Director of Global Accounting

The Global Director of Accounting is responsible for overseeing and optimizing the management of the shared service Accounting team. This role plays a critical part in ensuring data accuracy, consistency, and compliance with global financial standards. The Global Director will collaborate to streamline end-to-end accounting processes globally, enhance data governance, and support strategic financial initiatives. They are a key member of the Finance Operations Global Shared Services leadership team.

The primary purpose is to drive standardization, policy, procedure, optimization, and forward-looking strategy around Stagwell’s Accounting operations.

Directly lead and manage a global organization of business process experts, transformation initiatives and strategic & critical relevant programs. Continuously assess and enhance the value flows in the ERPs, identifying opportunities for automation, standardization, and efficiency improvements. Implement and manage resource planning.

Stepping in this role, a successful GPO will build and maintain strong business relationships with key Finance and business stakeholders to ensure that end to end Accounting processes are designed to industry leading best practices.

This role calls for hands-on strategic leadership experience with the demonstrated ability to work closely with Finance Operations to make rapid, aggressive changes in the end-to-end accounting function to improve the quality of operations.

This person will be working on process change & optimization projects and be the owner of the end-to-end process designs and process standardizations, worldwide. Ensure compliance with relevant financial regulations and reporting standards whilst aligning opportunities and priorities between global and local finance teams and other functional teams. There will be a focus on improving overall process value and enhancing internal controls while providing cost reduction.

• Defining the process vision, strategy, and governance model for Accounting
• Taking ownership and responsibility for standardization and improvement of accounting processes globally from a process, people and technology perspective.
• Responsible for shaping and designing the process and controls needed whilst simultaneously creating a culture of continuous improvement for record to report (processes, systems, data, training, people).
• Involved in managing business process transformations and have ownership for the delivery of key record to report programs (on-going and future projects) across multiple global entities.
• Recommending liquid solutions and consolidation of platforms to improve integration
• Identifying areas of improvement and opportunities to advance key accounting process metrics. Establishes and executes plans that drive accounting performance & optimization. Ensures delivery by setting & tracking KPI’s and benefits realization.
• Continuously assess and report on data quality and process performance, also aligning opportunities and priorities within SSC, Global and local Finance teams and other functional teams respectively.
• The GPO will be working closely with the CAO office and Controllership Leaders to design and implement end to end Accounting Policies and Procedures.
• This person will be aligning with SOX and control specialist team to mark the internal controls as a part of end-to-end process design and ensure a standard suite of R2R metrics is available to compare the industry benchmarks to establish productivity mapping and cost metric functionality.
• The GPO should help design and create an environment that will lead to both a high Employee Experience (EX) and Engagement as well as a superior Customer Experience (CX)
• Design and implement procedures and operational ways of work in a standardized, efficient, and effective manner for all markets in the region in the realm of the OTC and general financial accounting stream.
  
  

Qualifications

• Proven experience in Accounting leadership and finance operations.
• Qualified CPA or equivalent
• Action-oriented and on a mission, they should have an ability to build strong, long term strategic relationships with stakeholders, partners, and internal functions.
• Executive presence, experience working effectively with critical stakeholders in a complex structure, and the ability to make sustainable change through global process are a must.
• Has exemplary leadership skills, driving teams to top tier performance.
• The GPO should have experience in designing stronger End-to-End Process Governance, including.
• Greater transparency into end-to-end processes
• Higher process standardization globally
• More sustainable process improvements
• Improved process controls
• Streamlined and faster decision making
• Greater transparency and clarity in enterprise-wide communication/collaboration
• Better managed system and technology strategies
• Consistent data structure and improved quality
• Must have healthy understanding of US GAAP
• Exposure to Statutory Financial Statement preparation as well as Direct/Indirect Tax is desirable