The Accounting Manager is responsible for overseeing financial governance, statutory compliance, management reporting, and financial close activities across the region. This role ensures accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with local regulatory requirements while providing strategic financial insights to regional and global stakeholders.
The position also oversees office lease and occupancy cost management across the region.
Responsibilities:
Financial Governance & Statutory Compliance
Oversee compliance with local statutory, tax, and regulatory requirements across the region.
Ensure timely preparation and filing of statutory financial statements, tax submissions, and regulatory
reports.
Act as the primary point of contact for external auditors, tax advisors, and local authorities.
Monitor changes in local accounting standards, tax laws, and regulations, and assess impact to the
business.
Ensure adherence to accounting standards and internal control policies.
Monthly Financial Close & Management Reporting
Lead and coordinate the monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close process for the region.
Ensure proper reconciliation of all General Ledger accounts and integrity of financial statements.
Manage the intercompany accounting process, assisting with transaction recording and reconciliations.
Ensure accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of financial results.
Review and analyse P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow for the region.
Prepare and present monthly management reports, variance analysis, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to regional and global leadership.
Partner with Shared Service Centre (SSC) to ensure service quality and SLA adherence.
Assist in maintaining the Global Chart of Accounts and ensuring alignment with regional counterparts.
Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Planning
Support the annual budgeting and periodic forecasting processes for the region.
Consolidate regional budgets and forecasts, ensuring alignment with global financial targets.
Track budget vs. actual performance and proactively highlight risks and opportunities.
Office Lease & Facilities Cost Management
Oversee office lease accounting and management across the region.
Ensure compliance with relevant accounting standards.
Manage lease renewals, amendments, and terminations in collaboration with HR & Business Services, Legal, and Procurement.
Monitor occupancy costs, ensure cost optimization, and support strategic location planning.
Stakeholder Management & Leadership
Act as a trusted finance partner to leadership team, country heads, and global finance teams.
Lead, coach, and develop regional finance teams.
Drive process standardization, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives across the region.
Support regional projects, M&A integration, or system implementations as required.
Requirements:
Qualified professional accountant: ACCA, CPA, CA, or equivalent.
Minimum 8 years of progressive finance and accounting experience, with regional exposure.
Experience working with SSC or multinational company.
Proven success in leading high performing regional finance team and process transformation project.
Strong knowledge of accounting principles, statutory reporting, management reporting, and financial close.
Hands-on experience with budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis.
Solid understanding of lease accounting and oice cost management.
Proficient in MS Oice and Power BI. Intermediate to advance MS Excel skills.
Proficiency in accounting systems. Experience in NetSuite and MS Dynamics is highly desirable.
Strong communication skills with the ability to engage senior stakeholders across cultures. Mandarin speaker
will be a plus.
Strong attention to detail and ability to work to deadlines.
Ability to manage complexity across multiple countries.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a face-paced environment.
Flexible to work when required during Malaysia public holidays in which replacement holidays will be provided.
Flexible to work on staggered hours to support UK & US timing
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Skills Required
- Experience overseeing statutory, tax, and regulatory financial compliance across multiple jurisdictions
- Proven experience leading monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close processes and reconciliations
- Experience with intercompany accounting and consolidation processes
- Knowledge and hands-on experience with lease accounting and occupancy cost management
- Experience preparing management reports, variance analysis, and presenting to regional/global leadership
- Experience leading, coaching, and developing regional finance teams and driving process improvements
- Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes
What We Do
Market Intelligence is what sets us apart and what defines us as a brand – literally in fact: when the company was founded in 1972 it took its name from an amalgamation of the two words. We have been defining and refining the Market Intelligence Mix ever since, to offer our clients a unique perspective on the consumer landscape ahead and a clear roadmap with which to navigate it. So what goes into the market intelligence mix? MARKET RESEARCH is not the only thing we do, but it is right at the core of our business. The vast range of primary research we carry out and commission is the bedrock of our market intelligence, creating data series we can assess incrementally over the long term to track trends and forecast the future. MARKET ANALYSIS is the second key element of the market intelligence mix. Our specialist team of market analysts scours the globe for trade, industry and government data, which our statisticians then integrate into meaningful sizing models and future value forecasts for thousands of sectors worldwide. PRODUCT INTELLIGENCE adds micro-level relevance to the macro context of our market analysis, bringing our clients real-world examples of the launches and goods that are driving the numbers. COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE is the fourth pillar of our work, keeping our clients abreast of their rivals’ strategies, communications and results, to give them the understanding they need to choose the right response to gain or maintain that crucial competitive edge. The magic happens when we pull them all together. Trend analysts, category specialists, systems developers, dedicated account teams and client servicing staff work together to provide our clients with understanding as well as knowledge. That’s our Market Intelligence. That’s how we help businesses grow. It’s why we’re the leaders in it.
