LIKELY QUESTIONS
- How have you prepared timely monthly, quarterly, and annual management accounts, and what controls did you use to ensure accuracy and completeness?
- Tell us about your experience consolidating departmental budgets into an overall company budget and forecast. How did you handle conflicting assumptions from different departments?
- What approach would you use to formulate costing and revenue policies for a utility environment like water supply and sanitation?
- Describe how you have analysed financial and operating data to identify cost inefficiencies, profitability issues, or investment opportunities.
- How have you monitored and explained budget variances, including cost variances and margin movements, to senior management or a board?
- Can you walk us through how you prepare cash flow forecasts and how you would manage cash constraints in a large, busy operation?
- What is your experience reviewing investment proposals or capital projects, and which financial metrics do you rely on to determine viability?
- This role requires advising management on pricing, consumption volumes, costs, and profitability. How would you assess the financial impact of changes in these drivers and present recommendations?

BEHAVIOURAL QUESTIONS
- Tell us about a time you improved the quality or timeliness of management reporting.
Model approach: Situation - Reporting was delayed and management lacked timely visibility; Task - Improve reporting cycle without compromising accuracy; Action - Mapped reporting bottlenecks, enforced deadlines, standardized templates, improved ledger reconciliations, coordinated with departments, and introduced review controls; Result - Reporting timelines improved, errors reduced, and management received decision-useful information earlier.

- Describe a time you identified a major cost inefficiency and what you did about it.
Model approach: Situation - Costs in a key area were rising faster than budget or revenue; Task - Identify root cause and recommend corrective action; Action - Performed trend and variance analysis, compared unit costs, engaged operational teams, isolated drivers such as wastage, overtime, or procurement issues, and proposed control measures; Result - Costs reduced, budget discipline improved, and management adopted the recommendations.

- Give an example of when you had to explain complex financial information to non-finance managers or board members.
Model approach: Situation - Senior stakeholders needed to understand financial performance but were not finance specialists; Task - Present findings clearly to support a decision; Action - Translated figures into business implications, used simple ratios and trends, highlighted risks, scenarios, and recommendations, and answered questions confidently; Result - Stakeholders understood the issues, aligned on actions, and made an informed decision.

- Tell us about a time you led or supervised a finance team in a high-pressure environment.
Model approach: Situation - The team faced tight deadlines during budgeting, audit, or month-end close; Task - Deliver accurate outputs while maintaining morale and control; Action - Delegated clearly, prioritized critical work, monitored progress daily, coached staff, resolved escalations quickly, and maintained review checkpoints; Result - Deadlines were met, output quality remained high, and the team performed effectively under pressure.

SMART QUESTIONS TO ASK
- What are the top three financial priorities for the Finance Manager in the first 6 to 12 months?
- How does MOWASSCO currently approach budgeting, cost control, and revenue assurance, and where do you see the biggest gaps?
- What management reports are most important to the Managing Director, GM Finance, and Board, and how often are they reviewed?
- What accounting systems and reporting tools are currently in use, and are there any planned improvements in finance processes or systems?
- How is success in this role measured, especially around reporting timeliness, forecasting accuracy, cost management, and decision support?

RED FLAGS TO WATCH FOR
- Vague answers about reporting timelines, internal controls, or who owns financial decisions, which may signal weak governance or unclear role expectations.
- Signs of persistent cash flow stress, poor collections, or major unresolved revenue leakage without a clear recovery plan.
- Indications that the role is heavily firefighting operational problems with limited authority, limited systems support, or unrealistic expectations from management.