Description
Job Overview:
The Vice President, General Ledger Accounting will lead the General Ledger Accounting function for an assigned portfolio of markets and regions. The Vice President is accountable for the overall performance of the GL teams that prepare, review and deliver monthly financial statements and related client deliverables for the communities supported within that portfolio.
Reporting to the SVP, Client Accounting, the Vice President will establish the strategic direction, operating priorities and performance expectations for the assigned GL organization. The role will work closely with market and regional leaders, Financial Management leadership and Client Accounting Shared Services partners to ensure financial statements are accurate, timely and supported by consistent processes, strong controls, effective issue escalation and disciplined performance management.
The Vice President will lead transformation and standardization across the assigned portfolio while ensuring the operating model remains responsive to local market needs, management agreements, governing documents and client expectations. The ideal candidate is a strategic, technically strong and service-oriented leader who can develop leaders, create accountability, resolve complex reporting issues and improve the quality, consistency and efficiency of financial statement delivery.
Due to the global nature of this position, the Vice President should be comfortable working across multiple time zones (Pacific Standard Time to Eastern Standard Time), within reason.
Your Responsibilities:
General Ledger Accounting
- Provide executive ownership of the monthly close and financial statement reporting cycle for all communities within the assigned portfolio, ensuring accurate and timely delivery in accordance with internal policies and procedures, regulatory requirements, management agreements, property governing documents and client expectations.
- Establish the portfolio’s operating rhythm, reporting timetables, quality standards, review protocols, escalation paths and delivery-tracking requirements for monthly financial statements.
- Ensure the integrity of general ledger activity, including account reconciliations, accruals, prepaid expenses and amortization, fixed assets, interfund and reserve activity, cost recovery billings and other client deliverables.
- Serve as the senior escalation authority for complex accounting matters, financial statement exceptions, late or at-risk deliverables and significant client or operational issues within the assigned portfolio.
- Oversee GL support for annual client audits and budgets, special assessments, loans, mortgages and other significant client financial obligations.
- Establish and monitor service level and key performance indicators for financial statement delivery
- Drive leadership accountability for results against service-level and key performance indicators, reviewing performance regularly and leading corrective action plans where targets are missed.
- Build the leadership capability, succession plans, organizational structure and workforce capacity required to support client growth, retention and changing business needs.
- Attract, develop and retain high-caliber leaders and accounting professionals while promoting a culture of collaboration, accountability, trust and service excellence.
Business Partner
- Serve as the senior Client Accounting business partner for market presidents, regional leaders, Financial Management leadership and other senior stakeholders within the assigned portfolio.
- Partner with the VP, Accounts Receivable and Resales; VP, Accounts Payable; Senior Director, Treasury Services; and other Client Accounting leaders to ensure cohesive end-to-end service delivery and timely resolution of cross-functional issues.
- Translate portfolio performance, operational trends and accounting risks into clear recommendations and decisions for the SVP, Client Accounting and senior market leadership.
- Build strong relationships with supported markets to understand local culture, client requirements and operating needs while reinforcing enterprise standards and shared-services objectives.
- Act as a senior resource for board members, property and association managers and other stakeholders by leading the resolution of significant accounting and financial reporting matters.
- Represent General Ledger Accounting in senior leadership forums, cross-functional initiatives and major business decisions affecting client accounting and reporting.
Financial Planning
- Develop and manage the GL operating budget for the assigned portfolio, including headcount planning, forecasts, productivity assumptions and variance analysis.
- Align staffing, leadership capacity and workload to the monthly close cycle, client growth, market transitions and service requirements.
- Develop business cases and investment recommendations for organizational changes, systems, automation, training and process improvement initiatives.
- Monitor portfolio capacity and cost-to-serve indicators and take action when workload or service demand exceeds available resources.
People Management
- Lead a team of 125+ associates through a senior leadership structure within North America
- Attract, develop and retain diverse, high-caliber talent, while developing an engaged team to build the capabilities required for the organization to perform at high levels.
- Promote a culture of collaboration, trust and support.
- Clearly define and communicate performance responsibilities, goals, expectations and objectives.
- Regularly evaluate teams to determine performance and whether company standards for work performance are met. If expectations are not met, are responsible for coaching and corrective actions.
