Regional Controller, APAC

Primary purpose of the role

This position leads the Financial Controllership & Accounting function for the APAC region. The primary purpose of the role is to ensure accurate and timely financial and statutory reporting and that all local and US GAAP requirements are met. Besides, this role will support to establish the strategic direction, vision and organizational model for Global Retained Accounting Organization transformational changes and create a team that drives continuous improvement to deliver world class accounting and reporting processes, policies and procedures across the countries within the region, as well as future business acquisition, product line and geographic expansion. This role covers countries including: Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines.

Resources:

• Regional in-country accounting teams, expected management of a team of approximately 4 individual direct reports and approximately 36 indirect reports
• BPO-TCS accounting and P2P team
• IM Global controllership group
• Finance Center of Excellence

Key Accountabilities

· Ensure all financial, statutory and reporting requirements (monthly, quarterly and yearly) are delivered in a timely and accurate manner, and within US reporting timeline including Local GAAP and US GAAP adjustments;

• Accountable for ensuring compliance with IM group accounting policies, US GAAP and SOX. Collaborating with and supporting regional CFO in ensuring ongoing risk-based monitoring, design, and implementation of effective internal controls for the locations.
• Management of the balance sheet, ensuring that it reflects the true representation of assets and liabilities. Ensure accurate accruals are maintained and reviewed. Lead regular balance sheet reviews for all countries in the region (regularity of review dependent on importance of country and size of previous accounting issues) and have a special focus on reviewing of high risk balance sheet account reconciliations.

• Provide support to investigate and resolve accounting issues for all countries in the region.

• Manage a team geographically distributed across the countries in the region for all aspects of their performance management. Lead and direct an internal team of finance professionals, including Cluster and/or Country Controllers who will be direct reports (certain of whom will be further supported by Manager level personnel), each of whom will be responsible for driving some facet of the various key responsibilities.

• Coach and develop direct and indirect teams to drive team dynamics, succession planning and personal team member professional development and advancement.

• Effectively partner and communicate with the FP&A and Finance Business Partner roles in order to drive two-way communication between Global and Regional Controllership team and these finance functions in order to drive greater understanding of the accounting impacts of business decisions and provide more effective proactive advice to the business and these Finance groups, as well as, provide more early warning of potential, planned or future transactions and/or events that may have an impact on our financial reporting.

• Accounting support of Regional's M&A activities, due diligence and post-acquisition integration projects relating to financial reporting aspects, lead the set-up of reporting for newly acquired entities.

• Perform risk analysis, review, and provide recommendations for business process changes necessary to address risks of financial misstatement. Working with management, operations and global functional teams on implementing the changes.

• Continuous review of month end close and reporting processes for improvement. Support changes in corporate requirements and implementation of New accounting standard working with the Global Controllership team and Global Centres of Excellence ("COE").

• Drive and support the effective operation of accounting shared services in the region. Identify any issues and manage resolution. Provide support in any additional transition to the outsourcing companies, or system implementation.

• Monitoring P2P activities in the region, perform root cause analysis, run continuous improvement projects (working with Finance SSC P2P Lead and Regional SME)

• Revenue recognition: monitoring for risk around significant new or complex arrangements, work closely working with global SME
• Support capital lease and real estate area, monitor significant or complex transactions and work closely with global SME
• Manage and track preparation of Statutory Accounts and tax returns for all Regional entities. Target is for all to be completed on time. Support external auditors for US GAAP audit purposes.
• Responsible for the production and/or review of the monthly and quarterly disclosure report for the countries within the Region.
• Responsible for country approval and regional certification of SOX (and SOX-Lite) controls for countries in the region with a goal of maintaining the effectiveness .

· Leading the APAC controllership team, provide leadership around process improvement, regulatory and statutory returns, tax compliance and tax efficiency for the region's business.

• Participate in ad-hoc financial and operational projects as agreed with the SVP, Chief Accounting Officer.
• Responsible for building and maintaining relationships with both internal and external key stakeholders.

Essential Qualifications and Experience

• Chartered Accountant (CA, ACCA, CPA or local equivalent).

• Approximately 15 years of progressive experience; minimum of 5 years working within a public accounting firm (big 4 or mid-tier firms).

• Managing a General Ledger close for a large multinational corporation.

• Experience working within a matrix organization.

• Experience of working in a shared service environment.

• Good understanding of US GAAP and IFRS.

• Exposure to SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley).

• Leadership, ability to drive an agenda across the business, coordinate others.

• Remote management skills of a team deployed across countries.

• Ability to coach and develop team members and manage engagement and performance of the team.

• Excellent communicator with team building skills.

• Presence of character to command respect and build working relationships at all levels.

• Ability to work within tight timeframes and meet strict deadlines, and demonstrated ability to influence and manage others to achieve the same.

• Strong planning skills in order to work across a number of projects simultaneously.

• Proactive self-starter with proven problem solving skill set.

• Independent, proactive and inspires to challenge the status quo.

Required to travel within the APAC region.