Financial Director

Remuneration:	market-related
Location:	Durban
Job level:	Senior
Type:	Permanent
Reference:	#FinanceDirectorHLDBN
Company:	TBWA South Africa

Job title: Finance director

Responsibility /accountability:
Strategic responsibilities

• Strong partnership with the MD and board to ensure the delivery of business objectives.
• Be a key player and work with executive and senior management team in:
• Setting the best corporate strategic direction aligned to the vision and business plan.
• Making regular decisions on key strategic issues facing the company.
• Periodically reviewing the companies' overall strategy to ensure that the organisation anticipates and responds to changing business conditions.
• Defining core business processes that ensure achievement of the company's objectives
• Ensuring finance strategic objectives are set and implemented throughout the organisation according to a planned timetable.
• Attendance of and active participation in Board Meetings

Client relationship management and operations

• The key point of contact with the agency’s most significant client, managing all major relationships at National and Regional levels.
• Supporting national and regional portfolio leads with strategic plans for client growth and profitability.
• Prepare and present the monthly Revenue tracker for the National Executive.
• Support MD with annual scope negotiations and rate adjustments.

Financial performance

• Monitoring (organic and new business) revenue growth targets established in relation to agency clients and bringing to exco any potential issue; ensuring appropriate action is taken.
• Run monthly client profitability meetings ensuring profitability initiatives are followed through, client meeting set to recover over-serving and other initiatives taken in a timely manner.
• Work with the MD and client service to ensure unconfirmed revenue opportunities are reported, chased and converted in line with forecast.Commercial pro-activeness, i.e. continuously steer in conjunction with Account Management leads and EXCO and drive cost saving initiatives, potential red flags and streamlining initiatives.
• Prepare the Agency standard rate card and individual client rate cards.
• Ongoing Working Capital Management in order to achieve maximum financial benefits and efficiencies.
• Ongoing input and collaboration with heads of departments regarding salaries growth opportunities, B-BBEE targets and other cost saving initiatives.
• Negotiating and managing retainer client scope (hours and hourly rates) against actual hours worked, as well as agreed commissions/margins.

Budgeting and forecasting

• Preparation and presentation of budgets, monthly and quarterly forecasts in accordance with Omnicom reporting standards and timesheets (overseeing Financial Manager).
• Ongoing review and reforecast of revenue in line with knowledge of contracts and input of MD and Account Management seniors.
• Detailed review of salaries incorporating changes from exco team and managing compensation ratio.
• Ongoing monitoring of budgets and forecast and actioning of plans to bring back, if under.
• Promptly inform the executive committee and Group CFO any issues that will affect (good or bad) the agency’s preforming to budget/forecast. Together with a plan of action if required.
• Establishment of annual capital expenditure budgets (including the ongoing monitoring thereof).
• Review and analysis of the accounting and operating quality of the action, budgeted and forecasted results.

Reporting and finance management

• Review of financial reports in accordance with Omnicom reporting standards and timetables.
• Review and presentation of management accounts and management information to respective executive committees.
• Maintaining the integrity of the time reporting system and managing team efficiencies.
• Global Clients – adhoc reporting to TBWA Network.
• Commercial analysis and presenting of client profitability reporting to BUD’s and executive committees in line with KPI’s.
• Review and sign off of the AFS after annual Statutory Audit.
• B-BBEE reporting, guidance and direction to the agencies.
• Manage the compliance with SARS, including review of provisional tax and VAT as needed.
• Sign off of purchase orders and expenses as per the required policy, keeping expenses in line with budget and creating efficiencies where possible.
• Approve, review and ensure accuracy and completeness of bank releases, journals and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Designs, implements and maintains Internal Controls in line with Sarbanes Oxley and Omnicom requirements for finance. Overall oversight of all financial controls being set up in a sound fashion so as to protect the agency from both business risks and audit risks.

Contract management

• Participate in negotiation of new client contracts with in- house counsel. Responsible for signing off the financial aspects of any contracts including risk exposure.
• Retainer and Project fee calculation for new and existing clients.
• Ongoing clients review to assess compliance with legal and financial provisions of the client contract and to ensure that maximum agreed profitability levels are achieved.
• Ongoing monitoring of compliance with new and existing client contracts, specifically:
• Scope of work
• Manpower resource required
• Remuneration structures
• Manage the finance and compliance requirements during RFI/RFP process.
• Negotiation of renewal of existing supplier contracts.
• Negotiation of new employee contracts in line with approved budgets.

Role requirements

Knowledge and experience

• Credible member of agency Exco.
• Established strong relationship with agency and global client procurement, legal and where appropriate agency client contacts.
• Pro-active engagement with the MD in relation to new business opportunities, restores and other commercial activity.
• Able to exert commercial influence within the agency.
• Issue of meaningful monthly client, department and revenue stream profitability reports and KPI reports.
• First time accuracy to all inputs and reporting.
• Delivery of timely, accurate and effective management accounts, Omnicom Reporting Requirements and KPIs every month.
• Meeting cash collection targets and issue of regular cash collection reports to management ‘
• Balance sheet tightly managed with any issues cleared promptly.
• Pro-active engagement with the MD in relation to new business opportunities, restructure and other commercial activity.

Educational requirements

• CA (SA) with at least five years post articles
• 3-5 Years’ Experience in Advertising is a must

Required/ Proven skills

Creativity

To ensure innovation and creativity in our day-to-day responsibilities. Continuously improving processes, practices and finding new ways to serve our clients interests.

Courage

To ensure that all your work is at your best efforts, to be able to present this to colleagues and clients with the utmost confidence. 

Respect

To always display the utmost respect towards colleagues, clients and for the work procedures at TBWA/Group.

Passion

We are ambitious for our clients, their brands, our company, our colleagues and ourselves

We constantly chase new heights and yearn to achieve new things, all without politics and selfish behavior.

Financial consciousness

To ensure that our clients get the best value for their money, to always know the budget available per project and get this approved by the client before we go ahead with any work on behalf of the client.

Fulfilment

Getting things done in best and most efficient ways.

Integrity

To ensure that our clients can trust us with the mound-breaking actions we want to take on their behalf, our interest has deal with their issues rather than our own.

Collaboration

We are individuals that achieve the most when we work together – across all disciplines, across departments, across geographies. We are always contributing to the collective, together towards a common goal and never in pursuit of self.

Posted on 28 Jan 15:17, Closing date 26 Feb