Westlakes International Recruitment provides "more than just solutions!" when it comes to helping you find a job... 

Unlike other agencies we provide what we like to call "candidate care" to every single person that applies to us. We're here for you every step of the way! So send us your CV or your resume ASAP and let's help you find that job!!! Click here to contact us, submit an enquiry, or to request a call back. 

Westlakes? recruitment consultants are able to recruit with understanding and with purpose! Using three key strategies, we strive to ensure that we find you that dream job as soon as possible: Focus, cohesion, and simplicity!

We make sure that our team has COHESION such that there?s always more than one person keeping an ear to the ground for you!
 

We make sure that the main feature of our recruitment process is SIMPLICITY so that we can cut to the chase and get you placed!

We're making placements left, right & centre at the moment - regardless of the state of the economy! Whether you're coming to South Africa to explore new opportunities - or you're coming home... You may be permanently based in South Africa, or you may be looking to explore new opportunities abroad... Either way - we're here to help! So get in touch with us right now and let?s get going! Click here to contact us now.

Here is a list of roles we?ve either successfully placed, or that we?re currently recruiting for. The best way to find what you?re looking for is to get in contact with us. As you know, the job market is quite buoyant ? we get new jobs on a daily basis ? so get in touch right now and let?s find you that job! Click here to contact us, submit an enquiry, or to request a call back.

Front Office - banking personnel, insurance brokers, financial planners and investment bankers working with private and institutional clients;
 

Back Office - accountants, investment analysts, insurance underwriters, management information specialists, researchers and those who process information and maintain records.
 

Below, please find some explanatory notes on the area that you?re looking at. If you?d like more assistance, please don?t hesitate to give us a shout! Our consultants are knowledgeable and friendly, and are ready and waiting to help you find what you?re looking for! Click here to contact us, submit an enquiry, or to request a call back. 

Accounting, Finance & Admin

Accountancy as a profession, or accounting as a methodology, is the measurement, statement, or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers to make resource allocation decisions within companies, organisations, and public agencies. The terms derive from the use of financial accounts. 

Accounting is a service activity. Its function is to provide quantitative information primarily financial in nature, about economic entities, that is intended to be useful in making economic decisions, and in making reasoned choices among alternative courses of action. It is also the discipline of measuring, communicating and interpreting financial activity. Accounting is widely referred to as the "language of business". 

Financial Accounting is one branch of accounting and historically has involved processes by which financial information about a business is recorded, classified, summarised, interpreted, and communicated; for public companies, this information is generally publicly-accessible. By contrast, Management Accounting information is used within an organisation and is usually confidential and accessible only to a small group, mostly decision-makers. Tax Accounting is the accounting needed to comply with jurisdictional tax regulations. 

Practitioners of accountancy are known as accountants. There are many professional bodies for accountants throughout the world. Many allow their members to use titles indicating their membership or qualification level. The following are the main bodies of accounting:

Management Accountant (ACMA, FCMA ? qualifications through CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants);
 

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified General Accountant (CGA or FCGA);
 

Theoretically, the control of a company is divided between two bodies: the board of directors, and the shareholders in general meeting. In practice, the amount of power exercised by the board varies with the type of company. In small private companies, the directors and the shareholders will normally be the same people, and thus there is no real division of power. In large public companies, the board tends to exercise more of a supervisory role, and individual responsibility and management tends to be delegated downward to individual professional executive directors (such as a finance director or a marketing director) who deal with particular areas of the company's affairs. 

Directors are traditionally divided into executive directors and non-executive directors. Broadly, executive directors tend to be persons who are dedicated full-time to their role in relation to the management of the company. Non-executive directors tend to be "outsiders" brought in for their expertise, and to lend a more impartial view in relation to strategic decisions. In practice, executive directors tend to dominate board meetings simply by virtue of their much greater familiarity with the company and its internal workings.

