Please review these competencies using a synonym (STAR).This should written in simple terms and easy to follow and remember in an interview environment.

Key competencies required. For Principal Accountant II position

For each competence give an example of a competency based interview scenario with possible answers

• Deciding and initiating action
• Leading and supervising
• Adhering to Principles and values
• Applying expertise and Technology

Deciding and initiating action:

Situation: it was on Friday, 23rd of December 2022, when I was working as the acting principal accountant II at Tlokweng Sub District Council when I received a call from the contracted security company owner informing me that he was not paid for the month of November the reason being that the bye-law officer was on sick leave and demanded that if by 16:00 hours he does not receive his payment for the services he will pull out his staff from all the posts.

Task: I had a task to ensure the security company is paid for all its services before the end of business without fail to ensure all our properties and facilities remain protected full time.

Action:

• As the time was running out, I rushed to the bye-law office where I find an intern and enquire about the submitted invoices and the intern informed me that both certificates for payment was prepared but there was no one to sign on behalf of the HOD. Then I tried to call the assistant bye-law officer but his phone was not connecting.
• I then contacted the office of Senior Assistant council secretary informing her of the situation and suggested that the admin officer could sign both certificates on behalf of bye-law HOD.
• Thereafter I contacted the economic planner and my payment staff who were already at lunch and briefly informed and pleaded with them to come and start payment process.
• Then I reviewed the service provider banking details and find that he is using a different bank from what the council is using, which means if the payment is made after 14:00 hours the customer account will not be credited as promised due to banking clearing cut of times.
• Having the cut of time process in mind I contacted our main banking support team at Absa to enquire about in case I miss the cut off time what alternative could I use to ensure the clients account is credited same day. Fortunately, the bank staff informed me that there is an option for urgent payments that we could use but it comes with extra bank services charges than normal bank charges.
• Then I accessed the banking portal to confirm the banking service charge which was Bwp 67.95 per certificate and I informed the accounting about the extra banking services charges that the payment will attract of which he approved.
• At around 14:30 I called the client to inform him that the payment of both certificates are being processed and that I will update him after an hours time.
• At around 15:45 the client called and informed me that he has received the alert for both payments and appreciated and commended our effort.
• To ensure timely payment of the client the admin Officer appointed was appointed on temporary basis by the accounting officer to prepare all the security payments until the return of the either the bye-law assistant officer or the head of department

Results: The security company was paid for both certificates before 16:00 hours same day and appreciated all my efforts.

Learning experience and application: I have learnt that both internal and external stakeholder collaboration is key to address issues of quality service provision in a very short period of time.

I applied this strategy when processing a payment for an officer who had a trip to Kasane attending a workshop. The officer unfortunately changed his banking details and closed the existing bank account without notifying the accounts department. The hotel management wanted to be paid immediately. When reviewing our account we noticed that imprest payment credited our account. The officer was paid same day.

Leading and supervising:

Situation: in December 2016 when I joined Tlokweng sub district council as Chief Accounts Officer from Kweneng District Council the Principal Account II had just recently retired from the public service and the preparation for the production of final accounts for 2016/2017 was already behind schedule in order to comply with statutory requirement of Local Government Act Cap 68.02.

Task: As the acting HOD and sub treasurer my primary role was to produce and oversee the production of the final accounts for Tlokweng Sub district council and assist headquarters with the consolidation of the final book.

Fortunately, I had the experience of leading Kweneng District Council to historic achievement of producing abstracts of accounts within the statutory requirements for the first time in more ten years and to be among the best first top three local authorities.

Action: After setting in,

• I started by reviewing the reports to see the status of progress in terms of monthly procedures
• Then I reviewed each staff member allocated tasks to see if it is aligned to the proposed plan of progress to ensure desired targets are met and if they have interpreted objectives well
• Then I checked and review the competency level of each staff member to ensure proper allocation of tasks.
• Then after reviewing their work I engaged them one by one to appreciate and recognize the efforts that they have put in. I also gave them constructive feedback so that they can improve and aim higher.
• I then set-up a sectional meeting where I clearly explained the main objective, expectations and shared the work programmes with clear set targets. Thereafter we developed computer models that we adopted to guide and monitor progress and managed errors.
• I then delegated my supervisee to ensure any exceptional reports are reviewed and resolved immediately to ensure smooth progress
• Then we agreed to have a progress meeting every third week of the month where I will be coaching and explaining why certain decisions to ensure proper skill transfer in order to improve the quality of final accounts.

