Brain Chitakatira

Business Impact: Strengthening the accounting and control systems for all Plan International Country Offices Worldwide.

• Served as Head of Finance at Plan International Sudan for a duration of 7 months. Headed the finance function, as part of a multi-departmental team, helped them to develop th FY25 Annual Budget, assisted the team to close a carryover defict of Euro 247 000 by boosting cost recoveries, and assisted in the recruitment and onboarding of a Country Finance Manager.
• Provided both on-site and virtual support in the setting up of the finance function in Romania and Moldova as part of the Ukraine Response.
• Strengthened Plan Pacific's financial systems for the Pacific Islands during a 3-month on-site support deployment in Fiji, where I diagnosed challenges and recommended solutions. Inducted the new Pacific Finance Manager.
• Provided on-site support in Mozambique to establish an efficient cost recovery system so as to make Plan Mozambique more sustainable.
• Prepared an FX Paper highlighting challenges of fluctuating currencies and suggested practical solutions to minimize exchange rate losses. Presented this paper to MEESA and WARO Region Country Finance Managers.
• Consolidated FY24 budget for Plan International Ukraine Response
• Developed recharge rate and procedure for Surge Model, enhancing sustainability of Plan International Emergency Response Team by incorporating the total costs in the recharge rate.
• Conducted regular performance appraisals, employing verbal, written and ongoing assessment methods for Plan Sudan and Plan Pacific Islands finance teams.
• Completed month-end and year-end closings, kept records audit-ready and monitored timely recording of accounting transactions for the Ukraine Response.
• Prepared variance reporting for financial results versus budget for the Pacific Islands and Sudan Country Leadership Teams.
• Developed framework and compliance environment for Plan Sudan and Plan Pacific Islands to meet internal controls, donor requirements and external reporting requirements.
• Provided financial insight to senior management on strategic decisions and business plans for Plan International Sudan.

Business Impact: Delivered consistent results by effectively managing the finance function of Plan International Zimbabwe for 6 years, resulting in clean statutory and donor audit reports as well as adherence to budget.

• Managed entire budgeting cycle, optimizing utilization of USD $25 million annual budget without incurring over expenditures. Regularly shared variance analysis reports with recommended action plans for adverse and favourable variances.
• Delivered accurate and timely financial reports for donor and internal purposes, meeting timelines set by donors and Global Plan International reporting calendar.
• Performed detailed analysis of operating expenses and developed a persuasive business case, leading to the transition from leasing to purchasing offices at Plan International Zimbabwe. This decision resulted in annual cost savings of USD $60,000 in rental costs.
• Enhanced statutory financial reporting system integrity by following International Financial Reporting Standards and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and sharing more comprehensive financial statements than required by statutory bodies.
• Successfully recruited experienced personnel, facilitated IT assistance, and executed strategic training programs to enhance the performance of the finance team.
• Developed simulation models for annual budget planning, incorporating scenario planning to assess the impact of major external factors, such as the 2018 elections and proposed solutions to mitigate the impact of external factors.
• Scaled up excellence in the provision of financial services by ensuring compliance with both Plan International policies and procedures and donor requirement and this was evidenced by the consistently clean external audit reports throughout the 6 year tenure.
• Enhanced the financial sustainability of Plan Zimbabwe by ensuring that all projects were fully costed, and that the cost recovery system was used effectively
• Maintained a consistently low cost ratio of about 9% through accurate and consistent cost coding practices.
• Led the Country's successful awareness campaign on utilizing Data and Analytics in decision making, resulting in top ratings according to global surveys conducted by the Global Hub.
• Expertly oversaw PIZ's taxation matters, resulting in independent tax health checks being passed and successful applications for waivers and refunds amounting to USD $20 000.
• Upheld the control systems in accordance with the PIZ`s policies and procedures, ensuring clean statutory and donor external audits.
• Maintained vigilance in tracking partner advances, expenditure reporting, and complete supporting documentation.
• Managed risk management processes as country Risk Focal Point for Plan International Zimbabwe, overseeing the review and update of the risk register. This approach ensured that the risks that were on the radar never materialised despite a volatile operating environment.
• Managed treasury for PIZ effectively, synchronizing fortnightly project cash requirements averaging USD $1 million with the fortnightly cash requests to the Global Hub in the UK.
• Enhanced PIZ's financial sustainability by effectively managing the complexities of currency fluctuations and hyper-inflation in Zimbabwe.

