Develop a strong understanding of the Lewis Group’s business units.­Oversight of Procurement. ­Oversight of Branch Accounts.­Oversight of the Creditors department.­Authorisation and maintenance of Group payment processes.­Management of the Group’s Cash in Transit function.­Management of the transactional banking relations with various banks.­Review and maintenance of the Group Fixed Asset Register.­Assume overall responsibility for the Group’s payroll function.­Maintenance and monitoring of the returns master list including submissions. ­Support the accounting function particularly at half-year and year-end.­Support the CFO and GM(s) Finance with the day to day functioning of the finance department.­Ad hoc assistance and projects as requested by the CFO.

Responsible for the financial management of the Regional Product Division for SSA (Sub Sahara Africa), previously covering EEMEA as well (+- £7m). This included opex & capex management, cashflow forecasting, cost recharging into SSA end markets, annual budget preparation, quarterly forecasting, business partnering with the department heads and end markets within SSA. Contributed as a member of the Regional Product Leadership Team to the development and realisation of their business strategies and plans. Ensured that a robust control environment exist. The role required a lot of engagement with department heads, end markets, regional & global stakeholders, most of them at senior management levels. Were required to make proposals when faced with budgetary constraints but also needed to come with proposals in cases where overhead cuts were required to alleviate business pressures. Provided commercial inputs and financial support to strategic projects (incl. business case preparation). Key achievements include:• Developed & implemented a recharging model for our division for the EEMEA (Eastern Europe Middle East Africa) Region.• Year on year ensured that our actual spend aligned to our latest forecast.

Supervised and conducted independent risk based operational audits to help ensure that the systems and procedures support the achievement of business goals and objectives. Prepared written reports for the relevant audit committees and senior management that clearly and accurately explain the findings and action plans for improvement. Provided formal training for the operating companies' management and staff to raise the awareness of risk and control. Conducted audits in locations such as Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, Poland.Key achievements included:• Identified a few key control weaknesses during the EHS (Environmental Health & Safety) audit for the Kenya end market, covering both the Commercial & Operations entities. Robust corrective actions were proposed to the leadership team & subsequently agreed upon (accepted) by them that significantly reduced and / or eliminated the identified EHS risk areas.

• Responsible for the financial management of the Heidelberg factory including the management of manufacturing costs for SAA (Southern Africa Area). This included opex & capex management (+- £60m), cashflow forecasting, cost recharging to end markets, annual budget preparation, quarterly forecasting, business partnering with the department heads and finance departments within SAA, annualized fixed asset count, accrual & provision management, participated in monthly stock taking processes. Were required to make proposals when faced with budgetary constraints but also needed to come with proposals in cases where overhead cuts were required to alleviate business pressures. Provided commercial inputs and financial support to strategic projects (incl. business case preparation). Contributed, together with department heads, with the identification of productivity savings initiatives. I also acted as delegated authority for the Southern Africa Area Operations Finance Controller when requested, which included also attending the Finance Leadership Team monthly meetings.. Key achievements included:• The roll out & implementation of the SAP Product Costing & Material Ledger modules within the EEMEA Region as a project lead.• As DoA (Delegated Authority) for the Operations Finance Controller of SAA (when he was out of office), I was tasked to attend leadership team meetings & had the decision-making power for any financial related matters that could arise.

Responsible for performing the Materials Ledger closing processes in SAP for the Heidelberg factory and provide support to the other factories in the Southern Africa Area (Mozambique, Zimbabwe). Extracted and analysed monthly reports on leaf, wrapping materials and manufacturing cost from SAP for factories in Southern Africa Area Operations. Prepared the monthly report for the monthly Factory Performance Review meetings. Prepared the quarterly leaf & wrapping materials cash flow forecasts. Needed to ensure that standard cost calculations are executed & released as & when required. Participated in the planning & implementation of BAT Southern Africa Area’s projects in leaf, wrapping materials, manufacturing costs and Indirects savings. Performed monthly review of the balance sheet and profit & loss items Operations finance was responsible for and highlighting key trends for leaf, wrapping materials and repairs and renewal spares. Worked closely with the Area Finance Manager to align milestone definitions, reporting, benefits tracking ,10 Year Strategic Planning, annual and quarterly budget reviews etc . Performed HFM reporting. Was responsible for the full management of Toll Manufacturing in Southern Africa Area.

Participated in networking within the Southern Africa Area Operations environment and Marketing Finance to optimise synergies, prevent duplication and overlaps and position the role of Operations Finance as a business and strategic partner specifically in the Supply Chain environment. Participated in ad hoc projects that related to optimisation of Product Cost. Managed the preparation of the annual Southern Africa Area Operations budget. Played a leading role in assisting the Operations Finance Manager: Southern Africa Area to identify opportunities to reduce costs and optimise assets. Provided a strong commercial and financial support service to the Supply Chain team with routine information (monthly & quarterly financial reporting), analysis and advice on ongoing performance against plans and competitors to enhance decision making. To (together with the Southern Africa Area Operations Finance Manager) established clear goals and objectives for Operations Finance within the AME region and to develop staff to meet these goals. Represented Finance on Southern Africa Area Operations projects to ensure projects are scoped, managed and delivered within the objectives of the Southern Africa Area Finance and Southern Africa Area Operations. Ensured that sound financial governance practices are in place for the duration of these projects and that the scope of these projects includes a finance stream to deliver project outcomes that are aligned with BAT and international accounting standards.

Ensured that all vendor accounts are reconciled & followed up on a monthly basis. Ensured that all vendor payments were done in accordance with vendor payment terms. Ensured that vendor master data were cleaned up on a yearly basis. Ensured that all reporting deadlines, locally & internationally, were adhered to. Ensured that the necessary controls are in place to ensure that duplicate payments are prevented. Ensured that, on a daily basis, the previous days processing is reviewed against source documents to ensure correctness of processing & thus correct payment. Ensured that the department receive a clean audit report (unqualified) when audited. Ensured that all aspects regarding year-end are executed correctly & timeously to ensure a smooth year-end.

Ensured that majority of payments are made electronically. Reviewed creditors master data to correct and improve the records. Ensured timeous payments. Ensured correct and timeous processing of invoices. Prepared weekly cashflow budget. Followed up monthly reconciliations for correctness and identifying any possible problem areas. Ensured that only valid and authorised documentation are processed. Checked daybooks to ensure correctness of processing, correction of errors and timeous payments.

Performed audits relating to fixed assets, credit control, treasury, forex (foreign exchange rates and foreign creditors), exports & duty free sales, tobacco and worked through IT Audit reports, compiled by PWC.

Performed reconciliations of general ledger accounts. Followed up on operating costs and budget queries. Balanced intercompany loan accounts. Processed journals. Performed the cashbook function. Were involved in the month-end closing off of tobacco accounts (General Ledger). Reconciled of debtor accounts.