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Finance Agile Analyst
Unilever | May 2023 – Present
Unilever is a global leader in FMCG, operating across Home Care, Nutrition, Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, and Ice Cream categories.

Roles & Responsibility

• Process Optimization: Collaborated with cross-functional teams to integrate people, processes, and technology, driving efficiencies and addressing critical pain points such as cash overdue reduction, debt collection deficiencies, and dispatch rate improvements.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Partnered with global teams to align business ambitions with project outcomes, leveraging data analysis to optimize financial processes and measure profit and loss impacts.
• Business Case Development: Conducted feasibility and ROI analyses for global IOPS projects, identifying opportunities to unlock value through process and technology collaboration.
• Strategic Initiatives: Led key projects, including RPA automation in commercial finance, focusing on replacing manual processes with automated solutions to enhance efficiency and ROI.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Worked with business analysts, product owners, and digital finance teams to document "as-is" and "to-be" processes, ensuring compliance with accounting policies and seamless delivery of automation projects.
• Performance Measurement: Tracked and reported cost and ROI metrics, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and timely accrual of costs where applicable.
• Channel Growth Strategies: Participated in retail squad projects to drive channel growth through market penetration, innovation, and tailored customer solutions.
• Business Partnering: Flexed into multiple business units, supporting forecasting, trade terms rebate management, and growth initiatives for health and beauty customers.

Key Achievements:

• Spearheaded a Cash Overdue Reduction project, significantly lowering overdue accounts.
• Successfully led a dispatch rate reduction initiative, resulting in measurable cost savings and enhanced operational efficiency.

Financial Accountant (Contract)
ASSORE Group Mining
ASSORE Group is a mining company specializing in iron ore, chrome, and various steel minerals.

• Financial Management: Managed monthly standard journal entries, reconciliations, and provisions related to the decommissioning of mining equipment.
• Taxation Expertise: Handled VAT and taxation calculations, including mine royalty payments and deferred tax reconciliations, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Reporting Support: Contributed to weekly and monthly reporting processes, including the preparation of sales reports and management account dashboards.

Key Achievement:

• Successfully developed and presented budget updates to senior management, enhancing budget tracking and improving the accuracy of financial forecasts.

Global Manufacturing & Direct Sales | EMEA Region |

• Accounts Payable & Payments: Managed weekly foreign payments, EFT requisitions, and inter-company invoices, ensuring accurate allocation and review of debit/credit memos. Reviewed pricing for promotional and incentive products to support strategic initiatives.
• Sales & Royalties Management: Conducted monthly royalty calculations and provided weekly sales performance reports comparing actuals to forecasts. Managed stock control for overdue debtors, bulk credit calculations, and detailed annual sales analysis per product line.
• Finished Goods Management: Oversaw obsolescence lists, prepared write-offs, and collaborated on excess stock planning. Reconciled GIT listings and prepared quarterly reserves for finished goods obsolescence to ensure accurate reporting.
• Fixed Assets & Reporting: Handled monthly depreciation runs, reconciled asset additions and disposals, and monitored actual spend versus forecast for new assets. Prepared fixed asset reclassifications, bad debt reserves, AR disclosures, and OPEX reporting for management.
• Statutory Compliance: Submitted quarterly VAT returns and STATS SA reports. Conducted SOX testing and contributed to audit pack preparation for internal and external audits.

Key Achievements:

• Enhanced debt collection processes by automating customer statements in JDE, resulting in fewer overdue accounts and long-term efficiency improvements for the debtors department.
• Improved reconciliations and reporting accuracy, reducing discrepancies and enhancing operational efficiency.

Fixed Asset Management: Oversaw the monthly processing of new additions, disposals, and transfers of fixed assets across five business divisions, ensuring compliance with fiscal budgets and operational needs.
Group Consolidation: Maintained the Group Consolidation Fixed Asset Register and performed monthly depreciation processing, aligning the Fixed Asset Register with the General Ledger (GL) and reconciling CIP to GL.
Reporting & Budgeting: Delivered monthly management account reports for the CFO and Board, prepared annual CAPEX budgets and forecasts, and developed Group Consolidation Financial PPE Notes (IAS 16).
Audit & Compliance: Prepared audit packs for internal and external audits and ensured adherence to SOPs and IAS 16 internal controls for fixed asset management.
Process Improvements: Reviewed repair and maintenance schedules, resolved reconciling items promptly, and collaborated with project engineers to roll out new assets.
Key Achievements:Spearheaded the implementation of a Project System for Fixed Assets, streamlining vetting, purchase orders, and budget tracking, leading to reduced overspends and improved payment processes.
Integrated CIMS into Premier FMCG books for fixed assets as part of a merger, ensuring accurate consolidation and compliance.
Enhanced CAPEX project management by creating SOPs and optimizing cost allocation, improving accuracy and efficiency in group-level financial statements.

Snack & Beverages | New York Listed Company |

• Cash Management: Oversaw monthly cash sales collections for 10 branches across KwaZulu-Natal (R10m) and Gauteng (R14m), ensuring accurate and timely reconciliation of variances. Managed 10 cash suspense accounts and performed 4 monthly bank reconciliations to mitigate cash loss risks.
• Risk Control: Prepared 30 monthly cash and stock reconciliations, detecting and addressing theft or losses by enforcing accountability measures, such as deductions from commissions or AOL.
• Commission Audits: Conducted monthly audits of sales representatives' commissions for 10 branches, recalculating and verifying amounts prior to payroll processing, enhancing accuracy in payouts.
• Financial Reporting: Audited and finalized weekly branch journals for system input. Prepared monthly banking journals to support month-end reporting requirements.
• Compliance: Ensured adherence to company standards through quarterly self-COSO testing, maintaining bank reconciliation and cash suspense items within a 90-day limit.
• Training & Process Improvement: Developed comprehensive training manuals for updated processes, procedures, and system changes. Conducted quarterly branch visits to train staff, resolve queries, and ensure process alignment.
• National Coordination: Led the successful nationwide transition of updated banking details, minimizing disruptions to operations. Supported Accounts Payable by segregating duties and validating supplier banking details.

Key Achievements:

• Enhanced commission verification processes, improving payout accuracy and strengthening financial controls.
• Streamlined branch financial management through proactive risk identification and reconciliation improvements.
• Improved branch compliance and operational efficiency through targeted training initiatives and system updates.