Accounting Controller

**Date**:Apr 6, 2024

**Location**: Les Pailles, MU

**Company**:AkzoNobel

**About AkzoNobel**

Since 1792, we’ve been supplying the innovative paints and coatings that help to color people’s lives and protect what matters most. Our world class portfolio of brands - including Dulux, International, Sikkens and Interpon - is trusted by customers around the globe. We’re active in more than 150 countries and use our expertise to sustain and enhance the fabric of everyday life. Because we believe every surface is an opportunity. It’s what you’d expect from a pioneering and long-established paints company that’s dedicated to providing sustainable solutions and preserving the best of what we have today - while creating an even better tomorrow. Let’s paint the future together.

© 2024 Akzo Nobel N.V. All rights reserved.

**Job Purpose**:
The Accounting Controller is a local finance leader who is the linking pin within the operational model (liaising with all relevant stakeholders: Commercial and ISC navigators, FP&A, RAC, ACD and beyond) to meet the AkzoNobel and operational goals for retained RTR, Finance and AkzoNobel as a whole locally.

The local accounting controller role has a pivotal role to ensure consistent high quality and timely group / business and statutory reporting for a set of relevant legal entity entities, and comprises of 6 distinct areas of Accountability / Responsibility for the region:

- RTR process ownership and manage interactions with other processes and stakeholders
- Owning legal and reporting entities as will be assigned
- Accounting Leadership
- Business partnering for all relevant Accounting activities to relevant stakeholders
- Specific (BU / Region and / or) local accountabilities / responsibilities
- Ensure control and compliance as per defined framework

**Key Accountabilities**:

- Responsible for IFRS specific accounting areas in the region (e.g. inventory, intercompany, treasury, GL, legal, legacy, fixed assets and pension accounting)
- Responsible for the accounting (AR,AP,GL) for of local legal entity.
- Translates IFRS/webFEM policy to MIAC administration and Local GAAP
- Support and execute in an accurate and timely way the required ongoing, monthly, quarterly, and annual IFRS / accounting related activities for the entities in the region
- Identify opportunities to improve and automate processes and controls and drive continuous improvement
- Inter Company Accounting (report/review and solve IC mismatches)
- Analyze Balance Sheet (BS), Profit & Loss (P&L) figures and variances
- Review and potentially adjust reports (A-Forms) in HFM
- Assure that month end closing deadlines are met
- Focus on Balance Sheet and P&L for (group of) LEs (company codes), execute high level review and answer specific expertise questions during month and month-end closing
- Translates IFRS/webFEM policy to MIAC administration and Local GAAP
- Makes sure governance structure is applied; monitor adherence to internal control requirements
- Daily interaction with local and regional team
- Drive standardization across BUs in the region and guards the integrity and quality of the delivered accounting in the specific accounting area
- Contribute to projects that require IFRS expertise and have an impact on accounting (e.g. SAP rollout, integration of legal entities,FFF)
- Responsible for serving as an expert for the accounting treatment in the Country towards other stakeholders such as the BAs / BUs and global functions
- Provides support to treasury with respect to banks, facilities, loan, dividends accounting and cash flow forecasts
- Focal point for all accounting matters within the Country towards global functions
- Liaison with local authorities and internal / external auditors
- Manage and coordinate IFRS and local GAAP specialists and tax in the Country
- Prepare Consolidated group statutory and legal entity statements for sign off in SA
- Align continuous improvement projects where required

**Experience**:

- University degree in Accounting
- Chartered Certified Accountant( ACCA)
- Relevant experiences in accounting with specific deep expertise in IFRS areas, and capable of analyzing complex processes and issues (2nd or 3rd accounting job)
- Preferably having working experience in one or multiple business units / SMUs
- Drive standardization across BUs in the region and guards the integrity and quality of the delivered accounting in the specific area
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to work and delegate work (in accordance with operations teamlead) under severe time pressure during month-end closures and continuously retain ‘an eye’ for the details
- Able to plan, coordinate and assign IFRS work to analysts (in accordance with operations teamlead)
- Good understanding on the direct and indirect taxes, VAT, withholding taxes, tax declarations, statistical reporting to the tax authorities etc.
- Good knowledge of accounting in ERP system SAP, Navision and consolida