Principal Financial Group
Website:
principal.com
Job details:
Responsibilities
Role Overview
We are seeking a detail-oriented and proactive professional to join the ESOP team as a Senior Analyst - Accounting. In this role, the individual will manage end-to-end ESOP distribution and diversification cycles, including eligibility validation, participant election processing, funding coordination, and payout execution. The role requires strong operational discipline, analytical capability, and stakeholder collaboration to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant delivery aligned with plan documents, regulatory requirements, and service-level agreements (SLAs).
Key Responsibilities
- Prepare and validate eligibility calculations for ESOP distributions and diversification in line with plan policies.
- Manage election windows, including timely setup, coordination, and stakeholder communication.
- Analyze eligibility inputs, including participant data, rehire status, and plan-specific criteria.
- Prepare trustee reports covering gross, taxable, withholding, and NUA amounts, with minimal supervision and strong process knowledge.
- Prepare distribution notices and support participant election processing through online platforms and call center channels.
- Execute participant data updates, transaction postings, and balance validations with accuracy and timeliness.
- Monitor election and participant-level reports, identify discrepancies, and maintain data integrity.
- Perform cash and share reconciliations for ESOP activities, including distributions, diversification, and payouts.
- Prepare and maintain error logs and supporting reports for audit and compliance purposes.
- Support withholding activities and regulatory reporting requirements.
- Coordinate wire instructions and funding activities with plan sponsors and trustees.
- Ensure adherence to timelines for fund receipt, allocation, and payment readiness.
- Support payment and wire processing, including checks, ACH, reissues, and stale or unclaimed fund handling.
- Manage exception cases and ensure timely resolution through defined workflows.
- Perform data analysis using Excel tools such as XLOOKUP, VLOOKUP, and Pivot Tables.
- Identify and implement process improvements and automation opportunities to enhance efficiency and control.
- Collaborate with relationship managers, trustees, and cross-functional teams to resolve operational issues.
- Manage daily workload while ensuring adherence to SLAs and delivery timelines.
- Provide mentorship, knowledge transfer, and floor support to team members as needed.
- Partner with training and implementation teams to standardize processes and promote best practices.
Qualifications
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or a related discipline; post-graduation.
- 4-8 years of relevant experience in accounting operations, financial reporting, retirement operations, or ESOP/401(k)/defined contribution administration.
Additional Information
Skill Set
- Experience supporting U.S. retirement, equity compensation, or ESOP-related processes.
- Proven ability to drive process improvements, strengthen quality controls, and support training or mentoring of peers.
- Strong Excel and analytical skills, with the ability to manage high-volume data accurately and efficiently.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain data, insights, and reports to senior leaders and stakeholders.
- Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to build effective working relationships across teams.
- Flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and work schedules to meet critical business deliverables.
- Ability to multitask effectively while balancing deliverables, quality, and individual capacity utilization.
- Willingness to work in the U.S. shift (5:30 PM to 2:30 AM).
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