Because directors exercise control and management over the company, but companies are run (in theory at least) for the benefit of the shareholders, the law imposes strict duties on directors in relation to the exercise of their duties. The duties imposed upon directors are fiduciary duties, similar in nature to those that the law imposes on those in similar positions of trust: agents and trustees.

Historically, directors' duties have been owed almost exclusively to the company and its members, and the board was expected to exercise its powers for the financial benefit of the company. However, more recently there have been attempts to "soften" the position, and provide for more scope for directors to act as good corporate citizens. For example, in the United Kingdom, the Companies Act 2006, not yet in force, will require a director of a UK company "to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole", but sets out six factors to which a director must have regards in fulfilling the duty to promote success. These are:

The need to foster the company?s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others;
 

The impact of the company?s operations on the community and the environment;
 

The desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct; and
 

Auditing is a related but separate discipline, with two sub-disciplines: External Auditing and Internal Auditing. External auditing is the process whereby an independent auditor examines an organisation's financial statements and accounting records in order to express an opinion as to the truth and fairness of the statements and the accountant's adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in all material respects. Internal auditing aims at providing information for management usage, and is typically carried out by auditors employed by the company, and sometimes by external service providers. 

Accounting/accountancy attempts to create accurate financial reports that are useful to managers, regulators, and other stakeholders such as shareholders, creditors, or owners. The day-to-day record-keeping involved in this process is known as Bookkeeping. 

What about Banking, Investment & Insurance? 

A banker or bank is a financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers, and to borrow and lend money. The first modern bank was founded in Italy in Genoa in 1406. It?s name was ?Banco di San Giorgio? (Bank of St. George). Many other financial activities were added over time. For example, banks are important players in financial markets and offer financial services such as investment funds. In some countries such as Germany, banks are the primary owners of industrial corporations while in other countries such as the United States banks are prohibited from owning non-financial companies. In Japan, banks are usually the nexus of cross share holding entity known as ?Zaibatsu?. In France ?Bancassurance? is highly present, as most banks offer insurance services (and now real estate services) to their clients.

And Financial Services? 

The financial services industry is focused on saving, borrowing and investing. Commerce and industry could not operate on an international scale without the protection the financial services sector provides. The industry covers personal and private banking, insurance protection and pensions, investments, the financial markets, accountancy and financial advice and management. To protect consumers, this sector is quite heavily regulated.

Employers usually look for a broad range of personal skills, including being able to work well in a team, being self-motivated, having good communication skills, and showing an interest in financial and business affairs. Many highly paid jobs in the are held by young people with energy and skills developed mainly by experience.

The financial services sector offers opportunities at all levels. There are opportunities for qualified specialists to work overseas. 

Administration (including Business & Office Work)

Every organisation, large or small, needs effective administration. People working in this sector provide the support an organisation needs to meet its objectives.

Roles in this job family range from managers, who devise policies and make decisions, to clerical workers, who collect, store, interpret and distribute information. Jobs may involve supervising colleagues or dealing with clients, members of the public and representatives of other organisations, either face to face or on the telephone.

Most employees in this sector are based in offices. Workers may spend all or part of their time sitting at a desk using a computer and a telephone. Many jobs involve travel to other premises for site visits, meetings and conferences. Some jobs provide the opportunity to work overseas. Work environments vary from modern purpose-built open plan offices to small rooms attached to busy factories and transport depots, and from high-rise city centre office blocks to isolated farms in rural areas.

There are opportunities in every employment sector, including national and local government, agriculture, finance, engineering, health, leisure, media, retail, transport and utilities. Employers can range from multinational corporations, with thousands of staff, to small companies with less than ten employees. 

Employers often look for candidates with keyboard skills who are confident using a range of software packages.

Teamworking, communication, organisation and problem-solving skills are important, and customer service skills are also required in many jobs. Supervisors and managers also need leadership and decision-making skills. For some roles, specialist qualifications in languages or knowledge of medical or legal terminology may be essential. 

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