Finance Manager

About the Role

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.

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.

Duties & Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.