Associate Market Controller at Nielsen

Purpose:

• Support all aspects of tax and statutory accounting and compliance in the local market. Assist with the coordination of activities between Operational Controlling, Revenue Controlling and Business Finance along with coordination with Corporate controllership.
• Perform local tax, statutory accounting and audit activities specific to the respective market. Support the local core finance processes

Responsibilities:

• Assist with the maintenance of local statutory accounts and ensure ongoing compliance to local regulation for the local legal entities including BEE Trust accounting & audit
• Assist in the statutory and tax accounting and audit processes and act as the single point of contact for external auditors and/or tax and statutory authorities or consultants in consultation with operations controller.
• Support compliance with all relevant global, regional or local policies, procedures and guidelines along with working closely with Company Secretary for BEE Score
• Support change locally with regard to standardization and simplification initiatives as governed by the Global or Regional COE core teams or by Finance leadership
• Support month-end process, and assist with quarterly and year-end reporting packs in accordance with corporate requirements for the local market
• Support Operational Controller to maintain internal controls and SOX documentation and ensure effective control environment through active coordination with the Group Controller and the Global and Regional COE core teams
• Support the Operational Controller during local internal & external audit and compliance review assignments, including any SOX or distributed audits

Measurement (key indicators this role would be responsible for)

• Leadership: Curious, Collaborative, Inclusive, Proactive, Accountable, Committed
• Financial: Global COE and Internal Control metrics, Internal and External Audit observations, Adherence to closing deadlines
• Behaviors and Values: Think like our customer, know our business, be inclusive and help others, be honest and transparent, keep your word, take ownership, make things better, and be courageous and aim high.

What does Success mean for this role?

• A successful compliance associate will achieve a balanced coordination of all core and continuous finance activities between the local environment and the Global and Regional organization. She/he will have met all compliance metrics and ensured solid controls are in place and functioning for current and future compliant status of entity.

Networks ( Internal & External links & networks)

Internal:

• Link in with FP&A and Consolidation teams on closing schedule, accounting services, consolidated accounts and company secretary
• Work with local P2P / R2R / OTI/ ITC teams
• Work with Operational and Cluster Controller on compliance and governance
• Work with the Revenue Controlling functions primarily on revenue related activities as well during the closing process in assessing tax compliance of all transactions.
• Other transverse functions (facilities, HR, internal audit, etc.) for accrual input, etc.

External:

• Clients
• SARS
• External Audit or Consultants

Education & Training

• Degree in Tax, Finance or Accounting preferred
• Chartered accountant South Africa preferred
• Local or international accounting qualification (CA, ACCA, ACMA, or other) preferred
• Fluency in English and local language mandatory;

Experience:

• External audit or public accounting experience preferred
• Knowledge and experience with local statutory requirements and statutory audits (Local GAAP, statutory financial statements, tax calculations, VAT returns) preferred
• Relevant professional experience in accounting or financial controlling
• Knowledge and experience with US-GAAP and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) preferred
• Experience with ERP systems (SAP) is a must
• IT-PC literate (Microsoft Office, Ariba, Blackline)
• Strong communication skills, team player, leadership traitsv