Role Summary:

The role is responsible for overseeing financial control, statutory reporting, management reporting, budgeting, and financial planning & analysis (FP&A) within an insurance environment. It ensures compliance with regulatory frameworks (e.g., IFRS 17, Solvency II where applicable), while delivering actionable insights to support strategic and operational decision-making.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Financial Control & Accounting

• Lead end-to-end accounting operations (GL, AP, AR, fixed assets, technical accounting).
• Ensure accurate and timely monthly, quarterly, and annual closings with strict deadlines.
• Oversee insurance-specific accounting:
• Premium recognition.
• Claims provisioning (IBNR).
• Reinsurance accounting.
• Ensure compliance with:
• IFRS (including IFRS 17).
• Local regulatory requirements (UAE, Lebanon, or relevant jurisdiction).
• Manage external audits and regulatory inspections.

2. Budgeting & Financial Planning (FP&A)

• Lead the annual budgeting process, multi-year business planning, and rolling forecasts.
• Develop driver-based financial models (premium growth, loss ratios, expense ratios).
• Partner with underwriting, actuarial, and claims teams to align forecasts with business realities.
• Perform scenario analysis (stress testing, sensitivity to claims inflation, FX, interest rates).

3. Management Reporting

• Deliver monthly and quarterly management packs including:
• P&L by line of business.
• Combined ratio analysis.
• Expense ratio and cost allocation.
• Balance sheet, aging balances and cash flow.
• Provide variance analysis vs budget and prior periods.
• Develop KPIs relevant to insurance:
• Loss ratio.
• Combined ratio.
• Present financial insights to senior management and board.

4. Regulatory & Capital Reporting

• Oversee solvency and capital reporting (e.g., SCR/MCR under Solvency II or local equivalents).
• Liaise with actuarial function on technical provisions and capital modeling.
• Ensure alignment between financial reporting and regulatory reporting.

5. Internal Controls & Governance

• Maintain strong internal control environment (financial policies, procedures).
• Ensure compliance with risk management frameworks.
• Coordinate internal audit and implement remediation plans.
• Improve financial systems, reporting automation, and data governance.

6. Team Leadership

• Lead and develop accounting and teams (no direct reports).
• Establish performance objectives and continuous improvement culture.
• Act as a key finance business partner across departments.

Education, Experience and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field. Bachelor in insurance is a plus.
• CPA / CFA / Other corporate finance certifications are strongly preferred.
• Actuarial exposure is a plus.
• 8–12+ years of experience in finance roles, including: Financial control and FP&A / budgeting.
• Insurance sector experience (life, non-life, or reinsurance) is mandatory.
• Strong exposure to: IFRS 17 implementation/reporting and Regulatory frameworks (e.g., Solvency II or regional equivalents).
• Strong knowledge of: Insurance accounting (technical reserves, revenue recognition) and Financial modeling & Forecasting.
• Advanced Excel and financial systems.
• Experience with data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau).