Accounting Partner

Job Purpose

The role is responsible for overseeing several legal & reporting entities, acting as a business partner towards sites and providing technical accounting expertise.

Job Dimensions & Scope

Key stakeholders include -

• Plant Controllers
• Country 'controller' (where applicable)
• Other SSC Teams & SSC Manager
• BG Controlling Team (reporting & consolidation)
• SOX, internal & external control Teams

Principal Accountabilities

Functional/Transversal activities

• Acts as the key SSC entry point for Plant with close links/contacts to Plant Controllers (actively engaging on a monthly basis, driving the agenda and key problem solving)
• Responsible for spreading Country / Plant demands to subject experts within the SSC organization
• Responsible for reviewing and approving / refusing requests submitted by R2R, AP and AR SSC teams and for providing feedback when required
• Coordinate and control production of financial statements & reporting in parallel Gaap for 4 to 6 reporting units
• Ensure completeness and reliability of financial statements by performing consistency reviews before submitting to FCs
• Ensure Group & local rules respect and validate SOX controls, alert if needed
• Propose/review provisions for risk/cost, in collaboration with Plant Finance Controllers & BU Controllers
• Perform regular Balance Sheet (BS) reviews
• Monitor periods close and open requests
• Provide input for continuous process improvement
• Act as an 'occasional trainer', providing technical advise/expertise
• Know and comply with the site’s QOHSE-SA (Quality, Occupational Health and Safety, and Environment – Safety Assurance) rules.

Results reporting

• Generate financial reporting to upload in APEX (not considered a 'posting'), with the support of GL Accountant, and liaise w. Plant Controller
• Prepare trial balance for Local legal statutory reporting
• Perform fiscal calculations, pass on to GL Accountant for posting and perform the checks
• Organize, coordinate, and control the production of accounts and reporting, under both French accounting standards and US GAAP, for a group of sites or companies.
• Demonstrate proactivity to anticipate the accounting implications of business events.

Closing

• Define or validate accruals for invoices not received (non-PO invoices)
• Review financial statements for GL Accounting & Closing
• Validate cost centers and P&L rules in liaison with Plant Controller and run cost allocation cycles
• Perform calculations for tax subsidies for plants in scope

Cash & Accounting

• Collect and consolidate data for cash forecasts (direct method)
• Review & support the processing of hedging requests
• Coordination/consolidation of the Balance Sheet and forecast hedging with preparation of balance sheet hedge and coordinate forecast from Plant Controllers

Tax Management

• For Tax Integration, provide relevant information and prepare the tax pack
• For monthly Tax reporting, provide required information and book taxes incl. Corporate tax estimate in monthly result (open point – TBC)

Audit/ Review Responsibilities

• Manage of the audit process, acting as a key point of contact (internal, external, Tax audits) for plants in scope & for providing expertise
• Preparation of audit disclosures, answer audit requests
• Ensure the production of monthly accounts and Group reporting, meeting required quality and deadline standards, relying on the various departments of the Shared Services Center (SSC).
• Implement all controls required under SOX certification; perform regular account reviews to ensure their reliability.
• Propose accounting entries for non-routine transactions.
• Actively participate in a continuous improvement approach aimed at enhancing accounting and financial processes, as well as drafting procedures.
• Prepare annual financial statements and review tax packages for the companies within your scope.

Pre-Closing

• Support Interco Reconciliation: load IC balances into APEX, check with AR that Interco Reconciliation are complete

Major Challenges & Complexities

The following are true for the role -

• Meet deadlines for legal & group reporting
• Accountable for overall SOX compliance and internal controls quality (balance sheet review etc.)
• Consistently meet customer service agreement’s terms on SLA (quality of input & compliance level)
• Organise relationship with various internal stakeholders to flawless and seamless process execution across SSC teams
• Advise any stakeholders in term of finance accounting expertise

Qualifications/Requirements

1. Formal Qualifications and Experience

• Part-qualified Accountant
• 2+ years of experience in accounting and/or consolidation (audit or management control) in a multi-national company
• Experience in a shared service environment desirable

2. Specific Skills and Abilities

• Master accounting techniques (financial analysis, financial reporting, etc.) & International Accounting Standards and regulations (IFRS, etc.)
• Confident with numbers and financial mathematics
• Excellent working knowledge of SAP-S/4 Financial Applications and computer tools
• Excellent knowledge of tax and legal standards
• Language skills – English proficiency required, additional languages considered an asset

• Good analytical and synthesizing skills, ability to see the “big picture” in an SSC environment
• Good interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing with internal and external stakeholders
• High level of resilience, organised and structured, able to manage workload and prioritise
• Ability to challenge, question (considering a wide range of impacts - organizational, fiscal, business… – an end-to-end process approach) & push back in a professional way to safeguard accounting rules
• Proactive & adaptable, enthusiastic, positive attitude to support a constructive working environment
• Excellent people skills, ability to mentor and coach colleagues across various SSC departments/towers
• Ability to act as a change agent and ambassador for continuous improvement