Senior Financial Accountant General Accounting

Work Setup: Hybrid (twice a week onsite)

Location: Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

Summary:

The Sr. Accountant – Derivatives and Financial Accounting will specialize in Derivates Management. She/he will be managing commodity derivatives for the commodity risk management team on a daily manner, including Loading of market prices and new trades, reconciling positions with 3rd party brokers/clearing entities for open trade equity, preparing the documents for margin in/out payments for Corporate Treasury. 
 
Part of the role would be the General Accounting.  He/ She will be responsible for closing of the books for the assigned company codes.  This includes posting of journal entries, account reconciliation, month-end closing activities, financial statements analysis, audit support, and all general accounting responsibilities which are not under the scope of Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable. This role will also do VAT preparation, VAT submission and VAT payment for the assigned Company code.

On an on-going basis, he/she is expected to perform based on the key result area of the process, meet/ exceed metrics set based on the Key Performance Indicator, identify improvements, and execute related controls in-scope. 
 

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

Derivatives Management (60%)

The Financial Accounting is responsible for managing commodity derivatives (cocoa futures and options) for the commodity risk management team daily including the following:

• Loading of market prices and new trades
• Reconciling positions with 3rd party brokers/clearing entities for open trade equity
• Preparing the documents for margin in/out payments for Corporate Treasury

General Accounting and Month-End Closing (30%)

The Financial Accountant is responsible for closing the Hershey books of accounts in compliance with US GAAP, following the Hershey closing calendar.  The accountant is responsible for ensuring accuracy, timeliness, completeness and appropriateness of approvals for all transactions executed as part of the closing process in compliance with the Journal Entry Policy.

General accounting and month-end closing activities include:
•    Month end entries, accruals, prepayment amortization and adjustments
•    Key Account Reconciliation
•    Intercompany Billing and reconciliation
•    Lease Accounting
•    Bank Reconciliation
•    Margin Interest posting
•    Income Tax posting
•    Vat Preparation and Filing
•    Payroll Accounting
•    Other items specifically for the assigned entities

Account Analysis and Issues Resolution:

The Financial Accountant is responsible for the comprehensive and timely preparation and certification of accounts using Hershey system, i.e. Blackline DeriSystem.  This includes reviewing and reconciling the balance sheet accounts, with reference to the Balance Sheet Policy, identifying issues, coordinating with the account owners, analyzing the root causes and determining the next steps that will lead ot the resolution of those issues. 

The Financial Accountant is also expected to work closely with internal Business Partners and provide support and analyses to address their accounting-related concerns.
 

All Others (15%)

• Continuous Process Improvement: Responsible for continuous process improvement which includes but not limited to process documentation, identifying quick wins, and projects that will make the process more robust. Partner with Global Tax team and document ideas for improving tax processes, software efficiency, and user experience over time.  

• KPI Tracking and Reporting:  Responsible for defining relevant KPIs for the processes.  Apart from defining measures, the accountant is responsible for timely updates, reporting to customers, identifying and resolving issues that will lead to the improvement of KPIs.

• Internal and External Audit Supports: This role is responsible for the preparation and submission of documents required for internal
  or external audit of the Hershey books and work processes. Together with the RTR Supervisor, he/she is responsible for the timely communication and resolution of issues identified during any internal or external audit in ensuring safeguarding the internal controls of the RTR process.

• Adhoc/ other Tasks: Others related ad hoc roles that may be assigned to the Tax Accountant with alignment with the Director of RTR & Financial Services and Manila RTR Leaders. 

Minimum knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform major duties/responsibilities:  

Knowledge:
•    BS Accountancy, or its equivalent
•    Certified Public Accountant
•    Proficient understanding of US GAAP and local GAAP
•    Basic knowledge of SAP 
•    Knowledge in Microsoft Office (Excel, Powerpoint, Sharepoint)
•    Knowledge in Derivatives/Financial Instruments, and EU tax laws is a plus

Soft Skills:
•    Strong Oral and Written Communication Skills
•    Good Interpersonal Communication Skills, 
•    Collaboration Skills
•    Attention to Details
•    Strong Analytical and Problem Solving Skills
•    Works with minimum supervision
•    Proactive
•    Project Management Skills and ability to prioritize
•    Continuous Improvement mindset
 

Competencies: 

Customer Focused and Results Oriented. Understands issues from the customers’ perspective; considers the impact of decisions, processes, services on the customer; demonstrates passion for providing excellent customer service; treats customers with respect and care and uses a variety of approaches to identify customer needs; conveys a sense of urgency to get things done; ensures that there are necessary resources available for resolution of escalated customer issues; monitors the quality resolution of customer issues.

Problem Solving. Detailed oriented; uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; effectively researches and probes all sources for answers; can see/recognize hidden problems and look beyond the obvious.

Learning. Learns from personal successes and failures and those of others and applies learning to new situations; learns quickly when facing new problems; versatile and experiments to try to find solutions; open to change; enjoys the challenge of an unfamiliar task.

Listening and Interpersonal Skills. Practices attentive and active listening and has the patience to hear people out; can accurately restate the views of others even when he/she personally disagrees; relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and across the internal organization and externally; builds rapport quickly; develops constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse high-tension situations comfortably.
 

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements:

Education: Bachelor’s Degree required, in Accountancy or any relevant field

Experience:

• Must have at least 5 years of experience in end-to-end General Accounting process
• Certified Public Accountant candidates are highly preferred
• Experience in Derivatives management/accounting, Hedge Fund, or Trading accounting is highly preferred
• Amenable to a shifting schedule of mid shift (3:00 pm to 12 midnight) and night shift (month end)
• Must be willing to work as guided by US Holidays

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