NEA Controller – Finance

NEA Controller – Finance

Reports To: Senior Director – Finance (NEA & Iraq)

Business Unit: ACCBC – North East Africa (NEA)

Function: Finance (Controllership & Governance)

Grade: TBC

Location: NEA (Primary)

Purpose of the Job

The NEA Controller is the senior controllership authority for ACCBC’s North East Africa (NEA) markets, accountable for financial integrity, statutory compliance, internal control effectiveness, and balance sheet discipline across the NEA cluster.

Reporting to the Senior Director – Finance (NEA & Iraq), the role operates as the first line of financial assurance for NEA, ensuring that financial results are accurate, risks are surfaced early, controls are effective, and enterprise accounting standards are applied consistently—while enabling timely decision-making and operational execution.

This role ensures that actuals, statutory numbers, and balance sheet positions are reliable, defensible, and audit-ready.

Operating Context

The NEA cluster operates within a demanding finance and governance environment:

• Multi-country footprint with diverse statutory, tax, and regulatory regimes
• Manufacturing, commercial, and distribution operations with high working-capital intensity
• ERP-enabled finance processes requiring strong configuration and control discipline
• Significant exposure to provisions, estimates, intercompany balances, and inventory valuation
• Increasing scrutiny from auditors, regulators, and enterprise finance leadership

Success in this role requires hands-on controllership leadership, strong technical judgment, and calm execution discipline, with zero tolerance for control breaches or undocumented exposures.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

1. Financial Controllership & Accounting Governance

• Own NEA accounting integrity in line with IFRS, Group Accounting Policies, and local GAAP.
• Ensure consistent application of accounting standards across all NEA legal entities.
• Review and approve complex accounting judgments, estimates, and provisions.
• Maintain accounting manuals, close checklists, and documentation standards for NEA.

2. Statutory Reporting, Close & Audit Management

• Own monthly, quarterly, and annual close for all NEA entities.
• Ensure timely, accurate statutory financial statements and management actuals.
• Act as the primary NEA interface for external auditors and regulators.
• Deliver unqualified audit outcomes and ensure timely closure of audit findings.

3. Balance Sheet Integrity & Risk Discipline

• Own balance sheet governance, reconciliations, and substantiation discipline.
• Oversee intercompany balances, accruals, provisions, impairments, and write-offs.
• Identify balance sheet and accounting risks early and escalate with mitigation plans.
• Partner with FP&A and Treasury to ensure working capital accuracy and visibility.

4. Internal Controls & Compliance

• Implement and enforce internal control frameworks across NEA finance processes.
• Ensure adherence to Delegation of Authority (DoA), approval matrices, and financial policies.
• Partner with Internal Audit on risk assessments and remediation actions.
• Maintain audit-ready operations with strong documentation discipline.

5. Performance Enablement & Finance Partnership

• Support NEA finance leadership with clean, reliable financial actuals.
• Enable fact-based performance reviews through disciplined variance analysis.
• Provide controllership input into pricing, cost, and commercial decisions.
• Ensure forecasts and plans are grounded in credible actuals.

6. ERP, Systems & Process Standardization

• Own finance control requirements within ERP processes (R2R, O2C, P2P).
• Ensure system configurations support strong controls and reporting accuracy.
• Standardize close processes, templates, and reconciliation frameworks across NEA.
• Reduce manual workarounds and eliminate control weaknesses.

7. Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead and develop NEA controllership and accounting teams.
• Build technical depth, succession pipelines, and a strong control mindset.
• Set expectations for precision, accountability, and ethical conduct.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• On-time and accurate month-end and year-end close
• Unqualified statutory audit outcomes
• Reduction in repeat audit and control findings
• Balance sheet reconciliation completeness and quality
• Accuracy of provisions, accruals, and intercompany balances
• ERP control effectiveness and reduction in manual adjustments
• Finance team capability and succession readiness

Experience, Knowledge & Qualifications

Experience

• 10–14+ years total finance experience, with strong controllership focus
• 5+ years in senior controllership or finance leadership roles
• Experience in multi-entity, multi-country environments
• FMCG, manufacturing, or complex trading background preferred
• Strong exposure to audit-intensive and ERP-enabled finance environments

Knowledge

• Deep expertise in IFRS, statutory reporting, and audit management
• Strong balance sheet, control, and risk awareness
• Understanding of working capital and intercompany governance
• Familiarity with tax coordination and regulatory reporting

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related discipline (mandatory)
• Professional qualification required: CPA, ACCA, CA, CMA, or equivalent

Direct Reports

• NEA Accounting / Controllership Team
• Finance Managers / Senior Accountants (as applicable)