Finance Manager

Goodwall SA; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 500,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative EdTech company in Cape Town is seeking a Finance Manager to oversee daily finance operations, ensuring accurate financial reporting and compliance. This hands-on role requires 5–8 years of experience in finance or accounting, ideally in a tech setup. Strong skills in Excel and operational accounting are essential. The company fosters a proactive environment that encourages process improvement.

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years in process-oriented roles at high-growth startups.
• Experience in finance, audit, or accounting, preferably in tech.
• Proven expertise in operational accounting (A/R, A/P, GL reconciliation).

Responsibilities

• Manage monthly, quarterly, and yearly financial closing processes.
• Oversee general ledger entries and balance sheet accounts.
• Manage full invoicing cycle and track client payments.

Skills

Attention to detail

Advanced proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets

Proactive problem solving

Operational accounting expertise

Tools

Xero

Job description

Goodwall (https://www.goodwall.io) is a TIME100 award-winning social education app, engaging over 3 million youth with skills for AI and Climate.

We partner with Fortune 500 companies, governments, and the United Nations including Microsoft, Accenture, HP, PwC, Nestle, Circle, and the United Nations to build engaging experiential learning campaigns for the next generation. Our platform helps young people globally gain the confidence, skills, and networks to achieve better livelihoods.

Backed by leading investors, Goodwall has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Innovator, TIME100 Top EdTech, and featured by F@stCompany, Bloomberg, CNBC and Forbes.

We are urgently seeking a highly diligent and operationally focused Finance Manager to manage the day-to-day finance, administrative and compliance functions of our Finance department. This role is crucial for ensuring the accuracy of our financial data and the efficiency of our processes. You will report directly to the Finance & Internal Operations Director.

Responsibilities:

• Accounting & Reporting:
  • Manage and execute the timely monthly, quarterly, and annual financial closing processes.
  • Oversee all general ledger entries, bank reconciliations, and balance sheet accounts to ensure data integrity.
  • Prepare and manage documentation required for external audits and tax filings.
• Operational Finance (A/R & A/P):
  • Manage the full invoicing cycle, including tracking client payments and proactively driving Accounts Receivable (A/R) collections.
  • Process and manage all vendor invoices, payments, and expense reports (Accounts Payable - A/P).
  • Ensure compliance with client payment terms and actively manage the related cash flow timing.
• Compliance & Payroll Oversight:
  • Supervise the external payroll process to ensure accuracy and timely payment across all jurisdictions.
  • Liaise with external accounting advisors to ensure adherence to local statutory requirements.
• Process Improvement:
  • Actively identify, document, and implement opportunities for process automation and efficiency gains within the core finance workflows.
  • Automation: Drive targeted automation projects to eliminate routine data entry and manual reconciliation tasks (e.g., automated bank reconciliation).

This is a hands-on, execution-oriented role: you’ll ensure the people operations as well as projects defined are running day-to-day.

Requirements:

• 5–8+ years in process oriented, people, roles at high-growth startups or scale-ups.
• Demonstrable experience in a finance, audit, or accounting role, preferably within a tech or service-based company.
• Proven expertise in operational accounting (A/R, A/P, GL reconciliation).
• Advanced proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets and experience with modern ERP/accounting software. Xero will be a plus.
• Diligence & Trust: Possesses impeccable attention to detail and is the fully trusted steward of company finances.
• Proactivity: Ambitious and eager to take ownership, always looking ahead to identify potential risks or bottlenecks.
• Challenge Mindset: Driven to challenge existing processes and propose better, more efficient ways of working, rather than simply accepting the status quo.