Dane Groenewald, Group Financial Manager
Group Financial Manager
Current Experience:DISA Medinotec Financial Manager May 2025 - Present · (1 mo)
PAST EXPERIENCES:Group Reporting Accountant at DISA Medinotec Nov 2024 - April 2025 (6 mos)
GTP Auditors Incorporated Audit Manager May 2024 to Oct 2024 · (6 mos)
Senior Audit Clerk Jul 2019 - May 2024 · (4 yrs 11 mos)
Qualifications:Bcom Accounting
Post grad diploma in accounting
Country of Residence:South Africa
LinkedIn Profile: Some accountants balance books. Dane Groenewald balances cross-border compliance, team mentorship, and automation. As a Group Reporting Accountant, Dane is fluent in numbers, and in change. From mastering US GAAP to automating routine tasks with AI, he’s turning reporting into a strategic advantage. His passion? Making tech work for people, not the other way around.
Dane, a night owl, starts his mornings early to commute, waking up at 04:30 to be at work by 06:00. Outside of work, he enjoys reading, music, and playing the piano to recharge, while also indulging in his curiosity by diving into new topics and skills.
What time do you usually wake up on weekends?
9:00 AM
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Night Owl
How do you spend the first hour of your day?
I usually spend the first hour of my morning commuting. I wake up at 4:30 AM to make sure I’m at work by 6:00 AM.
What sparked your interest in accounting or finance?
I have always loved numbers! My favourite school subject was maths, followed closely by accounting, economics, business studies, and languages, in that order.
Can you share some key career milestones or defining moments?
One of my key career milestones was completing my articles at a small auditing firm in Pretoria. I intentionally chose a smaller firm because it offered a broader scope of experience compared to larger, more well-known firms. Over time, I progressed to the role of Audit Manager. After gaining extensive experience and learning all I could in that environment, I made the move into the corporate world, where I saw an opportunity to apply my skills on a larger scale and make a meaningful impact.
What is your role within your company’s finance department?
As Group Reporting Accountant, I oversee the monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting for our South African and US entities. I also identify risks and help implement controls to ensure compliance with US regulations and accounting standards. One of the most exciting aspects of my role is spearheading process improvements, exploring automation and artificial intelligence to streamline our workflows.
How do you contribute to the overall financial strategy of the business?
Conducting monthly trial balance analysis across the group enables me to spot potential issues early, before they escalate. A key focus of our company is risk identification, implementing safeguards, and designing internal controls aligned with international standards, and that process begins with me.
What is one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your role? How did you overcome it?
Staying on top of new accounting standards and legislation is essential in my role, especially as I work to ensure accurate reporting under US GAAP, the SOX Act, the SEC Act, and evolving tax laws. As someone who thrives on learning and tackling challenges, I dedicate my free time to deepening my understanding of these regulations. I regularly use resources like LinkedIn Learning and ChatGPT to support my ongoing development and ensure I apply these standards correctly.
What tools or strategies do you use to manage the financial operations of the company effectively?
In today’s world, automation is essential to a company’s success. It minimizes errors and frees up valuable time, allowing employees to focus on high-impact work while routine, repetitive tasks are handled by technology. I'm a strong advocate for automation and invest a significant amount of time streamlining processes to create long-term efficiency for the team. I believe embracing AI is the way forward, I use it daily, not as something to fear, but as a powerful tool that helps us work smarter and unlock new possibilities.
Share your strategies for staying balanced, especially during busy periods.
Time management is essential, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance is vital for protecting your mental well-being. While this can be challenging, especially during peak periods, working for a company that values and supports balance makes a significant difference. Open communication with management is key. It's about aligning expectations while ensuring boundaries are respected. Striking this balance isn’t always easy and often involves compromise from both sides.
What do you enjoy outside of work?
Outside of work, I enjoy reading, listening to music, and playing the piano, these activities help me unwind and clear my mind. I also have a passion for learning and often find myself diving into new topics that spark my interest, happily spending hours exploring and expanding my knowledge.
Do you mentor or support other team members in the finance department?
One of my key responsibilities in audit was mentoring trainees. It was essential to understand each trainee’s strengths and weaknesses so I could help them leverage their strengths to achieve results, while also guiding them in overcoming their weaknesses and developing new skills. In my current role, I support management by designing more efficient workflows and demonstrating to the previous generation how technology can enhance their professional lives.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to work in a finance department?
Communication and time management are essential skills in finance, especially given the high stress of the industry. These skills are key to avoiding burnout, particularly during busy season. Efficient time management helps you meet targets, but it's equally important to communicate when you're at capacity and can’t take on additional work. Meeting deadlines for the tasks you can manage is far more effective than missing multiple deadlines because you were trying to juggle too much at once.
What’s your favourite quote or mantra that motivates you?
“You are the master of your own destiny; Failing is better than not trying at all, because you will at least learn something out of failure”
Share a leadership lesson or a piece of advice that’s been valuable to you in your career.
For any leader in business, being approachable while maintaining respect is crucial. Fostering an environment of openness allows you to identify potential issues before they escalate. However, if people fear you, they may hesitate to speak up about problems while there’s still time to address them.
What’s something surprising about you that isn’t in your professional bio?
I know something about almost anything, I might be an accountant, but I know quite a lot about physics and languages, too. When I am really bored, I challenge myself mentally by learning a new skill or playing trivia games.
If you could have any superpower to help you in your job, what would it be?
Predicting the future and being able to clone myself are interesting prospects!
What’s your go-to strategy for staying productive during long workdays?
Taking breaks is essential, stepping outside for a walk can help when you're losing focus. It’s also helpful to track your energy levels throughout the day, so you can tackle high-impact tasks when you're at your most energized and save the more repetitive tasks for when your energy is lower.
If you could relive one day from your career, which day would it be and why?
Witnessing a trainee receive outstanding feedback from management after applying the skills I helped them develop is incredibly rewarding. It's a quiet victory, knowing that I've made a meaningful impact on someone's growth and success.
Dane’s journey reminds us that leadership doesn’t always speak the loudest, sometimes it just listens better, learns faster, and builds smarter. Whether he’s mentoring trainees or mastering SOX compliance, Dane is proving that curiosity, clarity, and courage create real career momentum.
Join CIBA and we’ll show you how to grow with purpose and lead with precision, just like Dane.
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