Operations Officer, Reconciliations at Standard Bank Group

Job Purpose

Provide operational support to the Head, Client Experience and Shared Services by taking responsibility of reconciling assigned accounts. Highlighting exceptions as detfined in the defined respective account structure to the relevant teams and escalating to Management those posing a risk through delayed action, significant financial risk, inadequate responses provided or otherwise.

The role is responsible for management of financial risk through second level control on Bank accounts ensuring completeness of entries passed and querying validity of transactions where necessary.

• To reconcile and follow up on outstanding items in suspense accounts.
• Generate exception reports and escalate long outstanding items in suspense accounts
• Undertake allocated reconciliations and ensure they are of requisite quality.
• Periodically confirm underlying client instructions relate to entries posted to the reconciled accounts for material amounts.

Key Responsibilities/Accountabilities

• Strategic Execution
  • Accounts to be in current status at all times.
  • Quality of documentation/information.
  • Adhere to the SLAs with various business units.
  • Reconciliations completed and followed up on within set turnaround times
  • Ensure Internal processes and procedures are adhered to at all times with gaps identified reported for remediation.
  • Error tracking - generate transaction defect log and propose remedial measures where practical.
  • Keep abreast of best practices (locally and internationally) and make appropriate recommendations within the reconciliation team.
  • Query and Complaints Management
  • Effectively manage client/stakeholder queries and complaints ensuring adherence to set service levels.
• Operational performance
  • Confirming ModelBankT24 (MBT24) ledger and General Ledger entries are updated in Intellimatch where applicable.
  • Daily reconciliation of Suspense, internal and other accounts.
  • Preparing and broadcasting list/reports of outstanding items of the accounts reconciled.
  • Query old, strange outstanding entries in accounts reconciled and escalate as per matrix
  • Balance confirmation for accounts and advising business and management of the same.
  • Custody of allocated account reconciliations and reports.
  • Initiate queries relating to outstanding items and follow-up to resolution.
  • Check and investigate entries that have defaulted into system suspense accounts.
  • Sensitize stakeholders on relevant account reconciliations processes and Intellimatch.
  • Participate in testing and validation for projects assigned
• Provide oversight of accounts allocated
  • Ensure unknown funds in suspense accounts are queried.
  • Update unit management on quality of reconciliation and issues meriting their attention.
  • Avail information required for internal and external audit as may be requested.
  • Ensure conformity to the set standards and procedures in the department and the bank as a whole
  • Optimise the risk profile in the business unit
  • Ensure compliance with approved limits and levels of authority.
  • Ensure Satisfactory audit ratings and closure of action plans within our span of control arising from risk assessments, operational risk reviews, internal and external audits and regulatory inspections to improve the control environment relating to assigned area.
• Compliance adherence
  • Ensure that financial standards are adhered to.
  • Ensure implementation and adoption within assigned portfolio of all Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions related requirements contained in policies, procedures and processes. This includes monitoring and identifying any material compliance related breaches and escalating them to line management and the Compliance Office.
• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Finance - review monthly reconciliation submissions and facilitate opening and closure of suspense accounts
  • Control teams – assist in resolution of long outstanding items in affected Suspense accounts
  • Information Technology – provision of reconciliation information and resolution of IT related queries
  • TPS – liaison between Reconciliations on product recon support Other units – provide support in the resolution of reconciliations done and or reported by Reconciliations unit

Preferred Qualification and Experience

• First Degree in Finance or Accounting
• 3-4 Years in Operations - processing
• Knowledge/Technical Skills/Expertise
• Operations - processing knowledge