Accounts Payable Accountant for Rent and Utilities at The Foschini Group
The Foschini Group
Overview
The Foschini Group is looking for an Accounts Payable Accountant to manage rent and utilities payments across all divisions. You will oversee a small team, handle reconciliations, monitor municipal rates, and ensure accurate financial processing in SAP. This full time role is ideal for a finance professional with leadership experience who enjoys complex reconciliation work and wants to grow within a major retail group.
About the role
As the Accounts Payable Accountant for Rent and Utilities, you will be responsible for ensuring timely and accurate monthly payments for all rental contracts across TFG's divisions and entities. You will monitor municipal rates, investigate irregular billings, and ensure that rates are correctly updated in SAP. Your role will involve extracting and reviewing monthly interfaces from SAPRE and SAP FI, performing duplicate and tolerance checks, and coordinating new vendor setups in line with regulatory requirements.
You will lead a small team of 5 to 10 people, conducting performance reviews, providing continuous feedback, and monitoring daily performance to maintain high quality outputs. You will also support month end journals, resolve queries and escalations promptly, and document all balance sheet reconciliations for audit purposes. Working closely with the Systems team, you will ensure vendor master data is accurate and that landlords receive remittance advices. This position also involves assisting with system change approvals, testing new acquisitions and projects, and effectively communicating policies and changes to your team and stakeholders.
Please note: Preference will be given, but not limited to candidates from designated groups in terms of the Employment Equity Act.
Requirements
- Advanced Diploma or equivalent certification in Finance or Accounting
- 5 or more years of relevant working experience in a finance or accounts payable role
- 3 to 5 years of experience leading a small team of 5 to 10 people in a transactional environment is preferable
- Proficiency in MS Excel and financial systems (SAP experience is beneficial)
- Strong skills in reconciliation and analysis, debt management, accounting and reporting, auditing, cash management, and financial risk management
- Excellent project management skills
- Strong business communication skills with an ability to work well in a collaborative environment with senior executives
- Ability to draft commentary and analyse information to establish key messages, presenting information both visually and in writing
- Strong attention to detail, planning, and time management
- Demonstrates business insight, accountability, financial acumen, decision quality, and strategic mindset
- Ability to interpret and simplify complex information when resolving organisational problems
Responsibilities
- Ensure accurate and timeous monthly payments for all rental contracts across all divisions and entities
- Monitor and assess all municipal rates and ensure rates are accurately updated in SAP
- Investigate irregular rates billings by defining clear guidelines and timelines to resolve investigations
- Extract monthly interfaces of SAPRE and SAP FI for relevant contracts to ensure payment accuracy, including RERAPP Vendor, profit centre checks, and payment reference checks
- Review vendor debit and credit balances for validity and accuracy and drive resolution of root causes
- Perform duplicate and tolerance checks to eliminate the risk of overpayments to vendors
- Submit weekly utility and monthly rental payment proposals for processing and approval
- Ensure USD based contracts are correctly updated in SAP and the correct exchange rates are applied
- Coordinate new vendor setup and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements such as tax documentation and banking information
- Promptly and precisely collect any excess rental payments from landlords
- Document and record all utility and rental Balance Sheet reconciliations for audit purposes
- Monitor and report on landlord payments on a monthly basis
- Support the Systems team to ensure all Vendor Master data is correctly updated and landlords receive all remittance advices
- Evaluate audit findings and implement suitable measures, making sure corrective and preventive steps are carried out
- Resolve all queries and complaints promptly and efficiently, providing world class customer service
- Serve as the first point of contact for all escalations and prioritise their resolution to ensure no adverse impact on business operations
- Support the Accounts Payable Accountant (Rent and Utilities) to ensure relevant service level agreements are adhered to and support the reconciliation process
- Timeously deal with workflow approvals for all adjustments processed in SAP relating to manual invoices, rates updates captured, and adjustments to lease contracts
- Make sure that month end journals are completed
- Ensure that system changes within the Finance Rules Engine are approved timeously to enable efficient, automated processing of invoices via OCR
- Monitor the team's daily performance and measure the quality of the team's outputs
- Conduct regular performance reviews and provide constructive feedback
- Ensure continuous performance feedback to and development of direct reports
- Effectively manage performance within the team to ensure business objectives are achieved
- Assist with testing and project implementation of acquisition and other pertinent projects impacting the team
- Communicate policies, procedures, and changes effectively to team members and stakeholders
- Support the Accounts Payable Manager (Rent and Utilities) and ensure alignment with strategic objectives linked to the broader Finance Shared Services goals
- Ensure adherence to company policies, procedures, and guidelines for accounts payable activities
- Handle any ad hoc tasks and projects as required
Job details
- Organisation
- The Foschini Group
- Job type
- Full time
- Experience level
- Mid (5+ years)
- Education
- Advanced diploma
- Category
- Accounting & Finance
- Application Method
- Apply online
Success Guide
When applying for this Accounts Payable Accountant role at The Foschini Group, highlight your experience with high volume reconciliations and your ability to lead a small team. Be ready to discuss specific examples of how you have resolved payment issues or improved financial processes. Since TFG is a large retail group, showing that you understand the complexities of rent and utility payments across multiple divisions will set you apart. Make sure your CV clearly shows your advanced diploma in finance or accounting and your proficiency with financial systems like SAP. In the interview, focus on your attention to detail and how you manage deadlines, as these are key for this role.
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