08 - Accounting Specialist

General Overview

Functional Area:  FIN - Finance
Career Stream:  FPE - Financial Process Execution
Role:  Specialist
SAP Short Name:  SPE
Job Title:  Accounting Specialist
Job Code:  SPE-FIN-ACCT
Job Level:  Band 08
Direct/Indirect Indicator:  Indirect

Summary

Prepare, analyze, and interpret financial results for utilization by management in the decision-making process. Maintain general accounting systems to properly record all financial transactions and records in accordance with GAAP.Incumbents apply in-depth knowledge in a specific area of specialization. Work is performed within established professional standards and practices. Works on problems of moderate scope where analysis of situations or data requires a review of identifiable factors and a considerable degree of judgement. Erroneous decisions or failure to achieve results may have a negative impact on the divisions/departments operations, schedules, and/or performance goals. Works under minimum supervision. Seeks approval from others on matters outside of job/role scope. Receives instruction on specific assignment objectives and possible solutions. Unusual problems are solved jointly with manager. Work is reviewed for application of sound technical judgment. Will lead a work group or project team consisting of technical and support staff as required. Builds internal and external relationships as appropriate, with emphasis on those that facilitate the achievement of job/role accountabilities, such as relationships with key suppliers, customers and internal service. Implements process improvements. Presents complex information integrating several scenarios, Become a key advisor and is able to assist clients/user on vastly different issues. Ability to run a successful meeting with multiple people (i.e. agenda, timetable, demonstrate good time management, conclusion, follow-up and minutes.) Meets group needs, ensures appropriate resources are available and works to achieve team goals over individual goals. Make a decision based on the analysis. Provides input to mange required changes. Leads by example and is accountable for their actions.

Detailed Description

Performs tasks such as, but not limited to, the following:

• Prepares and interprets monthly and quarterly financial statements for internal and external reporting purposes.
• Prepares financial information with detailed analysis of variances to forecast and plan identifying areas of financial concern requiring action.
• Prepares and analyze key financial and operational metrics.
• Presents and make recommendations to management as a result of analysis.
• Ensures financial controls are in place to properly record transactions in accordance with GAAP.
• Ensures provisions and other accounting processes are in accordance with corporate policies.
• Interface with auditors on area of responsibility.
• Responsible to standardize accounting processes and implement best practices to ensure procedures are as efficient and effective as possible.
• Act as a key advisor to other team members.
• Project leader on cross-functional projects as required.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies

• Basic understanding of internal and external customer needs is required to make effective/informed decisions.
• Strong communication, negotiation and presentation skills.
• Ability to consolidate, manipulate and analyze large quantities of data.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks while maintaining attention to detail and accuracy and working under tight time deadlines.
• Ability to evaluate, prioritize and problem solve a variety of tasks to ensure their timely and accurate completion.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with a wide variety of internal and external customers.
• Ability to recommend accounting process changes based on intimate knowledge of accounting processes, policies and procedures.
• Ability to direct others on accounting practices.
• Ability to research accounting rules in both U.S. GAAP and GAAP of relevant country.
• Ability to create a profit center or cost center budget identifying key plan drivers.
• Ability to bridge between actual, plan and forecast, analyzing mix impacts and summarizing in management reports.
• Provide recommendations based on interpretation of results.
• Ability to design/create queries and understands what creates the output.
• Creates basic spreadsheet macros.
• Ability to design custom queries in job-related software.
• Understanding of the relationships between the various tools.
• Understand how to use political structure in the organization and how to get things done using that structure.

Physical Demands

• Duties of this position are performed in a normal office environment
• Duties may require extended periods of sitting and sustained visual concentration on a computer monitor or on numbers and other detailed data
• Repetitive manual movements are frequently required (e.g. data entry, using a computer mouse, using a calculator, etc)
• Occasional overnight travel may be required

Typical Experience

• Three to six years of relevant experience

Typical Education

• Bachelor's degree, or consideration of an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Accounting designation may be required
• Education experience may vary by geography.

Notes

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees are held accountable for all duties of the job. Job duties and the % of time identified for any function are subject to change at any time.