CURRICULUM VITAE

OF
MERCIA CELESTE IRVING
PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Nationality:
Mercia Celeste Irving South African /UK visa (fully eligible to work)

Language: Residential Address:

English & Afrikaans Chellaston, Derbyshire

CAREER SUMMARY

I’m an experienced and professional reinsurance finance officer seeking new opportunities in the
United Kingdom. With 40 years of experience in the finance industry, the past two decades of which
have been with one organisation, I offer extensive experience and believe that I will be a loyal and
valuable asset to the finance team and am able to make a meaningful contribution to the organisation.

My eye for detail has proven invaluable in ensuring the accuracy and consistency of financial data and
my communication skills and organisational abilities have helped me to excel at liaising with custom-
ers and co-ordinating effective teamwork. I am well accustomed to working in a deadline driven envir-
onment and have experience with a broad range of industry-standard software.

I wish to expand my professional horizons and continue challenging myself and am excited at the pro-
spect of working in a position that will allow me to contribute my existing knowledge and experience
as well as to grow my skillset further.

EDUCATION

1975 -1979 SECONDARY EDUCATION

Grade 8 to Grade 12/ Matric
Bedfordview High School

SKILLS

· Microsoft: Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and · Understand/ apply rules of contracts

Excel · Deadline driven
· Communication – meetings, email and one on · Work under pressure
one · Analytical

SOFTWARE PACKAGES OPERATED

• Accountability (General Ledger Package) • SAP (General Ledger Package)

• Fourth Generation (Investment Package) • Compass debtors Systems
• Sun System (General Ledger Package) • Qlikview report writer

EXPERIENCE

LIBERTY LIFE: 2015 – 2019

+44 (0) 7916 687816 | mercia.irving@gmail.com

POSITION: REINSURANCE FINANCE OFFICER
Address: Liberty Life Centre, Ameshoff Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2000
• Re-insurance technical accounting and reporting for local and international treaties for RI
inward and out.
• Liaise with external and internal customers to formulate and implement policy.
• Support the monthly, quarterly and year end results submission to internal management and
Group.
• Perform account data analysis, e.g. reconciliations, investigations.
• Apply reinsurance treaties to schemes and support review of outputs and check reasonability
with regard to reinsurance premiums and reinsurance recoveries.
• General Ledger input.
• Reconciliations between systems and general ledger.
• Prepare reinsurance statements.
• Facilitation of RI outward payments and/or recoveries.
• Reconciliation of RI accounts and settlements.
• Preparation of RI schedules and submission to re-insurers.
• Testing of new treaties on IT system.
• Input to processes or systems impacting re-insurance function.
• Continuous improvement of processes and outputs in re-insurance function.
• Prepare for meetings and projects.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

 Reinsurance and General Insurance Accounting, administration and reporting experience.
 SAP General Ledger experience.
 Excel Skills (pivots, if statements, lookups and experience of working with large amounts of
data).
 Ability to work accurately and effectively in a deadline driven environment.
 Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

LIBERTY LIFE: 2005 – 2014

POSITION: SENIOR FINANCE OFFICER – CAL GROUP RISK
Address: Liberty Life Centre, Ameshoff Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2000
• Prepare journals to SAP general ledger
• Excel spreadsheets for prepaid commission
• Excel spreadsheets for prepaid reinsurance
• Process outstanding claims, reinsurance recoverable and repudiation
• Monthly reconciliation of 3 cashbooks
• Assist with monthly financial reporting

CAPITAL ALLIANCE LIFE LIMITED: 2000 – 2004

POSITION: SENIOR BOOKKEEPER
Address: 162 Anderson Street, Johannesburg, 2000
• Responsible for recording and preparing Financial Accounts for Properties and Subsidiaries of
Capital Alliance Life Ltd
• Monthly VAT returns
• Recording addition, disposals and monthly depreciation for all Fixed Assets
• Calculation of RSC Levies

+44 (0) 7916 687816 | mercia.irving@gmail.com

ERNST & YOUNG CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (SA): 1997 – 1999
POSITION: INVESTMENT ASSISTANT
Address: 121st Floor, 320 West Street, Durban
• Assistant to two partners in the Personal Finance Division who invested client’s funds on the
JSE
• Advise partners of press announcements and company notifications of scrip dividends, rights
issues, share splits and consolidations, company name, changes, etc
• Complete necessary forms and lodge documents with transfer secretaries
• General liaison with stockbrokers and transfer secretaries
• Agree scrip ledger with portfolios

AA LIFE ASSURANCE ASSOCIATION LTD: 1991 – 1996

Merged with IGI Assurance, known as Capital Alliance Life Ltd
POSITION: SENIOR INVESTMENT ADMINISTRATOR
Address: 162 Anderson Street, Johannesburg, 2000
• Responsible for all investment portfolios of AA Life on a monthly basis
• Analysing and posting all purchases/ sales, investment income and dividend/interest accruals
to the ledger
• Reconciling investment portfolios from Investec and BOE to balance sheet and income
statement
• Complier year-end financial pack

AA LIFE ASSURANCE ASSOCIATION LTD: 1984 – 1990

Merged with IGI Assurance, known as Capital Alliance Life Ltd
POSITION: INVESTMENT
Address: 162 Anderson Street, Johannesburg, 2000
• Input new market prices daily for investment portfolios
• Receive and input brokers notes for gilts, equities, options and futures
• Scrip settlement
• Control investment income for dividends, interest and money market items
• Prepare monthly portfolio valuations
• Prepare monthly transaction listing. E.g. book value, income, realised profit(loss) and
unrealised profit(loss)
• Phone institutions daily for most favourable call rate for placement of funds and do necessary
transfer

AA LIFE ASSURANCE ASSOCIATION LTD: 1979 – 1983

Merged with IGI Assurance, known as Capital Alliance Life Ltd
POSITION: FINANCE
Address: 162 Anderson Street, Johannesburg, 2000
• Creditors
• Cashbooks
• Reconcile Policy Loans
• Journals to Ledger
• Manual Trial Balance

REFERENCES

+44 (0) 7916 687816 | mercia.irving@gmail.com

Available on request.

+44 (0) 7916 687816 | mercia.irving@gmail.com