Overview
Strategic Information and Management Accountant “SIMA” Jobs in City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa at African Bush Camps
Title: Strategic Information and Management Accountant “SIMA”
Company: African Bush Camps
Location: City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
About African Bush Camps
African Bush Camps (ABC) is a leading luxury safari operator with a portfolio of premium lodges and camps across Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and broader southern Africa united by a shared commitment to extraordinary guest experiences, conservation, and community impact.
Purpose of the Role
The Strategic Information & Management Accountant (SIMA) is a specialist role designed to bridge the gap between traditional financial reporting and the modern, data-driven tools that drive competitive advantage in the luxury hospitality sector. It is a forward-facing, technology-led role for a commercially minded finance professionals who is passionate about harnessing new platforms, AI-driven analytics, and smart integrations to make financial information more accessible, more actionable, and more impactful.
Continuous liaising with various individuals across the business (e.g. Camp Managers, Country General Managers, and Finance Managers in various countries) to understand their unique data requirements is essential. Assisting and guiding users of this data to promote their finance literacy as it relates to the larger business impact is a core requirement.
The SIMA will serve as the group's internal champion for financial technology transformation — identifying, evaluating, and implementing solutions that enhance reporting efficiency, strengthen decision-making, and reduce manual effort across the finance function. In parallel, the role carries meaningful accounting responsibilities, including coordination of the monthly consolidated management accounts, annual budget preparation, and quarterly strategic reporting to the Board.
Key Responsibilities
1. Financial Technology & Innovation (approx. 70% of role)
FinTech Discovery & Ecosystem Mapping
• Continuously scan the market for emerging accounting technologies, AI-powered analytics tools, and smart integrations relevant to multi-entity hospitality and safari operations.
• Maintain a curated, prioritised technology roadmap for the ABC finance function, with clear articulation of costs, benefits, implementation complexity, and expected ROI.
• Evaluate and manage new expanding accounting software, identifying, piloting, and embedding third-party applications that integrate seamlessly with the group’s core accounting infrastructure.
• Research and assess API connectivity opportunities between leading accounting and reservations systems to enable real-time, end-to-end data flows with minimal manual intervention.
• Stay abreast of technologies which could promote automated and timely qualitative and quantitative financial data delivery to stakeholders for decision making in ABC.
• Harness new and current technologies to promote a deeper understanding of the business to various stakeholders through automated, timeous, accurate and simplified reporting. Translating complex financial data into easy to digest key performance indicators.
• Manage the technology Roadmap specific to the finance function, with clear articulation of costs, benefits, implementation complexity, and expected ROI
Procurement & Operational Software Integration
• Lead the evaluation and implementation of a smart procurement platform suited to remote, multi-country lodge operations — one that integrates seamlessly with ABC’s accounting software which could deliver real-time visibility of purchasing activity, committed costs, and stock management.
• Define the functional requirements for procurement software in consultation with Camp Managers and Country GMs, and manage the vendor selection, piloting, and rollout process.
• Establish, with the assistance of the ABC Legal Office and Financial Risk Account “FRA” (internal audit) automated purchase order workflows that enforce delegated authority limits, reduce maverick spend, and produce audit-ready records with minimal administrative burden on camp operations teams.
• Alongside the FRA, identify and analyse inefficient financial processes, including manual workflows and control weaknesses, then lead cross-functional improvement projects to implement automated solutions, strengthen controls, and optimise operational efficiency. Examples may include a specific project (e.g. Procurement platform) or general integrations between systems (e.g. enhance monthly reporting process)
Process Improvement & Automation
• Identify and eliminate manual, repetitive processes within the month-end reporting cycle, annual budget preparation, and routine financial administration through automation and smart workflow design.
• Implement bank feed automation, AI-powered document capture (receipts, invoices, expense claims), and automated reconciliation tools to reduce the administrative burden on the finance team.
• Establish and maintain a documented map of all key finance processes, identifying bottlenecks and recommending technology-led solutions to improve efficiency, accuracy, and control.
