Accounting and Control Manager, Finergi

About the Role
This role is essential to ensuring the company's financial integrity and timely reporting. You will manage the month-end close process, statutory accounts, and maintain controls across all entities, allowing the Commercial Finance team to focus on forecasting and deal-making. You will lead the transition to SAP as our single system of record, moving away from Xero, and will need to independently manage the accounting framework.

Key Responsibilities
Month-end Close and Reporting

• Own the monthly close calendar and checklist, ensuring alignment with Group deadlines.
• Prepare month-end entries, journals, accruals, deferrals, and prepayments, including for edge cases.
• Reconcile all balance sheet accounts monthly, including bank accounts.
• Produce management accounts and consolidate across entities.
• Prepare the monthly Group reporting pack and address Group requests.
• Book revenue accurately across transaction legs (voucher principal and service fee) according to accounting policy and commercial framework.

SAP and Systems

• Own and manage SAP for the company as it goes live, which includes posting files and managing master data and period close.
• Lead the transition from Xero to SAP as the primary system of record.
• Bring SAP postings fully in-house from the company once stable.
• Conduct quarterly reviews of SAP user access.

Revenue Review

• Review the company's revenue assurance processes and ensure their accurate integration into SAP.
• Maintain revenue and commission workbooks.
• Perform or oversee reconciliations between our loan management system and partner wallets.
• Generate partner invoices from validated data and manage receivables and collections tracking.

Payables and Payroll Accounting

• Process supplier and contractor invoices, ensuring they match signed agreements or purchase orders.
• Manage the payables mailbox, addressing supplier queries and document recovery.
• Maintain a register of supplier and contractor agreements, flagging expiring contracts early.
• Prepare payment runs, initiated by Treasury and approved by the CFO.
• Record vendor bank detail changes, independently verified by Treasury.
• Account for payroll across entities, including the handling of statutory deductions, journals, and liabilities reconciliations.

Intercompany, Funding, and FX

• Manage accounting for intercompany balances and recharges from the company.
• Account for intercompany funding, wallet deposits, and foreign exchange transactions.

Statutory, Audit, and Tax

• Prepare statutory accounts for all entities on a unified timeline.
• Coordinate external audits and manage the audit request list effectively.
• Facilitate tax compliance with in-country specialists, including managing UAE corporate tax, VAT, South African tax, and withholding requirements across African markets.
• Oversee DMCC filings and manage the annual license cycle in collaboration with Company Secretarial.
• Maintain a compliance tracker for all filings, certificates, and deadlines.

Controls

• Implement and maintain finance controls, including segregation of duties.
• Conduct monthly checks on payments against the Delegation of Authority.
• Draft finance policies and technical accounting memos for CFO approval.

What Success Looks Like
First 3 Months

• Successfully run one month-end close with the Commercial Finance team and fully own the subsequent one.
• Take over the management of supplier and contractor invoices, payables mailbox, and preparation of payment runs.
• Establish a regular review process for the company's revenue monthly.
• Develop a comprehensive compliance calendar covering all statutory, tax, and DMCC deadlines.

By 12 Months

• Deliver month-end closes consistently by fixed working-day deadlines.
• Ensure SAP is the sole system of record and fully decommission Xero.
• Transition to in-house SAP postings successfully.
• Complete external audits punctually with no significant issues.
• Maintain currency for all filings and tax certificates, ensuring no deadlines are missed.

What This Role Does Not Cover

• Budgeting, forecasting, and business cases (managed by Commercial Finance).
• Bank relationships, funding, payment initiation, and FSP partnerships (managed by Treasury and FSP).
• The direct revenue assurance function (conducted by the company); this role is limited to reviewing outputs.
• Filing company tax returns (handled by in-country specialists), with this role focused on coordination and review.

Key Relationships
Internal

• CFO (direct reporting)
• VP Commercial Finance
• Treasury and FSP Manager
• Company Finance (for Group reporting and SAP)
• Company Revenue Assurance
• Company Secretarial and HR
• Budget holders across the business

External

• External auditors
• In-country tax specialists
• Banks and payment partners (for reconciliations)
• DMCC
• Suppliers and contractors

What We Are Looking For
Essential

• Chartered Accountant, CA(SA) preferred, or ACCA/equivalent for UAE candidates.
• 6+ years post-qualification experience, with at least 2 years in a controller or reporting accountant role running month-end closes.
• Strong knowledge of IFRS, particularly in revenue recognition and consolidation.
• Experience managing multiple legal entities across different countries.
• Hands-on experience with an ERP, ideally SAP.
• Proven track record of coordinating statutory audits and tax compliance with external advisors.
• Ability to work independently and establish processes from scratch.

Desirable

• Background in fintech, payments, mobile money, or digital lending.
• Experience with SAP implementation or go-live projects.
• Familiarity with UAE corporate tax and VAT or other African tax systems.
• Experience transitioning from Xero or small business systems to ERP solutions.
• Experience within a larger group structure with shared services and Group reporting timelines.

The Kind of Person Who Will Do Well Here

• Proactive and solutions-oriented; identifies issues and proposes fixes efficiently.
• High standards regarding financial controls; does not overlook missing invoices or unreconciled balances.
• Comfortable navigating complexity involving multiple entities, markets, and partners.
• Strong communicator; able to articulate accounting issues clearly to non-accountants.
• Efficient remote worker, able to collaborate with teams in Dubai and across Africa.