Business Impact: Prepared and analysed the monthly financial management reports for CLT decision making.

• Coordinated successful implementation of SAP system, facilitating seamless transition from GL Dynamics to SAP in Plan International Zimbabwe. The result was that Plan Zimbabwe was the second country office in Plan worldwide to go live in SAP.
• Reviewed daily cash balances and prepared weekly cash forecasts for PIZ.
• Managed consolidation of Program Area budgets for annual budgeting process.
• Facilitated training sessions to educate finance staff on corporate finance systems, policies, and procedures.
• Delivered training sessions to implementing partners, targeting areas of improvement highlighted during partner liquidation reviews and due diligence exercise.
• Planned and coordinated finance meetings to foster cross-functional learning within Program Units.
• Recruited and trained finance staff.
• Offered direction to finance team regarding the interpretation of Global Policies and procedures.
• Updated financial authorisation matrix and obtained approval from Country Director.
• Assisted in developing and monitoring departmental budgets to ensure fiscal responsibility.
• Provided support for the development, implementation, and maintenance of internal control policies and procedures.
• Generated ad-hoc reports upon request from various stakeholders in PIZ.

Business Impact: Successfully managed the financial aspects of Manicaland Program Area (PA) with an annual budget cycle of USD $14 million.

• Contributed to program area (PA) decision-making process and offered expertise on financial matters.
• Supported PA Management team in optimizing the use of financial resources to benefit Plan families and communities served.
• Prepared monthly PA financial reports for decision making.
• Advised on risk management as PA risk focal point person.
• Built communities' capacities in project financial management and effectively managed cash resources for the PA.
• Reviewed payment packages ensuring completeness, budget availability, and correct coding.
• Consolidated PA annual budgets from both the Programs and Operations departments.
• Monitored sponsorship and grant budgets, ensuring expenditure was within budget.
• Maintained timely payment processing and disbursement to suppliers, enabling smooth project execution.
• Ensured the adherence to PIZ's financial controls, processes, and procedures by reviewing monthly bank and general ledger reconciliations.
• Implemented finance-related audit actions and encouraged implementation of non-finance findings across various departments.
• Conducted annual physical asset verifications and project support visits.

Business Impact: Provided overall leadership and accountability for the finance function of a listed company's Strategic Business Unit (SBU).

• Managed all finance operations encompassing budgeting, financial reporting, payment processes, recruitment/training of finance staff and implementation/evaluation of control systems.
• Managed accounting for seed cotton procurement from growers to Ginneries and manufactured products (lint and ginned seed), and ensuring that these inventories were properly accounted for.
• Led the Quality Management function of the SBU, ensuring compliance with the ISO9001:2008 Quality Management System and this resulted in several recertification audits for ISO 9001:2008 by both SAZ and SANARS.

Business Impact: Drove transformation of accounting system from Government department style to commercial enterprise, the Civil Aviation Authority Of Zimbabwe (CAAZ).

• Led finance team in computerising manual system to Pastel system.
• Developed accounting procedures for the CAAZ, including those for debtors and creditors.
• Managed accounting operations for 5 airports (HRE, BYO, Vic Falls, Buffalo Range, & Charles Prince), consistently enforcing control procedures.
• Facilitated management's decision-making process by delivering detailed and informative monthly financial reports
• Managed and tracked investments for excess CAAZ funds.

Business Impact: Managed head office finance staff of an integrated steel company to provide quality financial services to operations, production, and marketing departments of Ziscosteel Limited

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• Prepared financial statements for an integrated steel company.
• Supervised debtors and creditors as Assistant Accountant.
• Supported accountant in the preparation of monthly financial statements.
• As the Internal Auditor, conducted compliance audits on internal systems including salaries, debtors, creditors, and inventory to ensure adherence to internal controls.
• Performed special audit assignments as requested by management.