Finance Manager

Job Description

RCL FOODS is a deeply rooted South African food manufacturer that produces some of the country’s most-loved brands, including Yum Yum peanut butter, Nola mayonnaise, Ouma rusks, and Selati sugar, just to name a few. At the heart of our culture and strategy is our Purpose – WE GROW WHAT MATTERS – which reflects our belief in collectively doing that little more to create a positive impact that truly matters.

Visit our website: www.rclfoods.com

We are looking for a Finance Manager to join our Finance Team reporting to the Finance Executive.

The purpose of the role is to ensure accurate financial accounting, robust control environments, and timely reporting to support business performance and compliance. The role leads the monthly close process, oversees key balance sheet reconciliations, and provides meaningful analysis and insight to management. It ensures statutory and tax compliance while optimising cash flow, working capital, and treasury activities

Duties & Responsibilities

Financial Accounting & Period Close

• Lead the monthly close process to ensure results are complete, accurate, and delivered within agreed deadlines.
• Ensure the general ledger and subsidiary ledgers are maintained in line with company policies and IFRS.
• Review and approve journals, balance sheet reconciliations (including non-vendor accounts), and the timely clearance of reconciling items.
• Validate key accounting treatments (e.g., revenue cut-off, provisions/impairments where relevant) and ensure timing variances are resolved promptly.

Accounts Payable, Creditor Governance & Working Capital

• Oversee creditor reconciliations, intercompany balances, and the resolution of supplier queries/claims within agreed timelines.
• Monitor ageing of reconciling items and escalate key risks and disputes appropriately.
• Ensure supplier accounts are reconciled and paid according to terms, pricing conditions, and internal policies.
• Assess working capital impacts (e.g., early settlements) and support initiatives to optimise payment practices and liquidity.

Management Reporting, Insight & Performance Analytics

• Prepare and/or review monthly management reports for the Finance Executive, ensuring clear commentary on performance drivers and risks.
• Perform variance analysis (actual vs budget/forecast/prior period) and translate outcomes into actionable insights for decision-making.
• Provide ad hoc analysis and reporting to support pricing, profitability, efficiency ratios/KPIs, and operational performance.

Budgeting, Forecasting & Planning

• Coordinate budgeting and forecasting cycles (operating and capex), ensuring quality inputs, alignment to strategy, and delivery to deadlines.
• Review assumptions and economic drivers, challenge inputs, and consolidate outputs into management-ready formats.
• Draft or contribute to executive summaries and presentations that communicate the “story” behind the numbers.

Cash Flow, Treasury & Banking

• Oversee cash forecasting and cash flow management, including monitoring forecast accuracy and explaining deviations.
• Support treasury activities such as cash optimisation, banking administration, and stakeholder engagement with banks where applicable.
• Review and sign off key banking requirements and ensure controls over payments and cash movements.

Tax & Statutory Compliance

• Manage statutory financial close deliverables (interim/year-end schedules) and support financial statement preparation and audit readiness.
• Ensure VAT compliance (validity of claims, tax invoice compliance, schedule preparation/consolidation) and timely submissions.
• Manage income tax compliance and tax risk, ensuring accurate, complete, and timeous returns and appropriate issue resolution.
• Maintain compliance with relevant company/commercial law requirements in partnership with internal stakeholders (e.g., legal) as applicable.

Audit, Governance & Internal Controls

• Maintain and enhance internal controls, ensuring adherence to approved procedures and consistent execution of control checks.
• Liaise with internal and external auditors; coordinate responses, track audit findings, and drive corrective actions to closure.
• Identify financial risks (process, control, compliance) and lead remediation plans with accountable owners.
• Support enterprise risk management through financial risk assessments and mitigation actions.

Systems, Process Improvement & Project Delivery

• Drive continuous improvement and automation across finance processes (e.g., reconciliations, query ageing, reporting, invoice clearing).
• Provide finance input into cross-functional projects (pricing, allocations, system testing, master data remediation).
• Build and maintain strong systems/process knowledge (e.g., ERP/SAP process flows) to improve control and efficiency.

Leadership, Stakeholder & Service Management

• Lead, coach, and develop the Financial Accountants and Tax Accountant; set objectives, review output quality, and build capability.
• Ensure consistent service delivery to internal and external stakeholders, meeting agreed SLAs and governance requirements.
• Partner with Operations, Procurement, Shared Services, and senior leaders to resolve issues, improve performance, and enable decision-making.

Minimum Requirements

• SAICA/ACCA/CA(SA)/CIMA
• 6+ years of relevant experience within a finance environment.
• Experience in financial reporting and annual financial statement preparation.
• Experience in interim and financial year-end reporting and close processes.
• Experience in quarterly balance sheet and cash flow forecasting.
• Experience engaging with auditors and supporting audit processes.
• Experience within a large or complex corporate environment would be advantageous.