Job Description

Job Advert Summary

The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (Land Bank) is South Africaxe2x80x99s only specialist agricultural bank established in 1912, the bankxe2x80x99s sole objective is to serve South African commercial and emerging farmers and bring specially designed financial services within their reach. These services enable farmers to finance land, equipment, improve assets and obtain production credit. The Land Bank provides financial services that have moved with the times and continues to provide services to agri-business and constantly reviews its offerings to ensure that they match the needs of an industry. As change has swept across the sector in South Africa the socio-economic makeup of agriculture has altered, bringing new entrants from historically disadvantaged backgrounds on to the land, these new farmers, facing the challenges of establishing sustainable agri-businesses across the agricultural value chain, Land Bank has been a commercial lifeline offering appropriately designed financial products that facilitate personal and commercial viability in a sector that is vital to the sustainability of South Africa and its people. MAIN PURPOSE OF THE JOB To ensure effective accounting activities relating to the maintenance of a complete and accurate general ledger. To provide relevant stakeholders with accurate and complete information for reporting and decision making purposes, supporting the accurate compilation of Financial reports.

Key Performance Areas

1. Month-end focus - General Ledger maintenance (Overall responsibility for data accuracy and integrity by performing general ledger reconciliations and income statement analysis)

• Assigns responsibilities to relevant assistants, including the creation of reconciliations.
• Manage the month-end focus. (Including investments, write-offs, insolvencies, fruitless and wasteful and irregular expenditure, impairments, etc.)
• Makes sure that reconciliations are done accurately and timeously, checks them against supporting documentation and ledger balances.
• Review of the audit files for completeness and accuracy.
• Ensure that the General Ledger and journal entries are in accordance with defined standards by analysing accounts and correcting misallocations and miscalculations.
• SAP Banking Month-end Run (as and when required)

2. Compile Financial Reporting (Annual Financial Statements (AFS), NCA Form 40, Land Bank tax return and any other ad-hoc reports)

• Reports are due in accordance with scheduled activities; or
• Requests are received for the compilation of a report. Analyse the request to determine the nature and extent of the report
• Timeous reporting, archiving and distribution in accordance with policies, procedures and legal requirements
• Gather and verify applicable data from all relevant sources and collate data into required reporting format
• Make recommendations in accordance with the information at hand
• Submit the report for review and approval where necessary

Annual Financial Statements

• Advise management of the subsidiaries of any changes in accounting standards
• Update the current year AFS with all the relevant changes
• Seek continuous improvement in the process of preparing the AFS
• Compile the AFS within the allocated time frame
• Collect and verify applicable data from all relevant sources and collate data into required reporting format
• Make recommendations in accordance with the information at hand
• Submit the report for review and approval where necessary
• Distribute the report to the relevant role players

3. Processing of entries on clientxe2x80x99s accounts

• Compiles a register for all write-offs and waivers received.
• Timeous processing of all write-offs and waivers.
• Compiles a register of all insolvency transfers.

4. Technical Accounting research

• Remain up to date on the Technical IFRS Standards by attending training courses and reading knowledge material.
• Informs General Manager: Finance and management team of updates and changes required to the Land Bank accounting treatments.
• Examines IFRS and Tax legislation changes that affect the Land Bank or its subsidiaries.
• Drive the implementation of required changes in Finance.

5. Liaison with internal and external auditors

• Liaises with both internal and external auditors and responds to audit queries/opinions.
• Responds to areas that they highlight xe2x80x93this may require clarity issues, giving information, designing and amending controls.
• Implementation of action tasks/projects to address audit findings relating to his/her area.
• Coordination of Audit Process - responsible for ensuring smooth interim and year-end audits, including coordination of Client Assistance Schedules.
• Distribution of audit findings for management comment and co-ordination of audit responses, including responding to areas that highlighted under xe2x80x9careas of responsibilityxe2x80x9d xe2x80x93 this may require clarifying issues, giving information, designing, amending and implementing controls.
• Quality review of Management Letter

Preferred Minimum Education and Experience

• CA (SA) or ACCA
• Minimum 5 years post articles experience
• Minimum 5 yearsxe2x80x99 experience in Financial Accounting and Reporting
• Minimum 5 yearsxe2x80x99 experience in Financial Services
• Highly proficient in accounting for financial instruments

Critical Competencies

• Advanced Microsoft Office/ Excel
• Knowledge / Experience SAP/ Financial Reporting Software
• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
• PFMA (Public Finance Management Act)
• Land Bank Act

Additional Requirements

• Travel as and when required
• Extended hours as and when required.