SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

The Senior Accountant owns the monthly accounting function for the Property Companies (commercial property rental) through to a complete and accurate trial balance and monthly management accounts. The role is responsible for Xero month-end close, reconciliations, journals, management reporting, cash flow and the complete monthly accounting file required for year-end reporting. The role must maintain review evidence and monthly sign-off, ensure the accounting file is AFS / audit-ready, and escalate technical accounting, tax and AFS matters to the external accountants rather than duplicate specialist work.

Key Interfaces and Role Boundaries:

• Internal Administration: supplier administration, source documents, payment packs, filing, authorised payment-batch loading and process support, including independent verification of supplier bank-detail changes. Internal Administration does not own the trial balance or tax finalisation and does not release payments.
• Managing Agent: property administration, rent roll, tenants, leases, collections, arrears, utility / recovery schedules and property operating information. The Senior Accountant reviews and reconciles the accounting impact of these schedules.
• Director / Designated Approver: payment release, material approvals, commercial decisions, funding / capex decisions and high-level review of monthly results.
• External Accountants: annual financial statements, audit / independent review, annual income tax and technical accounting / tax support. The Senior Accountant provides the clean TB, reconciliations and supporting files and avoids duplication of this specialist scope.

Qualifications:

• Matric / NQF level 4.
• BCom (Accounting) or equivalent relevant accounting qualification.
• Completed SAIPA articles or equivalent practical accounting training.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years relevant accounting / bookkeeping experience, including responsibility for month-end close and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Microsoft Office, with excellent Excel skills.
• Xero systems experience essential;
• MDA and QuickBooks experience beneficial.
• Experience preparing trial balances, journals, management accounts, budgets and cash flow forecasts.
• Experience with VAT, SARS support and year-end / audit working papers.
• Previous experience in a property environment (retail accounting) is advantageous, including rent rolls, tenant accounting, municipal recoveries and property-related expenditure.

Competencies (skills, knowledge and attitudes):

• Planning and organising, with disciplined deadline management.
• Strong reconciliation discipline, accuracy and attention to detail.
• Analytical problem-solving and ownership of issues through to resolution.
• Following instructions, procedures and established financial controls.
• Adapting and responding to change, while coping effectively with pressure and setbacks.
• Clear communication with directors, internal administration, managing agents and external accountants / auditors.

Key performance areas are as follows:

Monthly Accounting to Trial Balance

• Review supplier coding and VAT treatment and ensure transactions are accurately recorded in the general ledger.
• Process cashbooks and prepare complete monthly bank reconciliations.
• Prepare supplier / accounts payable reconciliations and resolve outstanding supplier and council-account differences.
• Prepare and post month-end journals, including accruals, prepayments and other required recurring or correcting entries.
• Prepare fixed asset additions and depreciation and maintain agreement between fixed asset records and the general ledger.
• Prepare intercompany loan reconciliations and interest calculations on loans, bonds and call accounts.
• Review suspense and clearing accounts and resolve reconciling items.
• Produce the monthly trial balance, ensuring every balance sheet account is supported by a complete reconciliation.
• Maintain the accounting query list and month-end task tracker, with clear ownership and follow-up of unresolved matters.
• Own TB quality, maintain review evidence and complete monthly sign-off.

Property Accounting and Rent Roll Reconciliation

• Reconcile the monthly rent roll to Xero / the general ledger.
• Review tenant control accounts, property income, tenant deposits and arrears reports.
• Reconcile municipal recoveries and utility allocations and investigate differences with the managing agent.
• Post property income / accrual journals where required.
• Raise and resolve accounting queries with the managing agent where rent roll, tenant or property schedules do not agree to the accounting records.

Management Accounts, Cash Flow, Budgets and Financial Analysis

• Prepare monthly management accounts from the final trial balance, including income statement, balance sheet and cash flow summary.
• Prepare actual versus budget and prior-period variance analysis and investigate significant movements.
• Prepare debtors, creditors and cash summaries and maintain the unresolved issue / action tracker.
• Prepare and maintain a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast and monitor bank balances and cash requirements.
• Prepare board / shareholder finance packs where required.
• Prepare annual budget working papers, rolling forecasts and cash flow models using approved property-level assumptions.
• Prepare property-company financial analysis for the Director / management, including data required for shopping-centre valuations.
• Model the financial impact of property structures and special projects, including asset lease / service-fee arrangements such as solar or borehole structures, where required.
• Track capital expenditure against approved budgets.

VAT, SARS and Tax Support

• Prepare the VAT201 reconciliation and complete VAT supporting pack.
• Prepare provisional tax working papers for review and income tax supporting schedules for the external accountants.
• Prepare repairs-versus-capital schedules, doubtful / bad debt support, municipal rates and interest schedules, and current / deferred tax journal support where required.
• Maintain complete supporting documentation for SARS queries, verifications and audits.
• Submit VAT only where formally authorised and approved.
• Escalate annual income tax and technical tax matters to the external accountants.

Year-End, AFS and Audit / Independent Review Support

• Prepare a clean year-end trial balance for the external accountants.
• Prepare complete year-end reconciliations and supporting schedules.
• Prepare and maintain the fixed asset register and depreciation support.
• Prepare intercompany and related-party schedules.
• Prepare the audit / independent-review working paper file and ensure the accounting file is AFS / audit-ready.
• Respond promptly to technical and accounting queries from the external accountants, reviewer or auditor.
• Process approved year-end adjusting journals and maintain support for the final accounting position.
• Do not assume ownership of AFS preparation, annual income tax finalisation or technical accounting / tax conclusions unless the agreed external scope is formally changed.

Payments, Financial Controls and Process Discipline

• Review payment packs, supplier coding and VAT treatment before submission for Director / designated approver approval; the Senior Accountant does not release payments.
• Monitor bank balances and cash requirements and escalate cash constraints or unusual movements.
• Review unresolved supplier and council-account items and ensure timely follow-up.
• Maintain segregation of duties: payment preparation / loading, approval and release must remain separately controlled.
• Ensure all accounting records and supporting documents are complete, organised and audit-ready. 

Processes, Workflows and Stakeholder Support

• Introduce and establish standard operating procedures (SOPS) for the finance department
• Establish, document and improve finance policies, procedures and workflows to strengthen controls, improve efficiency and minimise unnecessary manual processes.
• Work closely with Internal Administration to ensure complete and timely source documents, payment support and filing.
• Liaise with the Managing Agent on rent roll, tenant, municipal, utility, capex and other property-accounting matters.
• Liaise with the external accountants on year-end, AFS, audit / independent review, tax and technical matters within the agreed scope.
• Provide assistance on special projects within the finance function and prepare information for ad hoc requests from internal and external stakeholders.