Finance Cluster Controller

Job Title

Finance Cluster Controller

Job Description Summary

The role is responsible for:
- Leading all aspects of Finance Controllership for legal entities and branches registered in Northern Europe
- Ensuring local finance compliance requirements and Global and Regional policies and processes including revenue recognition are met
- Providing support to EMEA Controllership on intercompany and branch issues
- Jointly owning the commercial relationship with local compliance providers
- Establishing appropriate governance structures over compliance, reporting, reconciliations, controls and risk
- Driving continuous value through efficient legal entity structures, processes, use of third parties and by optimising the outsourced finance operating model
- Lead, develop and manage staff
- Countries within scope include Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and possibly others

Job Description

Other professional qualifications required for filling the position:

• ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or local equivalent

Foreign language skills required for filling the position:

• Fluent in English, both oral and written
• Knowledge of any other European language is an advantage

Required skills for filling the position:

• Experience in managing month end close process within a BPO / Shared service model for multiple EMEA Countries
• Experience leading local statutory audits and statutory accounts process across multiple EMEA countries – audit background and SOX control experience preferred
• Financial management experience with a proven ability to translate financial data into commercial language
• knowledge of major ERP systems and HFM, Workday strongly preferred and Essbase also useful
• Effective communication skills across a range of seniority levels and countries to Finance & non-Finance staff professional services business
• Post accounting qualification experience >10y.
• >10y post qualification Controllership leadership experience across multiple countries and within a US listed SOX control environment
• Experience of project & contract accounting
• Experience leading financial compliance and change in US GAAP & local GAAP environments and IFRS strongly preferred
• Demonstrable flexibility to meet competing and evolving business needs and drive for results
• Demonstrate Personal and Team leadership of remotely located Teams
• Demonstrate building and maintaining trusting relationships
• Critical thinker & problem solver
• Resilient change driver and adopter
• Ability to develop strong stakeholder relationships in a complex environment
• Fluent in both written and spoken English and preferably one other relevant language

Responsibilities:

Close & Reporting

• Responsible for accurate, timely, monthly closing of the books (in US GAAP) all in accordance with Global & EMEA deadlines, policies and compliance requirements,
• Review and approve AR invoice requests, unbilled revenue accruals, credit notes, AP invoices and journals in accordance with the delegation of authority (DOA) - checking completeness, accuracy and compliance
• Monitor and minimise late journals, unadjusted items reported and off system ETB adjustments
• Responsible for the timely production, management review, variance explanations, query resolution and sign-off of reporting and disclosure requirements (internal, external, statutory, treasury and group) in accordance with polices & timetables issued by US/EMEA Controllership and in accordance with all relevant regulations, procedures and controls
• Ensure adequate management review is in place over all aspects of accounting and reporting (eg  FX, reconciliations, close, cash forecasts etc) to identify and remediate issues on a timely basis
• Responsible for driving timely investigation & resolution of unusual, outstanding & aged items (eg: reconciliation open items, bank open items, intercompany mismatch, aged accruals, unallocated cash)
• Support requests from senior management

Audits & Statutory Financial Statements

• Responsible for ensuring audited accounts are filed on time and that external audits are planned, efficient and co-ordinated with stakeholders minimising audit costs and over-runs
• Provide details of audit fees for budgeting and accrual purposes and ensure all audit fees are reviewed and have been approved according to internal approvals
• Responsible for ensuring local statutory accounts are prepared, reviewed and filed by the relevant filing deadline and meet relevant reporting requirements.
• Support Internal Audits and implement agreed recommendations

Balance Sheet Control

• Responsible for ensuring adequate governance is in place over the accuracy and integrity of all balance reconciliations and for reporting unadjusted items in accordance with Group/EMEA reporting requirements
• Work with Internal Control and Senior Management to establish reconciliation frequency and thresholds that are risk appropriate and efficient

Treasury:

• Responsible for reviewing weekly cash forecasts and ensuring these reflect the latest known input from Controllership
• Support Global Treasury and the business on treasury related requests (eg bank account changes, FBAR, FX, cash flow reporting, loan & interest settlement, bank guarantees) adopting Corporate providers and processes
• Responsible for identifying working capital improvement opportunities and supporting improvements
• Responsible for the remediation of entity liquidity issues

Compliance & Control

• Responsible for ensuring adequate financial control reviews are evidenced
• Responsible for ensuring adequate governance is in place to identify, prioritise and remediate risk in the countries and input to the quarterly EMEA Controllership risk review
• Support the communication, training and implementation of Global and EMEA Finance Policies and procedures and ensure financial records are compliant
• Support the timely and accurate completion and submission by others of the SOX 302 sub-certifications
• Support the accurate, efficient coding by others to minimize reporting and reconciliation issues and corrections (AP, AR, journals, payroll, manual payments)

Revenue Recognition & Debtors

• Responsible for ensuring revenue recognition and CECL policies are understood and correctly applied within Responsible for reviewing bad debt provisions ensuring they are adequate and in line with policy
• Perform ad hoc contract reviews and provide guidance on the most appropriate financial operational practices to adopt within the contract
• Support working capital optimisation across countries through meaningful metrics and finance operational support for aged debt reduction, achievement of DSO targets, prompt invoicing, cash collection & allocation and resolution of credit balances

Tax & Other returns

• Responsible for ensuring regulatory returns (including CIT, VAT, ECSL, other returns and business surveys) are adequately reviewed and submitted on time whether prepared internally or by service providers
• Responsible for ensuring tax related payments are correctly coded, approved and made on time
• Support transfer pricing studies and external audits by tax authorities
• Collaborate with Tax to ensure intercompany recharges and allocations are appropriate and timely

Intercompany

• Responsible for ensuring the Global intercompany policy and process is deployed efficiently across countries
• Responsible for ensuring intercompany transactions are processed by others on a timely basis ( eg referral fees and recharges)
• Drive timely investigation and reduction of intercompany mismatches supporting the FSC Intercompany team and R2R process owner

Process & Systems

• Support process and system change projects in accordance with prioritised plans
• Actively seek out smarter ways of working and optimise system functionality to minimize manual effort

Legal entities & Ad hoc

• Support all stages of M&A activity including due diligence and post-acquisition integration
• Collaborate with stakeholders to optimize legal entity structures and minimize compliance cost
• Lead the investigation and remediation of negative equity situations

Collaboration with Stakeholders

• Support senior management, Global & EMEA Controllership and Process Owners in the development and implementation of policies, procedures, controls and close calendars
• Responsible for timely resolution of escalated controllership issues and queries raised by stakeholders (eg the Business, US/EMEA Controllership, FSC teams and other third-party service providers)
• Drive optimization of the Accenture FSC model taking steps to make the FSC staff feel part of ‘one’ Finance team
• Sign off the scope of works of key compliance service provider contracts and drive cost effective compliance support

INCO: “Cushman & Wakefield”