Ernes Smit Ca(Sa) Email & Phone Number

Welwyn Garden City, GB

Hemel Hempstead, England, United Kingdom

• Lead European financial operations across 11 countries, with six regional teams to achieve timely and accurate financial reporting for US GAAP and SEC filing purposes.
• Design strong financial controls aligned with SOX and local frameworks, and ensure compliance.
• Maintain compliance with local GAAP (IFRS), tax, and regulatory requirements for each country.
• Engage with internal and external auditors globally to efficiently manage audit engagements.
• Collaborate with regional management, providing finance input to manage costs and strengthen decision making.
• Own finance transformation projects in digitisation and risk management realms, serving on project committees to shorten close cycle, strengthen controls and automate processes.

City Of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

• Appointed as second-in-command to the CEO of largest boutique collective investment scheme management company in Africa, administrating more than £10 billion in assets and 300 funds.
• Drove cluster strategy including investigating disruptive technologies (including AI, blockchain and robotics) and new markets.

Pretoria Area, South Africa

• Headed financial function of 8 entities with £10 million revenue, £864 million in assets under advice, 234 financial advisors, 130 employees, and a 10-person finance team.
• Developed and executed the Financial Services Cluster strategy with the Executive Committee, aligning business models and consolidating entities under a unified brand.
• Orchestrated financial modelling, feasibility calculations, due diligence, and integration for acquisitions, mergers, and strategic partnerships.
• Co-operated with private equity partners to understand complex business nature and perform financial forecasts for valuation purposes and investment decision making.
• Spearheaded development of a proprietary platform for advisors and clients, making use of machine learning, robotics, and digitisation to drive efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Pretoria Area, South Africa

• Led 14 member finance department of group with 16 subsidiaries and £36.5 million annual turnover.
• Consolidated and presented group management accounts, IFRS compliant financial statements for stock exchange filings, budgets and forecasts, and coordinated internal and external audits.
• Performed complex corporate finance transaction calculations, including statutory impairment testing and asset valuations, and ensured technical accounting compliance.
• Supervised payroll department and treasury for efficient cash flow planning and management.

Johannesburg Area, South Africa

• Controlled financial department of joint venture for £128 million construction project, overseeing IT, logistics, procurement, and accommodation teams.
• Prepared IFRS compliant financial reports and compliant tax returns, and led budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow management processes.

Sandton, Johannesburg

• Identified and assessed operational, compliance and financial risks in group entities and recommended and implemented improved risk mitigating controls.
• Developed audit plans supervised teams to ensure regulatory and policy compliance.

Pretoria, South Africa

• Facilitated and supervised various external audit engagements as auditor-in-charge with entities in the manufacturing, mining, financial services, and public sectors
• Engaged with management of various large clients at board level

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

• Seconded to KPMG Anchorage as an auditor-in-charge during busy season and gained experience in US GAAP, Sarbanes-Oxley Act assurance projects and US tax treatment

Hatfield, Pretoria

• Completed a three-year training programme to qualify as a Chartered Accountant scoring an exceptional performance rating (5/5) in the final semester

Bachelor Of Commerce Honours (B.Com.Hons), Accounting And Finance

BCom Accounting and BCom (Hons) Accounting are strenuous and complex programs offered by the University to prepare prospective Chartered.

Bachelor Of Commerce (B.Com.), Accounting And Finance

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), Languages And Literature, Cum Laude

Postgraduate Diploma, Financial Planning, Cum Laude

This qualification enables the student to obtain the highest academic and professional level of competency, to be recognised as such, and.

Master Of Business Administration - Mba (Ongoing), Business Administration, Management And Operations