Job Summary

Quality Assurance (QA) represents the Second Line of Defence and provides independent assurance on Balance Sheet Substantiation submitted by the First Line Account Owners.

QA will review and challenge the quality of substantiations/reconciliations and aims to perform oversight through their reviews, to ensure satisfying the assertions of existence, completeness, accuracy, cut off, valuation and presentation of the balances established.

Assurance Testing & Sprint/Thematic Reviews

Perform Balance Sheet Assurance Reviews in alignment with the Framework to ensure compliance with relevant policies and financial controls
Identify key risks and control weaknesses, escalating issues and collaborate with CFO / Financial Controller / Head Finance / Business Head / Account Owner to agree on actionable mitigation plans / recommendations for resolution
Conduct Agile/Thematic Assurance Reviews to assess specific financial risk areas and evaluate process, control design and operational effectiveness

Risk Mitigation

Clearly assess risks and their potential impact, ensuring they are effectively communicated with account owners and promptly addressed
Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop mitigation plans and action steps to resolve identified issues

Risk Reporting & Escalation

Provide risk review outcome/ MIS to Risk forums (FORTM, FRC etc).
Ensure timely escalation of issues and follow up on agreed remedial actions to minimize financial and operational risks
Interact with Senior stakeholders in Finance on significant observations

Key Responsibilities

Process Improvement & Automation

Promote a culture of continuous improvement and Identify opportunities for process enhancements, implementing best practices within the unit
Work with the Process Improvement & Automation Team to develop and implement automation solutions for repetitive tasks and control monitoring

Audit & Compliance Support

Support internal audit processes, ensuring compliance with financial control policies and regulatory requirements.
Assist in preparing audit deliverables, responding to audit queries, and implementing corrective actions based on audit findings.
Ensure that Financial Control Policies of the Bank are well understood and adhered while performing the reviews

Stakeholder & Service Management

Monitor the quality of service, ensuring they meet agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with internal stakeholders
Collaborate with stakeholders across Finance, Risk, and Compliance to strengthen financial governance and risk management.
Manage and support the team/peers, ensuring they have the necessary guidance to execute financial control policies effectively

Strategy

Strong knowledge of accounting terminology and concepts and ability to apply the rules of accounting and double entry book-keeping in evaluating the Trial Balance

Business

Demonstrates reasonable understanding of Financial Controls / Policy to be able to highlight issues involving Financial / Operational Risk
Ability to articulate risk commentaries and effective communication

Processes

Highlights probable process improvement areas and any activities which may have a scope for enhanced review procedures
Demonstrates proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and any ACL / CAAT tool will be an added advantage
Relate the tools with day-to-day task performed to recommend ways to minimize unwanted step and optimize business operations

People & Talent

Builds strong relationship with internal customers, understands the best practices across geographies

Risk Management

Does not accept status quo and finds better ways of doing things within the framework principles and policy guidelines

Governance

Perform and deliver the activities under the Global Assurance Function for the region / countries assigned in GFS Global Assurance Unit

Regulatory & Business Conduct

Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group's Values and Code of Conduct.
Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct.
Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.

Key stakeholders

All the CFOs and in country finance teams
PSC for future migrations to GFS
Project teams & FMT working on global projects
Finance all other business units

Other Responsibilities

Embed Here for good and Group's brand and values in FRG QA team; Perform other responsibilities assigned under Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures; Multiple functions (double hats)

Skills And Experience

Strong knowledge of accounting terminology and concepts and ability to apply the rules of accounting and double entry book-keeping in evaluating the Trial Balance
Demonstrates reasonable understanding of Financial Controls / Policy to be able to highlight issues involving Financial / Operational Risk
In-depth understanding of risk management and associated control requirements
Ability to articulate risk commentaries and effective communication
Confident and courageous to raise and escalate ideas or concerns in a professional and timely manner
Highlights probable process improvement areas and any activities which may have a scope for enhanced review procedures
Builds strong relationship with internal customers, understands the best practices across geographies
Does not accept status quo and finds better ways of doing things
Demonstrates proficiency in MS Excel and PowerPoint, Relates the tools with day-to-day task performed to recommend ways to minimize unwanted step and optimize business operations

Qualifications

Qualified Chartered Account with a minimum of 2 - 4 years of post-qualification experience in Finance, Audit, or similar area and University degree – Masters / MBA preferable in Finance or Accounting. People having work experience in banking/multinational companies / Big 4s are preferred

Added Advantage

Ability to self-review, identify issues and investigate / escalate appropriately
Effective collaborative skills that contribute to positive working relationships with Finance/Business in country
High level of computer literacy and understanding of business computing environment

About Standard Chartered

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, to be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together We

Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

What We Offer

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.

Associate Manager, FRG Quality Assurance