Global Accounting Operations – Balance Sheet Substantiation _ Assistant Vice President Job At Bengaluru Full Time

Reports to : Balance Sheet Substantiation – VP

Department/ Division : Controllers/Finance

Background:

Driven by the State Street Beacon initiative, functionalization of corporate functions and re-alignment of the Finance operating model, State Street has established Global Accounting Operations (GAO) in 2017. GAO is a process-driven function responsible for all record-to-report (R2R) processes within Controllers including:

• Integrated close and intercompany
• Revenue accounting
• Expense accounting
• Specialized product accounting
• Cash and deposit governance
• Accounts payable
• Project accounting
• Balance sheet substantiation and system to system reconciliations
• Transfer pricing
• Client profitability
• Management allocations
• Financial Systems Support

Each global process above is managed by a Global Process Owner (GPO) who owns all aspects of BAU production work, process re-engineering, and automation.

Organizationally GAO combines all groups performing these activities globally – approximately 500 employees as of 1Q19.

Majority of GAO capacity (circa 80%) is concentrated in 2 Global and 2 Regional GAO Hubs where activities are organized by process:

• Global GAO Hub in Bangalore, India (captive)
• GAO Production Hub in Coimbatore and Chennai (State Street/HCL JV)
• EMEA Regional GAO Hub in Krakow, Poland (captive)
• APAC Regional GAO Hub in Hangzhou, China (captive)

Remaining 20% of activities reside within Regional Service Delivery Teams supporting NAM, EMEA and APAC regions. These teams are organized by business unit and material legal entity and act as an interface between Global and Regional Hubs and non-GAO stakeholders – Controllers, FP&A, Treasury, and Tax etc.

Goal of the position:

• Accountable for all operational Balance Sheet Substantiation activities in the Hub
• Partners with GPO to drive process and controls improvements and process automation
• Successful delivery of the Balance Sheet Substantiation Remediation Project

Responsibilities & Tasks Include:

Business as Usual (BAU) Activities:

End-to-end accountability for all operational reconciliation and certification processes performed in the Hub (growing scope as more processes are transitioned from high cost locations to the hub) Full ownership of timeliness and quality of the output, no backfall on donor entities or onshore Service Delivery Teams Oversight of JV processes and output, escalation point for JV who have a matrix reporting into the Hub Timely provision of accurate and complete set of data to internal and external GAO and non-GAO stakeholders (e.g. GAO Service Delivery Teams, BU Controllers, FP&A, SEC reporting, external audit, etc.) Maintaining robust controls environment: maintaining complete and accurate inventory of processes, risks and controls; timely flagging, tracking and remediation of process, communication and controls deficiencies; maintaining up to date inventory of standard operating procedures; identifying and remediation of inconsistent design of controls within the same tower; monitoring of controls effectiveness Meeting SLA requirements and maintaining high Balanced Scorecard ratings

Process Re-Engineering, Automation and Change Management

• Partnering with GPO, FRIBS and Technology to drive process re-engineering, automation and change management
• Continuous process improvement leveraging GAO ideation and issue tracking frameworks
• Partnering with transition management team and donor entities to ensure effective and efficient transition of activities into the Hub
• Implementation support of the GAO process re-engineering and automation (accounting technology roll-out, new entities set up, restructures, converstions)
• In the target state, accountable for Balance Sheet Substantiation of specific sub teams’ operational delivery as well as accountable for the process design and effectiveness

Team Management Responsibilities

• Accountability for the day to day management of a team of professionals
• Talent acquisition, training and development, succession planning, nurturing strong second layer
• Performance management, performance reviews, career planning and coaching
• Partnering with GPO and Global Head of GAO in creating a self-sustaining center of excellence

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor/Master Degree in Finance or MBA
• Accounting Qualification (ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA)
• 10-12 years of progressive experience in Balance Sheet Substantiation, Accounting Operations, Controllers, Business Controls, Finance & Risk Assurance
• Experience of managing Controllership teams in a Shared Services environment
• Extensive practical experience and knowledge of the US GAAP and IFRS accounting standards
• Experience of building and maintaining strong control environment (risk excellence, experience with SOX, RCSA controls, etc.), establishing policies, procedures and strong internal controls.
• Experience of leading redesign, centralization, standardization and automation of R2R processes
• Experience of implementing accounting technology (Oracle, SAP) in a major institution
• Hands on experience in creating and maintaining strong controls environment

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Word, Visio), advance levels of Excel (pivot tables, formulas, excel workbook maintenance best practices)
• Knowledge of Hyperion Essbase, Oracle Financials
• Knowledge of Spotfire, Tableau, Cognos data analytics and visualization (or similar) a plus
• Conceptual understanding of company-wide financial architecture (GL, sub-GL technology, specialized tools) applicable to the above process groups of processes
• Senior-level communication skills, presentation skills, prior experience of interacting with multiple stakeholders (Legal Entity and Geography controllers) in NA, EMEA, APAC
• First or second level management expertise required
• Independent decision-making capabilities, demonstrated thought leadership
• Pride of ownership with the ability to deliver high quality results timely
• Self-motivated, self-assured, and self-managed
• Strong analytical and ability to analyze and summarize complex financial transactions
• Strong attention to details
• Problem solving skill
• Highly organized with ability to multi-task and work under high pressure deadlines
• Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment