Officer, Reconciliations at Standard Bank Group

Job Description Standard Bank Group is the largest African banking group by assets offering a full range of banking and related financial services. “Africa is our home, we drive her growth” Our vision is to be the leading financial services organisation in, for and across Africa, delivering exceptional client experiences and superior value. This sets the primary goals and standard of excellence we intend to achieve in the medium term. With a heritage of over years, we have an on-the-ground presence in 20 countries in sub‑Saharan Africa; fit-for-purpose representation outside Africa; and a strategic partnership with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). In line with the realities of risk, regulation, technology and competition that characterise our operating context, we continue to invest significantly in our diversified operations; our people and culture; our systems and infrastructure; and our brand. In doing so, we understand that our commercial success and social relevance over the long term depends on placing our clients at the centre of everything we do, and ensures that the outcomes of our activities are a catalyst for growth on this continent we call home. The long-term foreign currency ratings for The Standard Bank of South Africa, the single largest operating entity within the Standard Bank Group, are: Fitch Ratings BBB- (negative), Moody’s Baa2 (negative) and Standard & Poor’s BBB- (negative). The group is listed on the JSE Limited, share code SBK, and the Namibian Stock Exchange, share code SNB. The largest bank in the world, ICBC, is a 20.1% shareholder in the group. Other than the 20.1% ICBC shareholding, 32.9% of Standard Bank’s shareholder base is foreign. We subscribe to the Code of Banking Practice, a set of principles governing banking in South Africa and ensuring the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and fairness.Job purposeProvide operational support to the Head, Client Experience and Shared Services by taking responsibility of reconciling assigned accounts. Highlighting exceptions as detfined in the defined respective account structure to the relevant teams and escalating to Management those posing a risk through delayed action, significant financial risk, inadequate responses provided or otherwise.The role is responsible for management of financial risk through second level control on Bank accounts ensuring completeness of entries passed and querying validity of transactions where necessary. To reconcile and follow up on outstanding items in suspense accounts.Generate exception reports and escalate long outstanding items in suspense accountsUndertake allocated reconciliations and ensure they are of requisite quality.Periodically confirm underlying client instructions relate to entries posted to the reconciled accounts for material amounts. Key ResponsibilitiesStrategic Execution Accounts to be in current status at all times.Quality of documentation/information.Adhere to the SLAs with various business units.Reconciliations completed and followed up on within set turnaround timesEnsure Internal processes and procedures are adhered to at all times with gaps identified reported for remediation.Error tracking – generate transaction defect log and propose remedial measures where practical.Keep abreast of best practices (locally and internationally) and make appropriate recommendations within the reconciliation team. Query and Complaints Management Effectively manage client/stakeholder queries and complaints ensuring adherence to set service levels. Operational performance Confirming ModelBankT24 (MBT24) ledger and General Ledger entries are updated in Intellimatch where applicable.Daily reconciliation of Suspense, internal and other accounts.Preparing and broadcasting list/reports of outstanding items of the accounts reconciled.Query old, strange outstanding entries in accounts reconciled and escalate as per matrixBalance confirmation for accounts and advising business and management of the same.Custody of allocated account reconciliations and reports.Initiate queries relating to outstanding items and follow-up to resolution.Check and investigate entries that have defaulted into system suspense accounts.Sensitize stakeholders on relevant account reconciliations processes and Intellimatch.Participate in testing and validation for projects assignedProvide oversight of accounts allocatedEnsure unknown funds in suspense accounts are queried.Update unit management on quality of reconciliation and issues meriting their attention.Avail information required for internal and external audit as may be requested.Ensure conformity to the set standards and procedures in the department and the bank as a whole. Optimise the risk profile in the business unit Ensure compliance with approved limits and levels of authority.Ensure Satisfactory audit ratings and closure of action plans within our span of control arising from risk assessments, operational risk reviews, internal and external audits and regulatory inspections to improve the control environment relating to assigned area. Compliance adherence Ensure that financial standards are adhered to.Ensure implementation and adoption within assigned portfolio of all Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions related requirements contained in policies, procedures and processes. This includes monitoring and identifying any material compliance related breaches and escalating them to line management and the Compliance Office. Stakeholder Engagement Finance – review monthly reconciliation submissions and facilitate opening and closure of suspense accountsControl teams – assist in resolution of long outstanding items in affected Suspense accountsInformation Technology – provision of reconciliation information and resolution of IT related queriesTPS – liaison between Reconciliations on product recon support Other units – provide support in the resolution of reconciliations done and or reported by Reconciliations unit QUALIFICATIONSType of qualification: First DegreeField of Study: Finance or AccountingFinance or Accounting related qualifications an advantage. Experience 3-4 Years with Operations – processingAbility to relate data to products and understand the associated entries expected for service or product fulfilment. This competency is about interpreting data accurately with an emphasis on the processing and interpretation of numbers. This competency also includes the utilization of technology.