Chief Accounting Officer

The Opportunity

For one of our clients, a leading global industrial solutions provider, headquartered in Milan, backed by a global investment firm, we are looking for an accounting officer (deputy CFO).

Reports to the Chief Financial Officer

The accounting officer is a senior executive who oversees all accounting functions in an organization and consolidates the financial statements of a European-based group. This includes precise bookkeeping and tax and regulatory compliance.

The corporate controller leads the company's reporting setup, covering both harmonizing all acquired companies to IFRS and creating the consolidation setup of monthly financial results. The controller is responsible for maintaining accurate books and reports and for running the day-to-day accounting operations of the business. The corporate controller will ensure the integrity of any reporting to the private equity fund and banking relationships.

The corporate controller also manages the monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close process across the group, ensuring the financial statements are produced following IFRS. Other important duties include tax accounting, as well as managing both internal and external audits.

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Setting up a monthly consolidation process across all operating units, monitoring the process according to the group calendar, and guaranteeing compliance with group and statutory guidelines.
• Providing technical accounting guidance to business leaders to support the financial analysis of commercial agreements
• Advising international finance teams on accounting treatment for non-standard and/or judgmental transactions
• Ensuring and supervising account reconciliation processes
• Developing and maintaining business-specific policies to drive consistent internal controls, accounting, and financial reporting
• Leading the month-end close process across the Group, including trouble-shooting ad-hoc issues, with support from the finance and operations teams
• Preparing and presenting financial information to corporate and business leadership
• Collaborating with various functions across the organization to identify and implement process improvements
• Managing the relationship with internal and external auditors and other service providers
• Managing the statutory reporting process for the company’s operating units
• Firm dotted-line responsibility of 4 units

Required Management/Technical Experience

• Minimum of 7 years of accounting/finance experience
• Public accounting and/or public company manufacturing experience
• Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance; MBA or similar is a plus
• CPA or similar certification
• Proficient in IFRS
• Accounting experience in record-to-report (RtR) processes
• Knowledge of Internal Controls
• Ability to communicate effectively across functions and with executives
• Ability to build professional and productive relationships within the organization
• Travels and works overtime as required

LOCATION Italy: Milano