Inventory, Procurement & Fixed Assets Accountant

We're Hiring: Inventory, Procurement & Fixed Assets Accountant

Location: Cape Town

Department: Finance – Merchant Division

Reporting Line: Financial Manager

Scope: South Africa and International

Role Purpose

The Inventory, Procurement & Fixed Assets Accountant is responsible for inventory accounting, procurement administration, stock control, fixed asset accounting, reconciliations and reporting across the Merchant Division. The role ensures that device stock and assets are accurately recorded, correctly valued and physically verifiable, whether held in a warehouse, by a sales agent, at a merchant site under rental, or in transit.

The role prepares and recommends. Approval of transactions rests with the Financial Manager or above, in line with the Divisional Delegation of Authority.

Scope of Coverage

The role covers all inventory and device populations across the Merchant Division:

• Warehouse stock.
• Agent-held (boot) stock.
• Rental and installed devices.
• Spares and consumables.
• Refurbishment stock.
• In-transit stock.
• Stock held at third-party distribution and e-commerce fulfilment centres.

Key Responsibility Areas

Inventory Accounting and Valuation

• Calculate and maintain accurate hardware and device costings, including full landed cost.
• Identify obsolete, damaged, slow-moving and end-of-life stock, and quantify the exposure by product code and location.
• Prepare monthly obsolescence and slow-moving stock calculations and maintain the supporting provision workings for review by Finance management.
• Flag stock and devices that may not be recoverable at their carrying value, and escalate for assessment.
• Support month-end inventory accounting, reporting and commentary.

Inventory Transactions and Stock Management

• Prepare stock adjustments, warehouse transfers and spares adjustments for approval per the Divisional Delegation of Authority.
• Prepare orders for hardware, spares and devices against approved requisitions and capex approvals.
• Prepare stock code and inventory master data creation and amendment requests for approval in the ERP.
• Import, validate and reconcile inventory records in the ERP.
• Prepare the monthly agent and rep stock invoicing file from underlying stock movements for processing by Billing.

Agent-Held (Boot) Stock Control

• Reconcile agent-held device stock monthly across all channels and territories, supported by signed agent stock confirmations.
• Maintain exception reporting on dormant, zero-trading and alert-flagged devices held in the field.
• Track device recovery and collection campaigns, and record the return of recovered devices into stock.
• Report agent stock ageing and loss exposure to the Financial Manager monthly.

Fixed Asset Management

• Maintain the Fixed Asset Register, including serial-number-level tracking of devices and the link between each asset and its physical or installed location.
• Prepare fixed asset additions, disposals, transfers and write-offs with full supporting documentation, for approval per the Divisional Delegation of Authority.
• Process transfers of devices between rental assets and inventory, ensuring depreciation is correctly stopped and restarted and the device is recorded in the correct register.
• Perform monthly fixed asset reconciliations to the General Ledger.
• Calculate and process depreciation and amortisation.
• Coordinate fixed asset verifications and physical asset counts, and reconcile results to the register.
• Report on asset condition and utilisation, and flag assets that appear to be out of use, missing or damaged.
• Maintain capex tracking records and report spend and commitments against approved budget.

Procurement Administration

• Raise purchase orders for hardware, consumables, IT equipment and other fixed assets against approved requisitions.
• Obtain and evaluate supplier and freight quotations, and prepare comparative recommendations.
• Administer NRCS and other regulatory device compliance requirements, including application administration, record keeping and related payments, and maintain the register of approved and pending device approvals by territory.
• Maintain supplier documentation and pricing records for device and hardware suppliers.

Logistics, Landed Cost and International Trade

• Coordinate local, cross-border and international shipments of devices, spares and consumables.
• Arrange import and export documentation and liaise with freight providers and customs agents.
• Record landed cost, including freight, insurance, customs duty and clearing charges, and allocate correctly to inventory or capex.
• Process foreign currency purchases and support import VAT and duty recovery.
• Report landed cost and freight variance against approved quotations, including the cost differential between air and sea freight elections.
• Coordinate national and cross-border distribution of devices and consumables, and account for in-transit stock.

Stock Counts and Inventory Verification

• Plan, schedule and oversee monthly stock counts across all warehouses, storage locations, third-party fulfilment centres and international sites.
• Develop and maintain stock count procedures, count sheets and cut-off controls.
• Reconcile physical count results to the ERP and inventory management systems.
• Investigate and resolve count variances within defined timeframes, and escalate variances above threshold.
• Prepare stock count reports and variance analysis for management review.
• Support internal and external auditors during inventory and asset verification procedures.

️ Reconciliations, Controls and Compliance

• Perform monthly inventory reconciliations and reconcile inventory balances to the General Ledger.
• Investigate discrepancies and implement agreed corrective action.
• Follow documented inventory and fixed asset controls, prepare and retain supporting evidence to audit standard, and complete control self-assessment submissions as required by Group.
• Maintain insurable values for stock in warehouses, in transit and in the field, and support insurance claims.
• Support the ERP migration to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, including validation of stock master data, opening balances and fixed asset register conversion.
• Identify and recommend improvements to inventory, procurement and fixed asset processes and documentation.

Qualifications & Experience

• Diploma or Degree in Accounting, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Logistics or a related field.
• Three to five years relevant experience in inventory accounting, fixed asset accounting, procurement or operations finance.
• Strong ERP and inventory systems experience. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central experience is preferred.
• Sound understanding of inventory and fixed asset accounting principles, including costing, depreciation and provisioning for obsolete stock.
• Practical experience of international shipping, import and export documentation, customs clearing and landed cost.
• Experience in a multi-entity, multi-currency and cross-border environment.
• Experience in a listed-entity or audited control environment is advantageous.

Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work accurately with large volumes of transactional data.
• Control mindset, with a clear understanding of segregation of duties and the discipline to work within approval thresholds.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills, including the ability to work with Operations, Warehouse and Sales teams across territories.
• Audit and compliance awareness, with the discipline to retain evidence to audit standard.
• Attention to detail and process control focus.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities across time zones in a deadline-driven environment.

**Ready to drive accurate inventory accounting, procurement administration, stoc