Senior Accountant

The person is responsible for the execution and supervision of accounting, financial reporting, taxation and internal control processes for multiple ledgers.

The position ensures that ledger-level activities, monthly and quarterly closing, account reconciliations, tax compliances, financial reporting and SOX control requirements are completed accurately, consistently and within prescribed timelines.

The role will work closely with Operations, Shared Services, Finance and Accounting teams, Tax, Treasury, Internal Audit, External Auditors and other business functions to ensure a smooth, timely and well-controlled financial close. The position is also responsible for identifying accounting, tax and control risks, resolving issues and driving continuous process improvements.

Key Responsibilities

1. Accounting and Ledger Close

• Manage and oversee daily, monthly, quarterly and annual accounting close activities. 
• Ensure that journal entries, accruals, provisions, reclassifications and other accounting adjustments are prepared, supported, reviewed and posted accurately. 
• Monitor the completion of close checklists and ensure adherence to the financial reporting calendar. 
• Review general ledger balances and investigate unusual, aged or inconsistent items. 
• Ensure accurate accounting for revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, intercompany transactions, employee-related costs and other significant financial statement areas. 
• Coordinate with Shared Services and business teams to obtain complete and accurate information for timely closure of books. 
• Ensure that all accounting activities comply with company accounting policies, applicable accounting standards and internal procedures. 

2. Financial Reporting and Accounting Standards

• Prepare and review monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements and management reports. 
• Ensure compliance with Indian GAAP, including applicable Accounting Standards and Ind AS requirements, as relevant to the entity. 
• Ensure compliance with US GAAP requirements for group reporting, consolidation and reporting requirements. 
• Analyse and document differences between Indian accounting requirements and US GAAP, wherever applicable. 
• Review balance sheet, profit and loss account and cash-flow movements, and provide explanations for significant variances. 
• Support preparation and review of quarterly reporting packages, account analyses, schedules and management presentations. 

3. Account Reconciliations

• Ensure that all balance sheet and other key account reconciliations are prepared and reviewed within agreed timelines. 
• Review reconciliation quality, supporting documentation, ageing and the appropriateness of reconciling items. 
• Identify unresolved, long-pending or high-risk reconciliation items and ensure timely corrective action. 
• Maintain oversight of reconciliation outcomes even where the detailed preparation or review is performed by another team. 
• Ensure compliance with the organisation’s reconciliation policy, materiality thresholds and documentation standards.  
• Escalate significant accounting discrepancies, control gaps or unresolved items to Finance leadership. 

4. SOX Compliance and Internal Controls

• Execute, supervise and review ledger-level SOX controls and other financial reporting controls. 
• Ensure that controls are performed on time and supported by complete, accurate and audit-ready documentation. 
• Remain accountable for the timeliness, accuracy and quality of control activities, including control components performed by Shared Services or other functional teams. 
• Support SOX testing conducted by Internal Audit, External Audit and other assurance teams. 
• Ensure compliance with segregation of duties, delegation of authority and system-access controls. 

5. Direct Tax Compliance

• Direct tax accounting, compliance and reporting requirements compliances to be done at ledger level. 
• Provide details to regional Tax team for corporate income-tax computations, advance-tax calculations and tax provisions. 
• Ensure timely compliance with tax-deduction-at-source requirements, including payments
• Ensure timely provision of accurate data for various returns, reconciliations under Income Tax Act. 
• Provide transfer-pricing details/ documentation, tax audit requirements and related-party transaction reporting and documents, where applicable. 
• Reconcile tax balances appearing in the books with tax returns, government portals and statutory records. 

6. Indirect Tax Compliance

• Comply with GST and other applicable indirect tax requirements. 
• Ensure timely and accurate provision data related to filing of GST returns, reconciliations and payments. 
• Provide support for Review input-tax-credit eligibility and ensure appropriate documentation and accounting. 
• Support GST audits, departmental notices, assessments and information requests. 

7. Audit and Statutory Compliance

• Provide required support to statutory auditors, internal auditors, tax auditors and other assurance providers. 
• Prepare and review audit schedules, financial statement supporting documents and responses to audit queries. 
• Ensure timely closure of audit observations and implementation of agreed action plans. 
• Support statutory financial statement preparation and completion of annual audits within prescribed timelines. 
• Assist with legal-entity reporting and statutory compliance requirements in coordination with relevant internal teams. 
• Maintain complete documentation and audit trails for accounting, tax and control activities. 

8. ERP Systems and Process Management

• Use SAP or Oracle ERP systems for accounting, financial reporting, reconciliation and control activities. 
• Review system-generated reports and validate the completeness and accuracy of financial data. 
• Support ERP enhancements, testing, implementation and process standardisation initiatives. 
• Identify opportunities to automate manual activities and improve the efficiency and accuracy of accounting processes. 
• Ensure that accounting master data, cost centres, profit centres, chart of accounts and reporting structures are appropriately maintained. 
• Collaborate with Information Technology and Finance Systems teams to resolve system and interface issues. 

Required Experience and Technical Skills

• Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), M.Com. and M.B.A in Finance
• Semi-qualified – CA/CMA Intermediate passed.
• Minimum 10 years of relevant or progressive professional experience in accounting, finance, taxation, financial reporting and internal controls.

The candidate should have:

• Strong experience in general ledger accounting and month-end, quarter-end and year-end closing. 
• Hands-on experience in direct and indirect taxation in India. 
• Understanding of SOX compliance and internal financial controls 
• Working knowledge of Indian GAAP, Ind AS and US GAAP. 
• Experience in handling statutory, internal, tax and SOX audits. 
• Hands-on working experience with SAP or Oracle ERP.  
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office. 
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and financial-review skills. 
• Good understanding of accounting processes, process controls and segregation-of-duties requirements. 
• Ability to manage multiple activities and meet strict reporting and compliance deadlines. 

Behavioural Competencies

• Strong written and verbal communication skills. 
• Ability to communicate effectively with management, auditors, tax advisers and cross-functional teams. 
• High level of integrity, professional ethics and confidentiality. 
• Strong attention to detail with a focus on accuracy and completeness. 
• Ownership mindset and accountability for assigned activities. 
• Ability to work independently and make sound professional judgements. 
• Strong stakeholder-management and interpersonal skills. 
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative and matrix-based environment. 
• Proactive approach to identifying risks, resolving issues and improving processes. 
• Ability to manage pressure during financial closing, audit and statutory reporting periods. 

Preferred Candidate Profile

• Candidates with experience in a multinational company, listed company, large corporate group or global finance environment will be preferred. 
• Experience working with Shared Services or global accounting teams would be an advantage. 
• Experience managing multiple legal entities or ledgers would be beneficial. 
• Exposure to financial automation, reporting tools or process-transformation projects would be an added advantage. 
• Candidates available to join immediately or within a short notice period will be given preference.