Itumeleng Barnard

Chartered Accountant (CA(SA), qualified 2012) with fourteen years' post-articles experience in financial management, internal control, treasury, and corporate governance across banking, multinational manufacturing, and telecommunications. Track record of leading financial control and risk functions within JSE- and LSE-listed organisations, including Standard Bank and Johnson Matthey.

Currently

Founder and Managing Director of BIH Group, a financial, accounting, and strategy advisory practice. Brings direct public sector and regulatory exposure through membership of the IRBA Monitoring Committee and probity audit work on government procurement, including SITA-administered tenders.

Founder & Managing Director - BIH Group (t/a Browned Skyn) - South Africa

(2020-02)

Full-time focus since April 2024

• Lead a network of five finance, accounting, and strategy consultants delivering advisory services to clients including the Association for Progressive Communication (US).
• Set the firm's strategic direction and business development agenda, building a pipeline of clients across financial services and public sector engagements.
• Oversee probity audit and tender-compliance reviews on public sector procurement, including SITA-administered government ICT tenders, in partnership with PKF Advisory.
• Lead development of new advisory service offerings and manage client relationships end-to-end, from proposal through delivery.

Executive: Head of Internal Financial Control - Standard Bank CIB - South Africa

(2023-07 - 2024-04)

• Directed CIB's balance sheet substantiation process, ensuring timely identification, escalation, and resolution of balance sheet and P&L at-risk items.
• Led CIB-wide financial process mapping and the design and monitoring of Key Financial Controls across the value chain.
• Represented CIB at SBSA group-level Internal Financial Control forums and produced consolidated governance reporting for the CIBSA and SBSA CFOs.
• Acted as business owner for the SAP general ledger interface, working with the finance transformation team to strengthen the statutory ledger structure.

Acting Finance Director, Plant Operations - Johnson Matthey plc - South Africa

(2023-04 - 2023-07)

• Provided finance leadership to the Plant Operations team, reporting to the Operations Finance Director (UK), with accountability for the plant's P&L and balance sheet integrity.
• Led the annual budget process, cost tracking, and working capital initiatives, and presented plans and forecasts to the Sector Operations team.
• Held sign-off responsibility for statutory accounts and the plant's Filings Assurance process.

Senior Financial Controller: Risk, Ethics and Governance (Office of the FD) - Johnson Matthey plc - South Africa

(2021-01 - 2023-04)

• Led South Africa's Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFR) implementation, managing the response to finance risks reported to Group.
• Drove working capital and cash management initiatives, and supported plant management with financial analysis for strategic decision-making.
• Led the BB-BEE committee and associated processes to strengthen the business's BB-BEE level and competitiveness for future contracts.
• Managed relationships with auditors, regulators, and unions, including through a significant business restructuring in South Africa.

Audit Manager, Group Internal Audit - Nedbank - South Africa

(2018-07 - 2020-06)

• Managed the Group Finance and Shared Services stakeholder relationship, acting as trusted adviser to Group Finance and external auditors.
• Reported on the effectiveness of the Group's governance, risk, and internal control framework to risk and board committees.
• Developed and delivered the rolling risk-based audit plan and led process improvement initiatives, including piloting 'lean auditing' methodology across Group Internal Audit.

Project Management Officer, Next Generation Audit - KPMG London - London

(2015-01 - 2017-07)

• Led continuous improvement and Lean training initiatives for KPMG UK's audit practice, developing tools to measure the return on investment of process improvements.
• Managed and coached a PMO team of five in London and three assistant managers based in India.
• Reported to the Audit Leadership Steering Committee on programme progress and developed risk-based audit procedures.

Financial Analyst - FibreCo Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd - South Africa

(2014-05 - 2014-12)

• Supported the CFO with financial budgeting, planning, and capital-raising activity, including internal and external stakeholder engagement.
• Prepared financial models to analyse and forecast company performance, and co-presented the monthly management report to the CFO.

Deal Manager - Absa Capital (Barclays Africa Group) - South Africa

(2013-06 - 2014-04)

• Ensured commercial deals complied with regulatory and legal requirements, and advised clients on tax, legal, and restructuring matters.
• Assessed risk mitigation and operational effectiveness across the deal portfolio, and participated in executive-hosted deal forums.

Chief Financial Officer (Pro bono) - Dining for Good Trust - South Africa

(2020-02)

• Built the organisation's financial systems and controls from the ground up, strengthening governance and public trust in the NGO.

Chartered Accountant - CA(SA) - South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) (2012)

SAICA Training Contract (Articles) - Accounting - PwC South Africa / EY South Africa

IRBA Public Practice Examination (PPE) - Professional Examination - South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA)

SAICA Qualifying Examination 1 (QE1) - Professional Examination - South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA)

Postgraduate Diploma - Innovation and Design Thinking - Emeritus Institute of Management (2019)

Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) / CTA - Commerce - University of Johannesburg (2011)

Bachelor of Accounting Sciences - Accounting Sciences - University of the Witwatersrand (2004 - 2007)