Financial Controls Manager
Botswana Life Insurance Limited (Botswana Life) is Botswana’s longest servicing and only home-grown life insurer. Established in 1975, Botswana Life has a proud 50-year history and is a subsidiary of the renowned Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL) Group listed Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE). As an icon in Botswana, Botswana Life has become synonymous with life insurance in the country and as a trusted partner to Batswana. At Botswana Life, we provide financial solutions that make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and employees. We are committed to creating a world where everyone is financially secure and can walk tall in confidence that we have them covered.
Role Summary
Botswana Life is looking for suitably qualified candidates to fill in the role of Financial Controls Manager. The role of the Financial Controls Manager is to ensure a strong and stable financial controls environment through the development of policies and procedures, ensuring their implementation and monitoring compliance. Key focus tasks include fostering standardization and consistency across the business processes and internal controls within BLIL Finance.
Role Responsibilities
Reconciliations
- Review of BLIL Balance sheet reconciliations and Income statement analytical reviews, and that corrective actions are taken promptly and the reconciliation are risk profiled, and critical issues escalated to Exco.
- Ensure that BLIL general ledgers are well maintained and all accounts are fully reconciled and always substantiated
Financial reporting
- Reviewing BLIL balance sheet controls files, solving internal audit issues and enhancing financial controls.
Internal Controls & Governance
- Coordinating financial controls reviews in conjunction with the finance teams and maintaining a rectification plan for all identified exceptions/ gaps
- Design and implement internal controls frameworks to monitor financial processes and mitigate risks ensuring that robust and effective financial controls are in place across the business.
- Evaluate and enhance existing controls to ensure efficiency, compliance and adherence to BLIL, BIHL Group and SanlamAllianz Policies
- Ensures adherence to International Accounting Standards, making recommendations to the senior management where appropriate
- Prepare reports on control effectiveness and recommend improvements
- Train BLIL Finance staff on control procedures and promote a culture of accountability and transparency
Compliance, Risk & Audit Management
- Supporting internal and external audits in the delivery of their audits through provision of internal audit related documents and ensure champion audit issues follow up and closure"
- Identify financial risks within the company and advise on mitigating controls.
- Key Liaison within the BIHL Group’s Risk, Compliance and internal Audit teams to lead, document and report on risk assessment of finance processes, process owners and update of finance risk register.
Financial Policies and Processes Mapping
- Conduct financial system transactions flow reviews and develop and lead implementation of strategies to address vulnerabilities between policy administration systems and financial systems
- Management of the financial controls checklist and ensuring appropriate plans are in place to improve and low scoring areas
- Drive and support the BLIL Finance team in adopting new policies and procedures, ongoing monitoring to ensure adherence
- Conducting reviews and testing of financial controls compliance by process owners along with monitoring and overseeing the remediation of deficiencies identified
Technology and Process automation
- Drive and coordinate the financial systems implementation and processes to ensure optimal accountability, effectiveness and efficiency i.e. GAAP / Legislation
- Drive uniformity and standardization through automation of controls across finance processes leveraging on the efficient use of financial systems to enhance and continuously improve the systems and process design and effectiveness of controls, including efficiencies in documentation, assessment and testing of controls
People Management
- Ensures that the Department is staffed with the required caliber and number of personnel; that they are trained, motivated and developed to meet their current accountabilities and the Company’s future manpower needs.
- Ensures application of the terms and conditions of service and manages staff motivation, grievances and discipline accordingly.
- Ensures adherence to the current Performance Management System guidelines as set out by Group policy (half-yearly performance reviews).
Experience and Role-Specific Knowledge
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in Audit / accounting, finance or Actuarial related disciplines, 3 of which should have been at supervisory to middle management levels.
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Actuarial or similar degree required
- Experience in a audit firm and/or financial services environment would be advantageous.
- Full membership to a professional accounting or actuarial body eg BICA, ACCA, CIMA, CISA or similar credentials.
Competencies
- Strong experience and interest in how technology and systems can leverage to support the business and improve internal controls’ effectiveness and efficiency
- Knowledge of applicable laws, codes and regulations.
- Strong interpersonal skills, ability to communicate and manage well at all levels of the organization essential.
- Process improvement and systems innovation experience
- Business understanding: Shows fair understanding of business operations basics.
- Decision making: Ability to make confident and informed decisions
- Initiative: Consistently studies technology and internal control trends and needs and create appropriate solutions; self-driven and requires minimal supervision.