Senior Financial Controller, Tax and Compliance, Cluster, SSA

Main Purpose of the Role

• The Senior Financial Controller, Tax and Compliance, Cluster, SSA oversees tax and statutory compliance, financial controls and governance for assigned entities across Sub-Saharan Africa. The role provides technical accounting and tax guidance, manages compliance risks and supports informed business decisions in collaboration with local and Group stakeholders.
• The incumbent acts as a finance compliance and tax subject matter expert, supporting alignment with IFRS, local statutory requirements, applicable tax legislation, Group policies and corporate governance standards.

Tertiary Qualifications

• Preferred academic qualification: a postgraduate qualification in Accounting, Taxation or a related field, such as HDip Tax or MCom Taxation.
• Professional designation or registration: CA(SA), SAIPA membership or registration as a Tax Practitioner is advantageous, not mandatory.

Computer Literacy Level

• Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for financial analysis, reconciliations and supporting schedules.

Additional Computer Skills

• SAP ERP experience is advantageous, not mandatory.
• Proficiency in SARS eFiling and equivalent revenue-authority portals relevant to assigned entities.

Job-Related Requirements

• Advanced knowledge of IFRS and financial reporting.
• Strong knowledge of direct and indirect taxation and tax governance.
• Sound understanding of internal controls, risk management and corporate governance.
• Strong financial analysis, reconciliation and technical writing skills.
• Five to ten years of relevant finance experience, including at least five years in a senior financial control, tax, compliance or finance management role.
• Demonstrated experience in statutory reporting, tax compliance, audits and engagements with revenue authorities.
• Practical experience applying IFRS and managing corporate income tax, VAT and withholding tax requirements.

Added Advantages — Not Mandatory

• Multi-country Sub-Saharan African tax and statutory compliance experience, including engagement with revenue authorities, auditors and professional advisers across jurisdictions.
• Experience in a medium to large multinational, shared-services, regional finance or multi-entity environment; logistics, freight forwarding or supply-chain exposure is an added advantage.
• Experience supporting business acquisitions, legal-entity restructures, integrations or finance transformation projects.
• Experience preparing or reviewing IFRS technical accounting or tax position papers and testing financial controls or remediating audit findings.
• Experience leading or coaching finance, tax or compliance professionals.
• Experience improving tax and compliance processes through standardisation, automation or data analytics.

Duties and Responsibilities

Financial Reporting & Control

• Analyse financial results and communicate material variances, risks and opportunities to management.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS, applicable accounting policies and Group financial reporting requirements.
• Prepare and/or review annual financial statements and coordinate statutory financial reporting for assigned entities, in line with agreed responsibilities and approval requirements.
• Monitor and improve the effectiveness of financial controls, close processes and reporting procedures.

Tax Compliance & Governance

• Manage direct and indirect tax compliance for all assigned entities.
• Prepare or review corporate income tax, provisional tax, VAT, withholding tax, dividends tax and other applicable returns, and coordinate timely submission following the required approvals.
• Prepare or review current tax provisions, deferred tax calculations and related financial statement disclosures for accuracy and completeness.
• Prepare or review tax computations, supporting schedules and reconciliations before submission for approval.
• Support engagements with SARS and other relevant revenue authorities, including audits, verifications, reviews and disputes.
• Monitor legislative developments and assess the operational, reporting and financial impact on the business.
• Assess tax implications of complex transactions and business initiatives, consulting Group Tax and relevant advisers and obtaining required approvals where applicable.
• Coordinate cross-border taxation and withholding tax compliance requirements.

Financial Compliance & Internal Controls

• Implement and monitor Group financial compliance and internal control requirements and develop or maintain local procedures that address entity-specific risks without overriding Group policies.
• Ensure adherence to Group Finance policies, procedures, delegated authorities and approval requirements.
• Conduct periodic reviews of key financial and tax controls and retain appropriate evidence of performance.
• Coordinate remediation of control deficiencies, audit findings and compliance gaps with responsible owners, and track agreed corrective actions to completion.
• Identify financial, tax and compliance risks and implement proportionate mitigation plans.
• Support fraud prevention, governance and segregation-of-duties initiatives.
• Maintain complete and audit-ready supporting documentation and control records.

Audit Management

• Coordinate external and internal audit activities for assigned entities.
• Support liaison with auditors on financial reporting, controls, statutory and tax matters.
• Prepare and review audit schedules, supporting documentation and technical position papers.
• Ensure timely, complete responses to audit queries and escalate unresolved technical matters to the appropriate stakeholders.

Regulatory & Statutory Compliance

• Manage financial and statutory compliance within the role’s remit, coordinating company-law, exchange-control and other specialist regulatory matters with Legal, Treasury and relevant local or Group specialists.
• Coordinate non-tax statutory and regulatory submissions for assigned entities with responsible stakeholders, obtaining required approvals and retaining a complete audit trail.
• Maintain a compliance calendar and monitor filing, payment and reporting deadlines.
• Escalate significant compliance risks, breaches and overdue actions to appropriate management.

Business Support & Advisory

• Provide practical finance, tax and compliance guidance to business units and management.
• Support strategic projects, acquisitions, restructures and integrations within the regional finance remit, coordinating with Group Finance, Group Tax, Legal and Treasury as applicable.
• Support commercial decision-making through financial analysis and tax risk assessments.
• Evaluate proposed transactions for accounting, tax, controls and compliance implications.
• Drive process improvement, standardisation and appropriate automation within the Finance function, including support for system implementations and process migrations.

Other Duties

• Provide coaching, technical guidance and knowledge transfer to Finance and business stakeholders.
• Maintain finance, tax and compliance templates and guidance material to support consistent execution.
• Represent the Tax and Compliance function in relevant regional, Group or cross-functional forums.
• Assist with urgent tax, statutory, audit or regulatory matters and authorised special investigations within the role’s remit and relevant expertise.
• Provide cover for senior Finance team members during peak periods or absences, within relevant expertise and agreed priorities.
• Perform ad hoc financial analysis, technical reviews and compliance assessments within the role’s scope, as requested by management.
• Undertake other reasonable duties aligned with the nature, seniority and objectives of the role.