Generic Accountability

• Ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance with all financial control and accounting policies across the Group, which include the AOV policy and all related activities.
• Oversight and management of the various control and governance activities (e.g. Account Ownership and Verification, Internal Accounts Review, GL mapping, etc.) to ensure integrity of the group’s balance sheet.

Timely reporting and escalation to senior management, and follow-up on the resolution of identified issues.

Specific Accountability

• Assisting with the proper implementation of all financial control policies in the Group and ensure oversight over the smooth functioning of such activities thereafter.

• Reviewing and ensuring the accuracy of data and conducting the required checks before initiating the AOV workflow in the tool we use to support all the balance sheet substantiation activities (OneFC).

• Ensuring proper coordination and completion of the monthly AOV activities across the Group, and reviewing the submissions received to ensure they are in line with the established standards and they appropriately capture the results of the embedded controls.
• Liaising with the account owners and ensure all self-identified issues are reported through the RAG reporting submitted, and that the items at risk have a corrective action plan with an action owner and a target resolution date. Following-up for the timely resolution of all such issues.
• Carrying out the conformance testing work as per the approved standards for all the accounts owned by the Business and Operations teams and having an appropriate and comprehensive documentation in place, in addition to supporting the teams with resolving the issues highlighted through this testing.
• Working with the relevant teams to ensure that the Account Specific Guidance notes are regularly updated and relevant employees are properly trained.
• Participating in the annual RCSA exercise and ensuring key processes relating to the team with residual risks have effective mitigating controls.
• Providing training to the relevant staff members to ensure they are well versed with the requirements of the AOV policy and other financial control/accounting activities.
• Conducting independent testing of the governance and controls environment across the group, ensuring gaps are remediated timely, in line with the Group ICFR framework.
• Supporting with the resolution of relevant audit issues highlighted by external and internal auditors in addition to regulators, in addition to all the self-identified issues.

Involvement in all finance-related systems implementation and assisting in the preparation of relevant business requirement documents, conducting required UAT and providing trainings.

This role “AVP – Financial Control” supports the implementation and ongoing monitoring of the balance sheet substantiation activities across the Group in line with applicable policies which include the Group Account Ownership and Verification (AOV) policy and the Internal Control over Financial Reporting Framework (ICFR), ultimately contributing towards strengthening the Group’s control environment and the integrity of the Group’s consolidated balance sheet.

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Banking & Finance.
• Having an accounting qualification is a plus, e.g. CPA, ACCA, CA.
• Very good understanding of international accounting standards, i.e. IFRS and IAS.
• Good understanding of COSO model for internal controls and its underlying components and principles.
• Very good working experience in MS Excel.
• Strong interpersonal and analytical skills, and ability to conduct meetings/training sessions with a large number of participants.

Around five years of experience required, preferably within the banking sector and/or with one of the tier-1 audit firms.