Financial Controller

Job Summary

For the EMEA accounting team, we are looking for an enthusiastic experienced Financial Controller who is eager to develop him or herself and who is able to manage a team and take responsibility for the correct accounting of our 50+ EMEA regional entities. You will help lead the general ledger accounting team in EMEA, overseeing approximately 15-20 entities and 4-6FTE, and report into the EMEA Controller. You will be part of the Global Accounting Organization and work with the Corporate and Regional accounting teams and various other stakeholders in finance and business.

You will be responsible for the operations and development of the EMEA accounting team with a focus on standardization and efficiency, continuous improvement and automation, and quality. You will also support the local management team in all finance and compliance related matters.

Strong communication, people leadership, accounting and analysis skills are essential. You will be keen to develop and grow within the role and challenge yourself to take on additional projects and responsibilities as they present themselves.

Tasks & Responsibilities

Operations

• Take ownership and responsibility of the accounting for EMEA regional Booking.com entities, in accordance with US GAAP, local GAAP and compliance with both internal and external requirements.
• Cooperate closely with the other Accounting teams, Accounts Payable and Payroll teams to optimize our processes and to ensure alignment with global policies and procedures.
• Manage relationships and performance of outsourced accounting providers in various countries.

Closing Process

• Help lead the closing process for the EMEA regional entities, ensure the numbers for EMEA are correctly reported, and perform analysis on the results to understand and explain the results.
• Sign off on the regular and timely preparation of all required financial reports and schedules for the region.

Reporting & Compliance

Prepare and sign off on the quality and integrity of:

• The balance sheet and profit and loss for the region and complete the overall regional analysis;
• Monthly closing reports and reconciliations for the region in accordance with US GAAP; and,
• Ensure adherence for all compliance requirements including SOX, tax, statutory and statistical filings and statutory audits are met to the fullest satisfaction.

Roadmap, Priorities

• Initiate and own the strategic goals of the region in line with the Global Accounting roadmap and priorities of the Global Finance organisation.

Audit

• Own the direct contact with external accounting firms in the region to organise relevant audits, tax, and overall accounting issues.
• Own the direct contact with internal audit when it comes to audits and inquiries of the operations and accounting of the region.

Projects & Innovation

• Identify, follow-up, initiate and prioritize regional process improvements, which directly impact daily activities within the accounting and finance department.
• Support and engage in complex and cross-functional innovation and improvement projects in accounting and across finance.
• Contribute to the overall success of projects and drive change within the team.

Tax Calibration

• Own regional tax planning and compliance for the company and work closely with the Global Tax team in Amsterdam.

Partnering

• Network on strategic and executive level as well as act as a strategic advisor to Global finance and the EMEA business on finance and accounting matters.
• Partner with other key Finance departments such as Treasury, P2P, Financial systems and Process, Risk & Controls on tasks and projects with a cross functional impact.

Team Management

• Contribute to recruitment for finance and accounting.
• Assess performance, provide feedback, and manage workload of the EMEA Accounting team.

Please note that this list of duties is not exhaustive and you may be required to complete ad-hoc tasks as requested by your manager.

Required Education, Qualifications, & Experience

• University (Accounting, Business, Economic) degree and/or postgraduate education (RA/CPA)
• Approx. 8-10 years of experience in finance and/or accounting preferably within a Big4 environment and/or multinational corporate environment
• Sound knowledge of US GAAP/IFRS and SOX
• Strong experience managing teams, coaching, and providing training on the job
• Enthusiastic about developing and leading people
• High levels of personal effectiveness, particularly communication, organization and the ability to focus on achieving project deadlines
• Enthusiasm to work in a fast paced, highly diverse, continuous developing and informal high achieving environment
• Proven ability and the credibility to persuade and influence in effecting changes within an organization
• Strong interpersonal skills and stakeholder management
• Enthusiastic, proactive and driven
• Fluent in spoken and written English
• Strong IT experience in financial systems, including SAP, is preferable