Principal Financial Group
Website:
principal.com
Job details:
Responsibilities
As a Lead Analyst - Accounting, you'll play a pivotal role in our accounting team, owning and driving key processes that are crucial for our success. This is an outstanding opportunity to work in a dynamic and encouraging environment where your expertise will make a significant impact!
Key Responsibilities
- Manage accounting processes for stock compensation, security benefits, employee benefit plans, and other HR-related functions in line with U.S. GAAP/SAP.
- Independently manage the incentive accrual process, including review, calculations, variance analysis, and coordination with global teams.
- Monitor payroll general ledger interfaces, ensuring accuracy, identifying and researching discrepancies, and working with partners to resolve issues.
- Review and perform moderately complex account reconciliations. Analyze variances in HR-related accounts. Ensure balances are accurate, supported, and follow internal controls. Provide clear explanations with supporting analysis to management.
- Support monthly, quarterly, and year‑end close processes, including preparation and review of financial statement schedules.
- Assist external audit processes by preparing audit-ready documentation, responding to routine audit requests, and addressing follow-up questions.
- Find opportunities to streamline, standardize, or improve accounting and reporting processes.
- Serve in an informal leadership role, motivated by challenging the status quo, collaborating with others, and generating new insights to continue to advance and improve deliverables.
Qualifications
Education & Experience
- Master’s degree / Professional Degree / Relevant Industry Certification.
- Preferably Chartered Accountant or MBA Finance.
- Around 7-8 years of relevant experience in Finance/Accounting, preferably in an offshore or shared services environment.
Technical Skills
- Strong U.S. GAAP/SAP accounting and reporting knowledge.
- Experience with general ledger ownership, complex account reconciliations, and end‑to‑end close processes.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel; strong working knowledge of other MS office tools (PowerPoint/Word).
- Expertise in leveraging financial systems, applications, and reporting tools to analyze transactions, produce reporting, and support decision‑making.
- Experience working with Oracle ERP systems and reporting tools preferred; ability to extract, analyze, and validate datasets.
- Ability to lead interactions with external auditors and respond to audit requests accurately and timely.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
- Proactive, analytical, and improvement‑oriented mindset; comfortable challenging data and assumptions.
- Demonstrate ability to apply professional judgment and independently resolve issues in gray or non‑standard accounting areas.
- Collaborative team player who can also operate independently and lead workstreams as needed.
- Must have fluent English communication skills (spoken and written).
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