Overview The role ensures the accuracy of monthly financials, monitors working capital and operational efficiencies, and maintains a robust control environment to drive financial transparency and informed decision-making in Ford Protect and FCSD South Africa (SAF) including Ford Protect Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) and Northern Africa (NAF). This role is critical for ensuring that financial reserves are accurately and fairly valued, identifying potential plan losses, and preparing comprehensive reports for management and fund administration that adhere to stringent financial controls and standards. The role also serves as the primary financial interface between PS&L, FCSD Operations, Purchasing, Payables and Regional GBS teams. This is a high impact, and hands-on role responsible for ensuring that the physical reality of our supply chain is accurately reflected in our financial results. Moving beyond simple reporting to identify operational root causes, strengthen internal controls, and optimize the end-to-end Procure-to-Pay (PTP) process. Investigate and resolve PTP bottlenecks, specifically focusing on fixing root causes of supplier payment delays and training local operations on correct Goods Receipt (GR) procedures. Provide high-integrity financial reporting and analytical support for the FCSD business unit. Consolidated responsibilities include performing walk-throughs of warehouse and operations processes to identify and close local control gaps, partnering with Operations to oversee complex inventory cycle counts and resolve discrepancies, and providing financial context for PS&L budget variances. Support local projects such as warehouse footprint changes or provider transitions; ensure compliance with duties, VAT, and parts movement documentation for the PS&L division; develop monthly forecasts for Revenue, Technical, and Fixed Marketing/Selling expenses; consolidate and present Business Operating Data (BOD) to leadership for the SSA and NAF regions; and calculate the Annual FCSD Transfer Price updates and conduct Loss Ratio analysis for the ESB SSA market. Additional responsibilities include performing ROI and benefit analysis for Variable Marketing (VM) programs to track investment effectiveness; executing monthly and quarterly account reconciliations for ESB SSA and NAF markets to ensure high-risk reserves are accurate; managing the end-to-end journal process (preparation and posting) for FCSD, SSA, NAF, and SAF entities; managing SAF-specific requirements including Guardrisk and Pinn Bordereaux, MXSI commission calculations, and PDI/AA/Seriti billings; performing detailed account investigations and subledger preparations to ensure month-end integrity; and analyzing FCSD cost and margins in collaboration with Material Cost and Pricing teams to explain variances. Other duties include executing MCRP (Modular Control Review Program) testing; maintaining and updating Desk Procedures, DRIM, and Basic Control Files; providing support for Internal Audits & PWC audits and ensuring KFS (CAT 1 & 2) compliance; identifying and implementing automation opportunities to eliminate manual waste across FCSD and PS&L; and acting as the critical business continuity backup for the FCSD Analyst and ESB SAF finance roles. Key focus areas include Financial Integrity & Reporting Accuracy; PS&L Operational Impact; Robust Internal Control Environment; Business Support & Continuity; and Innovation & Cost Transformation. Qualifications & experience Proven experience in month-end financial closing, including journal preparation, subledger management, and complex account reconciliations across multiple currencies or markets. The ability to communicate financial concepts to non-finance stakeholders, specifically within the Parts Supply & Logistics (PS&L) and Ford Protect teams. Strong digital skills: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Teams. The flexibility and cultural intelligence to manage financial operations across diverse markets, including SSA, NAF, and SAF. The ability to move between the office and the warehouse floor to solve ground-level process issues. Calm under pressure with strong problem-solving, attention to detail, and clear communication. The ability to influence non-finance stakeholders in PS&L, Purchasing, and Operations. A waste-elimination mindset with the ability to use (or learn) automation tools (e.g., Alteryx, Power Automate, or Power BI) to streamline manual financial processes. Proficient English (spoken and written). A bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Internal Audit, or a related field. A professional qualification such as CIMA, CA, or ACCA is highly advantageous. A minimum of 3-5 years of financial analysis, management accounting, or internal audit within a large-scale corporate environment, preferably within the automotive industry. Experience using, or strong desire to learn, data automation tools such as Python, Power BI, or Power Automate to drive efficiency. Valid driver’s license. #J-18808-Ljbffr