Chief Financial Officer

Scope of entities

• The role covers six businesses under CST and two businesses, IMTO and crypto asset management, through five legal entities under CSV. Regulators listed are the primary supervisors; the CFO confirms the full license register on appointment.

Key responsibilities

Finance leadership and team management

• Lead the embedded Financial Controllers and Business Partners as one CST/CSV finance function: set objectives, review performance, and drive development and succession.
• Define the finance operating model for the portfolio — roles, delegation of authority, segregation of duties and escalation routes.
• Identify capability gaps in each entity and plan to hire, outsourcing or shared-service support with the ED Finance.
• Embed Group finance policies, chart of accounts and reporting calendar across all entities.

Financial accounting and reporting

• Own the accuracy and timeliness of management and statutory accounts for all CST and CSV entities.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS and local GAAP where required (FRS 102 in the UK, ASPE/IFRS in Canada, US GAAP where applicable).
• Deliver monthly management packs to both Group CEOs and the ED Finance: P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, KPIs and variance commentary.
• Prepare consolidated CST and CSV reporting packs, and support consolidation into CapitalSage Holdings and JV Mauritius International Ltd.
• Manage intercompany balances, transfer pricing documentation, and eliminations across the portfolio.
• Maintain the fixed asset register, revenue recognition policies and expected credit loss (IFRS 9) models for the lending entities.

Month-end, quarter-end and year-end closing

• Run a standardised close calendar across all entities, targeting a working-day-5 management close.
• Enforce balance sheet reconciliations, suspense and settlement account clearing, and nostro/wallet reconciliations for payment and IMTO businesses.
• Review accruals, provisions, loan-loss provisioning and FX revaluation before sign-off.
• Lead the year-end close and the hand-over of audit-ready trial balances.

Regulatory reporting and compliance

• Ensure complete, accurate and on-time regulatory returns for every licence, including CBN returns for the microfinance bank, PSSP and IMTO; Central Bank of The Gambia returns; SEC Nigeria filings; FCA returns in the UK; FINTRAC and FinCEN obligations; and VARA reporting in Dubai.
• Monitor capital adequacy, liquidity ratios, minimum capital, safeguarding and prudential limits; escalate early on any projected breach.
• Maintain a regulatory calendar and a licence register covering every filing, renewal and capital requirement.
• Work with Compliance and MLROs on AML/CFT reporting obligations that have a finance dimension (safeguarding, transaction reporting, client money).
• Act as finance lead in regulatory examinations, licence applications and change-of-control filings.

Statutory audit and tax

• Plan and coordinate statutory audits for all entities, aligned to the Group audit timetable and auditor.
• Deliver clean, timely audits with no material adjustments; track and close management letter points.
• Coordinate regulator-mandated audits (e.g. safeguarding audits, prudential returns attestations).
• Oversee corporate tax, VAT/GST/sales tax, withholding tax and transfer pricing compliance in each jurisdiction with tax advisers.
• Support internal audit and the Group internal control transition; own remediation of finance-related findings.

Treasury coordination

• Coordinate entity cash positions, 13-week cash forecasts and liquidity planning with Group Treasury.
• Oversee pre-funding, float and settlement liquidity for the IMTO and payment businesses across currencies and corridors.
• Manage banking relationships, correspondent and settlement accounts, and account mandates at entity level.
• Apply the Group FX risk policy to entity exposures (NGN, GMD, GBP, CAD, USD, AED and digital assets).
• Monitor funding lines, covenants and capital injections; prepare capital calls and repatriation plans for approval.
• Ensure segregation of customer funds, safeguarding and client money from operating cash.

Business partnering

• Act as the strategic finance partner to both Group CEOs and the entity MDs.
• Translate unit economics — cost per transaction, take rate, net interest margin, cost of risk, AUM fees — into commercial decisions.
• Challenge and support pricing, product launches, corridor expansion and partnership deals with financial analysis.
• Lead the annual budget and rolling forecasts for CST and CSV, aligned with the Group budget process.
• Run monthly performance reviews with each entity, tracking actions to closure.

Investment analysis and capital allocation

• Build and review business cases, valuations and financial models for new businesses, licences, acquisitions and disposals.
• Support capital raising, investor reporting and lender requirements (including DFIs) with the ED Finance.
• Lead financial due diligence and post-acquisition integration for fintech and financial-services targets.
• Track return on capital by entity and recommend reallocation of capital to the Group CEOs.

Governance, controls and risk

• Maintain a documented internal control framework covering payments, lending, settlement and digital-asset custody.
• Enforce the delegation of authority matrix and dual-control payment approval.
• Report finance matters to entity boards, audit committees and risk committees.
• Work with Risk on credit, liquidity, operational and fraud risk with financial impact.

Systems, data and process improvement

• Drive standardisation of ERP, core banking and payment-ledger integration across entities.
• Automate reconciliations, reporting and consolidation where possible.
• Ensure a single source of truth for financial and regulatory data, with clear data ownership.

Qualifications, experience and competencies

Qualifications

• Chartered accountant (ACA, ACCA, CPA, ICAN or equivalent) — essential.
• MBA, CFA or a banking / treasury qualification — desirable.

Experience

• 15+ years in finance, with at least 5 years as CFO, Finance Director or Head of Finance in a regulated financial-services group.
• Hands-on experience with microfinance or commercial banking, payments (PSSP/PSP) or remittance (IMTO/MTO) businesses.
• Proven record with CBN regulatory reporting; exposure to FCA, FINTRAC/FinCEN or VARA regimes is a strong advantage.
• Multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation under IFRS, with Big Four audit relationships.
• Experience managing finance teams remotely across several countries.
• Exposure to fintech, digital assets or asset management — desirable.

Competencies

• Strong technical accounting: IFRS 9, IFRS 15, IFRS 10 and IFRS 16.
• Regulatory and prudential judgement — capital, liquidity and safeguarding.
• Commercial acumen and the confidence to challenge CEOs and MDs.
• Clear communicator to boards, regulators, auditors and investors.
• High integrity, sound judgement and comfort with matrix reporting.
• Systems-minded: ERP, core banking and ledger automation.