Responsibilities
ABOUT THE JOB:
The Finance Department of Global Banking and Investor Solutions (GBIS) is a global organization with a local presence. Our core mission in the Americas involves delivering sound financial reports, supporting Business Units, Service Units and General Management with financial and strategic steering, effectively scrutinize business plans, and offering good advice on the efficient use of our capital, liquidity, and funding resources. The Finance Department performs independent certification of all financial aggregates and creates the daily P&L explanation on market activities. In addition, our robust teams also oversee and execute cross-business projects in the financial and regulatory areas of the industry by providing expertise on accounting, prudential and tax norms while ensuring compliance.
The Financial Control and Accounting Quality Oversight team (“PAQ”) in Canada and US is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the accounting and financial control framework, which aims at ensuring the quality and accuracy of SOCIETE GENERALE’s financial statements. The team is in charge of implementation and management of the Level 1 control framework for First Line of Defense.
PAQ in Americas reports to the Deputy CFO/Head of Accounting in the US, as well as, functional reporting to the global head of PAQ department in Paris.
The scope of the PAQ department in Americas is to supervise and control the accounting production and supervision of US GAAP, French GAAP and IFRS financial statement reporting for the Branch, the Broker Dealer and other subsidiaries that are based in the Americas (US, Brazil, and Canada).
What will be your DAY-TO-DAY?
We are looking for an energetic, detail-oriented, enthusiastic team player to join our team, as we expand our presence in Canada. The ideal candidate will be a self-starter with great research, analytical, and technical skills, looking to learn and take on new challenges. Some of the responsibilities include:
Prepare tasks related to the accounting supervision and control framework
· Supervision of the account certification process for entities within the Americas perimeter
· Assessing the Accounting, Finance and Operations internal control environment (to the extent that it generates accounting risk)
· Designing, planning, and executing process changes in response to auditor recommendations
· Communicating with multiple teams within the bank on the overall and specific risk assessment of their activities.
· Performing quality analysis related to the accounting processes
· Monthly/quarterly production of Key Performance Indicators/Key Risk Indicators on the certification, identifying internal control issues and estimating financial risk.
· Contributing to the improvement and evolution of the account ownership and certification process
· Being a subject matter expert in terms of internal control and risks
· Having a control mindset and a risk-based approach: be able to identify, assess and report risk
Participation in monitoring of the closing process
· Assist in the monthly and quarterly close process for all Americas entities, including the Branch and Broker Dealer
· Identification and escalation of risk areas and collaboration with production teams for resolution
· Check treatment and documentation of main accounting anomalies linked to the closing
· Create presentations for key meetings and committees in the closing process
Contribution to tasks related to permanent control oversight
· Identify, review, assess and document risk and control issues
· Assist with the implementation of new controls to be compliant with new regulations and/or internal policies
· Monthly reporting on key financial and operational risks, associated action plans and results of the accounting permanent controls
· Assist other areas of the bank in implementation of recommendations from Second and Third Lines of Defense, as it relates to the control framework
· Provide guidance on the design of level 1 controls, as well as training on best practices on the Level 1 control framework
Ensure controls are correctly mapped to risks within the Finance Americas risk blueprints; maintenance of the mapping; implementation of new rules/regulations in the control framework
Other PAQ Tasks
· Operational Risk Management for Finance
o Evaluating and logging operational incidents and issues.
o Contributing to the Risk and Compliance Self-Assessment exercises for all of Finance.
· Coordination of External Audit: Liaison with our external auditors and ensure the audit process is smooth and deadlines are kept.
Profile required
Skills and Qualifications:
Must Have:
- Undergraduate/Graduate degree in Accounting or Finance.
- 2-3 years of experience working in the accounting, risk management, banking, or financial services field
- Understanding of audit techniques (risk approach, substantive testing, high view analysis…)
- Solid understanding of US GAAP and IFRS accounting policies and regulations. Knowledge of French GAAP is a plus.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Detail-oriented and highly organized
- Advanced written and verbal communication skills, as well as presentation skills
- Project management skills
- Leadership, teamwork and client service skills
Nice to Have:
· Chartered Accountant, CPA, or CMA is a plus.
· Knowledge of Power BI, Alteryx
LANGUAGE:
Ability to communicate in English, both orally and in writing, is a requirement as the person in this position will need to collaborate regularly with colleagues and partners in the United States.
Due to US Federal Securities law applying to this position, candidates who will apply for this position will be required to submit to an enhanced background screening, including the collection of their fingerprints by a third-party vendor selected by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA")
Why join us
OUR BENEFITS:
WHAT WE DO DIFFERENTLY AT SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE
Competitive compensation & benefits offering, including but not limited to:
- Minimum of 20 Vacation days + 4 personal days
- Supportive Maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave policy
- Health spending ($2,000/year) and personal spending ($1,000/year) accounts with 75+ eligible reimbursement categories (health, training, electronics etc.)
Fully sponsored virtual healthcare assistance and Employee Assistance Program to you and your immediate family
Various Employee Resource Groups (ERG) to engage with such as Pride and Allies, American Women Network, Black Leadership Network, One planet, etc.
- A culture of continuous development by encouraging our employees various training programs (online training and coaching platform such as Coursera, GoFluent, Pluralsight, First Finance, and others)
Business insight
OUR CULTURE:
At Societe Generale, we live by our 4 core values of commitment, responsibility, team spirit and innovation. We are engaged and demonstrate consideration for others. We act ethically and with courage. We focus our talent and energy on collective success. We experiment and propose new ideas. This way, we maximize our ability to serve client needs and anticipate market changes. Societe Generale is committed to strengthening bonds with colleagues, communities, and the world in which we live, because relationships are at the heart of how we operate.
For more information about our Culture and Conduct initiatives, please visit this link (https://americas.societegenerale.com/en/careers/get-know-culture/)
D&I:
Our Diversity & Inclusion Mission: Recruit, develop, advance, and retain a diverse workforce that is united in our efforts to enhance our competitive position and deliver innovative solutions to our clients.
Our Diversity & Inclusion Vision:
• Engaged workforce that is demographically diverse in a way that reflects the communities in which we operate
• Inclusive culture and workplace that recognizes employees' unique needs and utilizes their diverse talents
• Engage our community and marketplace, and position the organization to meet the needs of all its clients
For more information about our D&I initiatives, please visit this link (https://americas.societegenerale.com/en/societe-generale-about/diversity-and-inclusion/)
HYBRID WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Societe Generale offers a hybrid work arrangement that offers employees the flexibility to work remotely, as well as on-site, in order to promote interaction and collaboration with colleagues while adhering to all SG standard protocols. Hybrid work arrangements vary based on business area. The applicable Business lines will determine and communicate the work arrangements that best meet their business needs.
Societe Generale is an equal opportunity employer and we are proud to make diversity a strength for our company. We are committed to recognizing and promoting the talents and achievements of our employees and staff, regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, and any other characteristic or status protected under applicable law. We strive to write our postings as inclusively as possible. If, however, one gender is used alone in this display, it designates persons of all gender identities.