Tax Manager - Kenya at The Coca-Cola Company

Key Purpose Statement 

The Tax Manager is entrusted with ensuring compliance with tax regulations and optimizing tax strategies within the organization

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Tax Compliance Management:

• Oversee and manage all aspects of tax compliance for the company, ensuring adherence to local tax laws and regulations.
• Ensure completeness and accuracy of tax filings and disclosures, including proper adherence to statutory requirements.
• Implement CCBA tax strategies in the country.
• Drive standardization of the company's tax-related processes.
• Conduct regular and monthly tax trend analyses to identify outliers and design and implement action plans for optimization.
• Oversee the process of and secure tax clearance as requested without delays for bank loans, and license renewal.
• Collaborate with tax office disposal team for expired product disposal.
• Ensure that itax records are up to date
• Review and approve quarterly instalment taxes

Stakeholder Relationship Management:

• Cultivate and manage relationships with key stakeholders, including tax authorities, external auditors, tax consultants, and the Group tax function, to resolve tax issues and queries efficiently.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the company and external parties on tax-related matters, representing the organization's interests professionally.
• Provide guidance and support to business leaders on tax-related queries.

Tax Audit Oversight:

• Lead, supervise and facilitate tax audits conducted by local tax authorities, ensuring compliance with tax regulations.
• Facilitate and support tax audits conducted by the compliance team and internal auditors and ensure compliance with audit requirements.
• Collaborate with external auditors and tax consultants during audit processes to address any findings or discrepancies effectively.
• Verify assessments issued against the tax return submitted and query variances.
• Monitor the filing of an objection and appeal where necessary for differences detected.
• Supervise and ensure the company responds to requests and correspondence from different tax authorities, including drafting and lodging (i) responses to inquiries; (ii) objections to assessments; (iii) applications for rulings and/or directives.

Tax Planning and Advisory:

• Provide strategic input and guidance on tax matters to the Group tax function, contributing to the development and implementation of tax planning strategies.
• Review and advise on the tax implications of key contracts and business transactions to optimize tax efficiency and mitigate risks.

Tax Reporting and Analysis:

• Manage the reporting process and adhere to timelines across the country and group to adhere to regulatory deadlines.
• Report monthly tax exposure to the group office as per the group calendar.
• Generate cash tax reports to the group as per the group calendar.
• Regularly prepare and report for the Kenyan entities on transfer pricing as per the tax directives.
• Facilitates group transfer pricing document preparations and reporting to the tax office as per the deadline.
• Oversee the preparation and analysis of tax provisions, estimates, and disclosures for financial reporting purposes, ensuring accuracy and compliance with accounting standards.
• Oversee annual business income tax and deferred tax computation and post-relevant entries.
• Ensure timely reconciliation of tax GL accounts in the system including external filings eg VAT with the Kenya Revenue Authority
• Performance global checks on excise tax, VAT to gain confidence on accuracy of amounts due to KRA
• Identification and implementation of value-adding or tax-saving opportunities.

Internal Controls and Compliance:

• Implement robust internal tax controls, ensure compliance with Group Tax Controls, mitigate tax risks and ensure compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Conducting health checks periodically, identifying areas for improvement, risk and implementing corrective actions as necessary.
• Ensure compliance with RACM requirements on taxation.

Tax Policy Adherence and Compliance:

• Stay updated on changes in tax laws and regulations, advising management on compliance requirements and potential impacts on the business.
• Ensure adherence to company policies, procedures, and relevant legislative requirements related to taxation.

Skills, Experience & Education

 Qualifications

• First Degree in Accounting or Accounting & Finance.
• Demonstrate expertise in Tax, IFRS.
• Expertise in the Kenya’s Tax law and regulations.
• Member of ICPAK

Experience

• Minimum of Eight (8) years of relevant experience in the tax function mainly from corporate organizations or from international audit firms in accounting systems, financial reporting, and tax controlling of which two (2) years in tax-related managerial roles..

General

Competencies

• Internal audit/tax control.
• Expertise in the country’s Tax law and regulations.
• Good understanding of Tax laws as applied to the Manufacturing sector.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Excellent planning, organization and time management skills.
• Analytical, attentive to details, results-focused.
• High level of integrity and trustworthiness.
• Governance and compliance.
• Compliance with company policies, procedures, and applicable legislation.
• Problem Solving and Analysis.
• The ability to seek and consider all possible and relevant information to conceptualize problems for problem-solving and decision-making with due regard to long- and short-term implications.
• Planning, Organizing, and Controlling.
• The ability to plan a task, job or project realistically, structure work and delegate tasks,
• appropriately allocating time and resources, setting objectives and measuring performance
• against standards.
• Policy Adherence.
• Finance Acumen.
• Business Acumen
• Understanding and utilizing economic, financial, and industry data to accurately diagnose
• business strengths and weaknesses, identifying key issues, and developing strategies and plans, in the best interest of the business and its internal and external stakeholders.
• Accountability
• Ability to hold self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely and cost-effective results and keeping commitments.
• Result and Execution Driven
• Pursues everything with energy, drive, and a need to finish; does not give up before finishing, even in the face of resistance or setbacks; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.