aligned.
- Prepare AFS plan and present to relevant forums.
- **Financial statements compilation**:

- Assume responsibility for compilation of the University AFS
- Review managements inputs to the AFS to ensure accounting and disclosure conforms to IFRS standard and accounting policies
- Ensure AFS prepared in full IFRS compliance
- Update AFS for any changes identified during the audit
- Assume responsibility for compilation of the Group IFRS based AFS
- Prepare Group journals for consolidation AFS
- Engage auditors through audit of Group AFS
- Propose AFS audit journals where applicable and maintain support for those journals
- Reconciliation of pre and post-trial balances per ITS to the audited trial balance.
- Facilitate the closing of the system with journals from the audit process and year end closures.
- **Audit process**:

- Play the role of the Audit controller during the audit process.
- Attend to all audit queries and AFS components queries
- Meet with the auditors regularly on the audit process
- Review audit findings and consolidate all management comments
- Preparation of the audit file (receive, review and maintain file for AFS support)
- Make all records available for the auditors on requests
- Develop audit intervention plan to address the audit findings
- Engage managers throughout the University to confirm the actions, timeframes and responsibilities per the intervention plan.
- Progress reports to the Director Finance and CFO on the progress of these intervention plans.
- **Mid-term reporting**:

- Assist the Financial Planning unit on the compilation of mid-term reports (Interim Financial statements)
- Prepare reporting and inputs for the mid-term report
- Address any internal auditor’s queries on the report.
- **Tax compliance**:

- Lead in the VAT Project for the automation of VAT and ultimately a phased in-house VAT process.
- Provide technical inputs on the VAT processing (monthly plans to do VAT internally)
- Assist in engagements with SARS on some technical queries regarding PAYE and other components of taxes
- Prepare and submit the annual income tax returns of the University;
- Review the Monthly VAT returns before submission to SARS, assisting with any adjustments and authorising the return before submission;
- Review and signing monthly VAT reconciliations;
- Execute the annual VAT apportionment ratio calculation, by liaising with the VAT consultants, providing them with the necessary information, and input where applicable. Ensuring the accounting system is updated with the latest ratio and account strings;
- PAYE - Provide oversight and give advice and give rulings on PAYE matters to the Payroll office and ensure the University minimises PAYE tax risk.
- **Others**:

- Ensure that all new IFRS standards/ statements are implemented by the Finance Managers (workshop all the managers and staff on the implementation)
- Development and monitoring of the monthly control dashboard for the entire Finance department
- Support project analysis, validation of plans, and ad-hoc requests
- Manage the University's financial accounting, monitoring, and reporting systems
- Ensure compliance with accounting policies and regulatory requirements
- Provide inputs in policy formulation and review.
- Provide technical inputs and training to all the finance departments

**REQUIREMENTS**
**Qualifications and experience (minimum)-**:

- Chartered Accountant CA (SA) or Masters in Accounting/MCOMPT
- Minimum of 8 years’ working experience in Finance/Audit/Tax environment in a large and complex organisation.
- Proven 3 Years’ experience working as a Financial Accountant/Manager or in technical accounting environment

**Skills and competences **- The following are required additional competences for the position:

- Public Sector or Higher education experience an added advantage.
- Relevant Enterprise Resource Planning