Driven by the Beacon initiatives, functionalization of the corporate functions and re-alignment of the Finance Operating Model, State Street established the Global Accounting Operations (GAO) organization in 2017. GAO is a process-focused organization responsible for the majority of the record-to-report (R2R) activities performed at State Street. Organizationally, it combines all groups performing these activities Globally and also includes Accounting Centers residing in State Street Shared Service locations in Poland, India and China. GAO organization is established on principles of Global Process Ownership and process excellence, owning all aspects of business-as-usual activities within R2R areas and driving process improvements and automation Globally.
To achieve this objective, GAO has been structured into several distinct global units each is responsible for all aspects of selected major groups of R2R activities, such as Close & Consolidations, Revenue/Expense Accounting, Payroll Accounting, Intercompany Transactions, Cash/Deposit governance and others. Each global unit will be responsible for all aspects of business-as-usual activities within their group of processes, as well as process re-engineering and automation activities – this includes leading process assessments; driving process design and process re-engineering work; co-owning technology initiatives bringing automation to GAO organization, working in close collaboration with the teams in Finance Technology, Finance Re-Engineering, Data Management, and other partnership organizations.
Basic Purpose of Job:
The Payroll Accounting resource will be responsible for all aspects of US GAAP, payroll accrual accounting for Global Region
This individual will provide subject matter expertise in the area of accounting related to Payroll, Payroll Taxes and Human Resource benefit accounting which include the below.
Business As Usual (BAU) Activities:
Collaborate closely with the onshore team to understand expectations and deliverable timelines.
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assist with ad-hoc projects and new transactions to support the GAO Accounting controller group.
Provide support to key stakeholders of the team to present analytical results and findings.
May be required to participate in or conduct a wide range of accounting and financial analyses on critical and complex issues which may include variance analysis and accounting transactions.
May serve as a subject matter expert on a particular accounting transaction.
Participate in or manage function specific projects as needed.
Ensure completion of deliverables within the committed timeframe including assistance with development of deliverable plans, attending specific deliverable or recurring meetings between the team and the onshore team. Deliverables revolve around.
Daily:
Monitor daily payroll tax reports and ensure accuracy and properly reconciled against payroll reports and fed/state reconciliations.
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Prepare/Oversight additional and corrective payroll journal entries and post/review in system.
Provide real time data for our global mobility group so they can calculate and prepare benefit amounts for impacted individuals.
Validate all payroll-related payments.
Query Management
Reconcile DDA accounts on a daily basis for employee payroll check, ACH direct deposit kickers, non-cashed payroll tax agency checks.
Provide real-time support & research for our Tier 3 employee support ticket escalation.
Employee benefit vendor research for missing benefit deductions, over deductions, corrections to vendor reports, etc.
Weekly:
Prepare off-book manual journal entries.
Upload payroll controller files to Oracle for distribution and money movement.
Review & authorize Canadian manual payroll checks.
Update US and Canadian tax workbooks with 3rd party providers to ensure all corrected payrolls and associated taxes have been provided to the respective taxing agencies.
Validate and approve all weekly payroll tax filings for our 3rd party tax outsource partner (several states are filed weekly depending upon dollar thresholds)
Monthly:
Coordinate month-end close including prepare manual journal entries and export accounting system reports.
Monthly Accrual posting and oversight.
Prepare account reconciliations and certification for approximately 30 tax, DDA, payroll and employee benefit accounts.
Validate and approve all weekly payroll tax filings for our 3rd party tax outsource partner (several states are filed monthly depending upon dollar thresholds)
Provide intercompany entries for US employees tax withholdings on international assignments.
Review DDA accounts for uncashed manual payroll checks and contact employees directly for reissuance or follow-up.
Perform SOX control testing.
Review of stock award vests and their impact on employees
- Ad-Hoc:
Prepare and update process narratives/procedures and flow charts.
Response to internal and external requests including variance analysis and inquiries.
Participating in Ad Hoc projects and new transactions
Preparing employee wages gross up for Fidelity retirement plans (ESRP) for MC level retirements.
Move all employees & payroll history / records upon creating a new EIN (has happened 3 times in 2017 thus far)
Perform user access reviews & certifications.
Process Re-Engineering, Standardization, and Automation:
Lead the process of Re-Engineering, Standardization, Automation
Responsibility for ongoing process improvements
Responsibility for execution of right-placement strategy
Implementation support of the GAO process re-engineering and automation efforts
Education and Experience:
Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree in Accounting, Chartered Accountant (CA) or preferred Certified Public Accountant (CPA)/MBA Finance) 6-8 years of progressive experience in R2R areas with major financial institutions.
Extensive practical experience and knowledge of US GAAP.
In depth knowledge of Payroll accounting along with US & Canadian Payroll Taxes including EMA and APAC region.
In depth knowledge of employee benefit withholding accounts.
Experience of building and maintaining strong control environment (risk excellence, experience with SOX, RCSA controls, etc.), establishing policies, procedures and strong internal controls.
Demonstrated leadership in improving/building-out the above process groups for multiple geographies and business areas.
Experience of leading re-engineering of R2R (record-to-report) processes and driving similar centralization of the end-to-end activities for the major financial institutions
Skills required:
Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Word, Visio), advance levels of Excel (pivot tables, formulas, excel workbook maintenance best practices)
Knowledge of Hyperion Essbase, Oracle Financials, Payroll, Tax for payroll & other internally developed products such as Cash manager
Conceptual understanding of company-wide financial architecture (GL, sub-GL technology, specialized tools) applicable to the above process groups of processes
Senior-level communication skills, presentation skills, prior experience of interacting with multiple stakeholders (Legal Entity and Geography controllers) in NA, EMEA, APAC
Independent decision-making capabilities demonstrated thought leadership.
Pride of ownership with the ability to deliver high quality results timely
Self-motivated, self-assured, and self-managed
Strong attention to details
Problem solving skill.
Highly organized with ability to multi-task and work under high pressure deadlines
Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment.
About State Street
Across the globe, institutional investors rely on us to help them manage risk, respond to challenges, and drive performance and profitability. We keep our clients at the heart of everything we do, and smart, engaged employees are essential to our continued success.
We are committed to fostering an environment where every employee feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. As an essential partner in our shared success, you’ll benefit from inclusive development opportunities, flexible work-life support, paid volunteer days, and vibrant employee networks that keep you connected to what matters most. Join us in shaping the future.
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we consider all qualified applicants for all positions without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, age, disability, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship, marital status, domestic partnership or civil union status, familial status, military and veteran status, and other characteristics protected by applicable law.
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