Results: The final accounts for 2016/2017 was successfully prepared and produced and the draft abstracts of accounts was submitted to head office for consolidation by the 28^th of May 2017. all the staff members felt being part of the team and shared their excitement of being engaged to take part in preparation of final accounts. I received a positive feedback from PAI, CFDPO and the SACS for ensuring compliance to the statutory requirement of Local Government Act Cap 68.02

Learning experience and application: I have learnt that to achieve the desired results under tight schedule it is very important to engage all stakeholders starting with your own staff from the beginning of the assignment. This improves the quality of the report and compliance.

I have applied this initiative when answering the 2020/2021 LPAC issues. Tlokweng Sub District had stagnant figures in balance sheet without supporting schedules. These figures were investigated and identified as opening balances used to set up Tlokweng sub district in 2006 in Great plain system.

Adhering to Principles and values:

Situation: In December 2019, while working as Agt: PAII in Tlokweng Sub District Council, I was informed by my supervisee that one of our key stakeholder have brought in some gifts as token of appreciation for doing business with his company by investment part of funding while awaiting the project to kick start as part of own source revenue generation while I was away on my annual leave .the procedure is that all gifts regardless of the size and value must be declared and registered with the office of the accounting officer immediately upon the receipt. Some of my staff felt that if the gifts are declared they might not get anything so they suggested that we share them amongst ourselves.

Task: my task was to ensure that I remain principled on this matter and explain the matter to my staff to appreciate that all government employees are required by the law not accept any gifts from clients but in case they think gifts are trivial and inconsequential in value they must declare and record the receipt of that gifts.

Action:

• I request one of my staff members to take all the gifts to the office of the accounting officer to be declared and recorded as it is the normal procedure.
• Then I immediately called a sectional staff meeting to explain why we must ensure all gifts are declared recorded promptly upon receipt
• One of the important issues I emphasized was that as accountants we should always be seen to uphold the principles and values of our profession at all times within and outside the working environment and that we should not be seen to be getting undue benefits due to our positions and that this could be regarded as corrupt practices.
• I made it clear that the accounting officer after reviewing and assessing the value and the risk the gifts may limit the staff objective when taking decisions in future when dealing the same client may instruct his secretary to return the gifts to yourself to share.

Results: The same day the accounting officer called me to collect the gifts and it was shared amongst the staff though some did not get anything, but there commended me for being fair and remaining principled.

Learning experience and application: have learnt that even though some staff had different opinion on how to handle the issue of gifts, as an accountant I must always remain principled and upholds my values of being ethnical and professional to ensure accountability on my job. I have applied this action donations received during covid-19 in march 2020

Applying expertise and Technology:

Situation: in January 2017, working as the chief accounts officer in Tlokweng sub district council I received a call from my supervisor at head office instructing me to try and resolve the issue of the trial balance for Tlokweng site which has never been reconciled and this has resulted in queries from the previous external audit report.

Task: my task was to ensure that the trial balances for 2016/2017 financial year for the sites is reconciled, discrepancies investigated.

Action:

• I started by reviewing the trial balance on annually basis from 2006 to February 2017 to review the magnitude of the task.
• Then having the magnitude of the task, I called a sectional meeting to enquire from the staff what challenges did they encounter in balancing of the trial balances from the previous period
• Then I printed the ministry trial balance report and Great plains trial balance compare to confirm their current status
• Then I developed computer models to assist in executing my plans of progress
• Then I formulated a four-week plan to carry out my task before end of march 2017
• Due to my past experience in excel I gained at my past job at Kweneng District council I exported the both the reports from system to an excel format on annual basis reconcile month by month and any exceptional report investigated and resolved
• At the end of week three I was 95% with 10 year completed and I used the remaining week to coach all my staff to appreciate the power of applying technology when executing any assignment.

Results: The ministry trial balance report and Great plains trial balance were completely reconciled and balanced as at February 2017 which had resolved the outstanding audit queries. This has reduced paper wastage as officers were forced to print both reports in order to reconcile them manually.

Learning experience and application: I have learnt that using technology in complex assignment given within tight schedule would always yield positive quality results. I was commended for a job well done by the PAI and the CFDPO and my staff were happy to have a new skill in terms of applying technology. I have applied the same action when balancing the General ledger to the Cashbook of the drought fund for Tlokweng in 2018