- Conduct ongoing performance management activities by providing constructive feedback and coaching through regular check-ins, structured one-on-one meetings, mid-year touchpoints and annual reviews.
Project Management
- Provide executive sponsorship and governance for large-scale GL initiatives affecting the assigned portfolio, including market integrations, client transitions and accounting platform migrations.
- Establish project objectives, decision rights, accountability, milestones, risks and escalation paths in partnership with project and functional leaders.
- Ensure market and GL team readiness through effective planning, communication, training, change management and post-implementation support.
- Provide clear status updates to senior leadership on timeline, accomplishments, decisions, risks, issues and required support.
Business Process Improvement
- Lead the standardization and continuous improvement of GL processes, review practices, controls and workflows across the assigned markets and regions.
- Establish and maintain standard operating procedures, service-level expectations, process documentation and governance for the GL function.
- Partner with the Business Transformation and technology teams to define business requirements, prioritize enhancements, improve reporting capabilities and support adoption of enterprise accounting platforms.
- Evaluate opportunities to automate, centralize or redesign work while maintaining accountability, control integrity and service quality.
- Develop dashboards that provide visibility into financial statement delivery, quality, productivity, backlog, capacity, risk and technology adoption.
- Use performance data, root-cause analysis and market feedback to identify systemic issues and implement sustainable corrective actions.
- Share and implement leading practices across the GL organization and collaborate with peer functional leaders to improve end-to-end Client Accounting processes.
Compliance & Governance
- Maintain an effective internal control environment over the general ledger and financial reporting functions, including segregation of duties, review controls, documentation standards and escalation procedures.
- Ensure GL processes adhere to applicable accounting standards, federal and state requirements, company policies, standard operating procedures, management agreements and client-specific obligations.
- Coordinate with internal and external auditors on audit requests, control reviews, year-end support and remediation activities.
- Monitor regulatory, accounting and industry developments that may affect client accounting operations and lead implementation of required changes across the assigned portfolio.
- Ensure the appropriate handling of sensitive and confidential information and safeguard client and company assets.
Additional Duties
- Partner with the SVP, Client Accounting and other GL leaders to carry out the strategy, operating model and priorities for General Ledger Accounting.
- Practice and adhere to FirstService Residential Global Service Standards.
- Always conduct business with the highest standards of personal, professional and ethical conduct.
- Anticipate needs across supported markets and manage department resources to provide timely and reliable service; prioritize and communicate when requests exceed capacity.
- Complete special projects and perform other duties as assigned related to the stated objective for the position.
Skills & Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree plus an accounting designation is essential together with prior experience in a senior financial operations role.
- Strong analytical skills to perform data collection and benchmarking against best practices.
- Manage in a no surprises manner; proactively communicate financial issues to leaders.
- Ability to communicate a clear strategy and vision for General Ledger Accounting across our organization and have experience in leading change management initiatives that bring people, process, and technology together from different functional areas to deliver a quality financial services customer experience necessary.
- Passion for gaining efficiency through process change while creating a positive team environment where we can recruit, develop, and retain talent.
- Comfort with rolling out new technologies, automation and outsourcing to third parties to improve accuracy, timeliness and maximize efficiencies a must.
- Knowledge leader in both financial accounting and the Condo/HOA industry. Sound business acumen and the ability to present practical solutions is a key requirement.
- Experience interacting with or working through change management items with field operations personnel.
- Exposure to a company/industry in rapid transformation (people, process, technology, customer experience).
- Familiarity with projects focused on the implementation of new enterprise-wide technology platforms.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with high level of independence and accountability for their work.
- Familiarity or practical experience with Agile program management methodology necessary.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
Leads a team of 125+ direct and indirect associates, located within North America.The VP will be responsible for: building a strong team culture rooted in accountability; and building a scalable organization that can support client growth and retention.
What We Offer:
As an exempt associate, you will be eligible for full comprehensive benefits to include your choice of multiple medical plans, dental, and vision. In addition, you will be eligible for time off benefits, paid holidays, and a 401k with company match.
Disclaimer:
The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. This is not an all-inclusive job description; therefore, management has the right to assign or reassign schedules, duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.
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