Finance Specialist - Credit Control at Seven Up Bottling Company

Role Summary

• The Finance Specialist – Credit Control is responsible for managing the company’s customer credit and accounts receivable portfolio to optimize cash flow, minimize credit risk, and ensure timely collection of outstanding receivables.
• The role will oversee customer credit assessment, credit limit management, collections, account reconciliation, dispute resolution, and receivables reporting, while partnering closely with Sales, Logistics, Customer Service, and other stakeholders to maintain healthy working capital and minimize bad debt exposure.

Key Responsibilities
Credit Risk & Customer Account Management:

• Evaluate new and existing customers’ creditworthiness and recommend appropriate credit limits, payment terms, and risk classifications.
• Review customer payment history, outstanding exposure, financial information, and trading patterns to identify potential credit risks.
• Monitor customer credit utilization against approved limits and recommend adjustments based on risk and payment performance.
• Recommend appropriate actions for high-risk, delinquent, or non-compliant accounts, including credit holds, revised terms, escalation, or legal recovery.
• Ensure compliance with approved credit policies, procedures, and delegated approval limits.

Receivables & Collections Management:

• Monitor customer accounts and AR aging reports to drive timely collection of outstanding receivables.
• Develop and execute collection plans for overdue accounts, prioritizing high-value and high-risk exposures.
• Engage distributors, customers, and relevant internal stakeholders to resolve outstanding balances and accelerate cash collection.
• Track collection commitments and ensure timely follow-up until outstanding balances are resolved.
• Monitor Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), overdue receivables, collection efficiency, and other working capital indicators.

Customer Account Reconciliation & Cash Application:

• Perform daily and monthly reconciliation of customer accounts, ensuring accuracy and completeness of receivable balances.
• Review and resolve unapplied cash, short payments, deductions, credit notes, claims, and billing discrepancies.
• Ensure customer payments are accurately and promptly allocated to the relevant invoices/accounts.
• Investigate unusual movements, aged balances, and discrepancies and coordinate resolution with relevant stakeholders.

Dispute & Deduction Management:

• Partner with Sales, Logistics, Customer Service, and other functions to resolve customer disputes relating to pricing, promotions, deliveries, returns, shortages, damages, and invoicing.
• Track disputed invoices and deductions through to resolution to prevent valid receivables from becoming overdue.
• Identify recurring causes of customer disputes and recommend process improvements to reduce future occurrences.

Reporting & Financial Analysis:

• Prepare and analyze weekly and monthly AR aging, collections, overdue receivables, and cash collection forecasts.
• Provide insights into customer payment trends, credit exposure, collection performance, and potential bad debt risks.
• Track key credit-control and working capital KPIs, including DSO, overdue percentage, collection rate, credit utilization, and bad debt exposure.
• Provide regular reports and recommendations to Finance management to support decision-making and improve working capital performance.
• Support the preparation and review of bad debt provisions and doubtful receivables where applicable.

Process & Internal Control:

• Ensure accurate and timely maintenance of customer master data, credit limits, payment terms, and account records within the ERP system.
• Identify control gaps and recommend improvements to credit and receivables processes.
• Ensure adherence to finance policies, internal controls, audit requirements, and relevant accounting principles.
• Support internal and external audit activities relating to accounts receivable and credit control.

Cross-functional Collaboration:

• Work closely with Sales, Logistics, Customer Service, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to resolve issues affecting collections and customer account balances.
• Provide Finance and commercial stakeholders with visibility into customer credit exposure and collection risks.
• Support commercial decisions by providing relevant insights on customer creditworthiness, payment behavior, and outstanding exposure.

Key Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field.
• 2 - 5 years of relevant experience in Credit Control, Accounts Receivable, Order-to-Cash, or Receivables Management, preferably within FMCG, manufacturing, distribution, or a high-volume commercial environment.
• Strong understanding of credit management, accounts receivable, collections, reconciliation, and working capital management.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including PivotTables, lookups, data analysis, and financial reporting.
• Hands-on experience with ERP systems, preferably SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar platforms.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret customer account and financial data.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple customer accounts, prioritize high-risk exposures, and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Good understanding of accounting principles, internal controls, and financial reporting.
• Professional accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, or equivalent is an added advantage.