• Benchmark ABC’s financial systems and processes against best practice in the luxury hospitality sector, making evidence-based recommendations for continuous improvement.
2. Financial Reporting & Accounting (approx. 30% of role)
Monthly Consolidated Management Accounts
• Coordinate and review the preparation of the monthly consolidated management accounts across all ABC operating entities in partnership with in-country Finance Managers.
• Ensure the consistent application of group accounting policies and chart of accounts across all jurisdictions, including Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa.
• Perform analytical review of monthly results against budget and prior-year comparatives, preparing clear, concise commentary that highlights key drivers of performance, material variances, and emerging risks.
• Oversee the intercompany elimination process and ensure that consolidation adjustments are accurately applied and properly supported on a monthly basis.
• Monitor and maintain reporting timetables to ensure that the Finance Managers in each country adhere to agreed submission deadlines, escalating delays to the CFO as required.
Annual Budget & Forecast Preparation
• Coordinate and assist in the preparation of the annual financial budget across all ABC operating camps, head offices, and sales companies, working closely with Country GMs, Camp Managers, and Finance Managers.
• Develop and maintain the group budget model, incorporating rolling forecasts and scenario modelling capabilities to support agile financial planning.
• Continue and maintain the preparation of existing budget consolidation schedules and supporting analysis for review by the CFO, including bed night assumptions, revenue projections, payroll plans, and capital expenditure programmes.
• Facilitate budget review meetings with operational stakeholders, providing guidance on financial assumptions and ensuring that budgets reflect realistic, commercially grounded plans.
Board & Strategic Financial Reporting
• Assist in the preparation of quarterly consolidated financial report for presentation to the ABC Board of Directors, working under the direction of the CFO.
• Produce high-quality, Board-ready financial packs that clearly communicate group performance, strategic financial KPIs, liquidity and cash flow positions, and forward-looking commentary in line with ABC’s 2030 goals and targets.
General Finance Support
• Assist the CFO with ad hoc financial analysis, modelling, and research as required to support strategic decision-making and capital allocation across the group.
• Contribute to the group’s annual statutory audit process, liaising with external auditors and in-country finance teams on consolidation workings and technical queries.
Qualifications & Experience
Minimum Requirements
• A recognised accounting qualification: CA(SA), CIMA, ACCA, or equivalent.
• A minimum of five years’ post-qualification experience in a financial reporting, management accounting, or finance transformation role.
Preferred Experience
• Experience within the hospitality, tourism, or leisure sector — ideally in a multi-country, multi-currency environment.
• Familiarity with Tourplan or comparable tour operator / property management systems and their financial reporting outputs.
Skills & Competencies
Technical Skills
• Advanced Excel / Google Sheets modelling skills (dynamic consolidation models, scenario analysis, sensitivity tables).
• Strong command of accounting packages; ability to assess integration quality and data integrity across connected platforms.
• Ability to design, build, and iterate on financial dashboards and automated reports without reliance on IT support.
Behavioural Competencies
• Intellectual curiosity: a genuine enthusiasm for emerging technology and a proactive approach to continuous learning and self-development.
• Commercial acumen: the ability to connect financial data to operational decisions and to communicate financial insight in language that resonates with non-finance audiences.
Working Environment & Travel
The SIMA will be based at the ABC Head Office in Cape Town, South Africa. The role will require periodic travel to ABC’s operating camps and country offices across Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia — particularly during the needs assessment, technology rollout, and budget preparation phases of the annual cycle. Travel is expected from time to time, with flexibility to respond to operational requirements.
Application
Interested candidates are invited to submit a detailed curriculum vitae together with a covering letter outlining their suitability for the role, with particular reference to their experience with financial technology, reporting systems, and multi-entity consolidation environments.
Applications should be addressed to the Chief Financial Officer, NEIL POZZO , [email protected] , and submitted via the group’s designated recruitment channel.
African Bush Camps is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.