Head of Accounts to Report, Northern Europe

Head of Accounts to Report, Northern Europe

• Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Job type: Permanent, Full time

About the job

At Sanofi we chase miracles of science to improve people’s lives. We are dedicated to making positive impact on the lives of the patients and families we serve, and we accomplish our goals through world-class research and with the compassion and commitment of our employees.

As we continue to transform the practice of medicine, to facilitate this transformation, Global Finance Services within Business Operations organization, is organized to drive to the next chapter of Sanofi’s strategy in centralizing our fragmented activities, modernizing our operations and focusing on performance & value delivery.

A2R (Accounts to Report) is an end-to-end process organization that consolidates the following activities: Fixed assets, Intercompany Accounting, Bank Accounting, General Ledger Accounting and closing, Cost Accounting, Tax accounting, Financial and Statutory Reporting and Master Data.

As the Head of A2R & Tax Compliance for Northern Europe you will be accountable for the end-to-end A2R operations, leading and delivering the best in class service and partnering with the CFO as well as relevant Finance and non-Finance stakeholders to ensure sustainable processes in Northern Europe (Belgium, Netherlands) and Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland)) as per Core Model guidelines.

This role is located in Amsterdam Sanofi offices and is part of the A2R organization within the Global Finance Services (GFS) organization.

Main responsibilities:

• Ensure a true and fair view for the financial statements for all Legal Entities under mentioned perimeter (in total 6 countries, 11 Legal entities). This includes oversight of the accounts managed by the Other Service Towers such as Source-to-Pay (S2P), Order-to-Cash (O2C) & Controlling (ConOps)
• Accountable for the efficient, high-quality, and compliant delivery of an end-to-end A2R service, ensuring the achievement of KPIs and continuous performance improvement
• Responsible for submission of all legal entity reports, for all given entities, to support release of all financial information to the general public
• Prepare, advise and manage inventory related activities (i.e. inventory divestment, split valuation, yearly price change, stock equation, inventory provision review,..) with coordination of the Regional Hub (Budapest)
• Ensures all accounts in given scope are stated in accordance with international (IFRS, IAS) and local Financial Reporting Standards and Sanofi Group Standards (SAGA)
• Collaborate closely with GPO team and Project Managers to support the design and implementation of key A2R projects and standard processes within operations ensuring delivery for the expected benefits in terms of efficiency, cost, and quality
• Create, understand and apply best practices from within GFS or external best-in-class service organizations
• Ensure that Compliance and Internal Control/ SOX standards are met and ensure the local regulation adherence
• Coordinates external audits since fees negotiation till completion of the audit with final audit memo ensuring promptly answer to Corporate and Auditors enquiries in coordination with Northern Europe Team members
• Partner with CFO on MCO head level to support business development activities (strategic transactions) by providing expert technical accounting evaluation of potential acquisitions, strategic planning or other alliance transactions
• Partner with HUBs (Budapest and Hyderabad) to support IFRS/ IAS/ SAGA A2R activities (transactional accounting and company reporting) by providing documents and information to the service center
• Create a culture of cooperation, collaboration and teamwork across A2R teams (in country or in Hubs) within given scope and ensure a smooth interface to the relevant stakeholders inside and outside of GFS
• Ensure efficient, on time, high-quality HUBs transition management
• Coordinate and Lead LE restructuring projects to ensure End-to-End implementation
• Accounts Committee preparation, coordination and formalization

The position also includes the relevant transactional and managerial tax activities:

• Ensure timely and accurate quarterly reporting of tax balance and risks to the Sanofi group (IFRS)
• Manage and/or co-ordinate the preparation of the statutory accounts all Legal Entities in their perimeter (Nordics managed by Hub in Budapest) and external statutory audit process including tax figures review for inclusion in the NE statutory accounts and NE corporation tax returns for each country
• Ensure timeliness and accuracy for Tax Returns to the authorities
• Review required SOX controls for tax and transfer pricing issues, ensuring they are up to date with changes in the operating business and proper fluent communication with Nordics Head of Tax and Belgium & Netherlands Tax Head
• Review true ups to current and deferred tax balances following submission of CIT returns to tax authorities
• Validate tax payments on account for Northern Europe
• Liaise with the Central Transfer Pricing team to ensure Northern Europe transfer prices are aligned with group policy
• Support BENL and Nordics team on transfer pricing calculations and documentation preparation for the authorities, including data reconciliations to final statutory accounts for the local transfer pricing file

Stakeholders’ Management

• Cultivates strategic partnerships:  MCO CFO, Head of Tax UKIE and Nordics, and Head Tax BENL, Treasury, Finance Business Partners, Procurement, Finance-Planning and Analysis, Corporate Finance, Corporate Tax, Other Interco, IPFF or ad hoc demands from Country Lead, P&C, Legal, Sales Leadership, ITS, Supply Chain, Customer Service, Corporate Compliance, Industrial Affairs and R&D Finance to support integration and implementation of efficient process and policies
• Sets up close relationships with regional and local stakeholders when needed to allow smooth communication, efficient change management and issue resolution (ie. Regional HUBs in Budapest or Global HUB in Hyderabad) or external partners (Tax Administration,...)
• Manage and co-ordinate statutory accounts audit with external auditors Mazars for the assigned companies in the BENL and support co-ordination Nordics with the Hub leader for Nordics

People Management

• Lead the A2R services organization with direct responsibility for A2R teams
• Oversee 6 direct reports (2 in Belgium, 1 in Sweden, 3 in Netherlands)

Travel expectations

• Travel as needed based on business and team requirements.
• May include travel to Gelt, Geel offices

About you 

• Education:
  • Professional Accounting qualification
  • Degree level education or equivalent preferred

• Experience:
  • 10 + years Finance experience
  • Experience in Tax topics
  • International background with exposure to multicultural environment.
  • Experience of working within a HUB / BPO model (transitions)
  • Experience of working with a professional team of tax professionals and accountants.
  • Team Management experience
  • Track record of having effectively managed large efficiency improvement programs with a multitude of individual projects and managed transformation with change management

• Skills and behaviors:
  • Very good understanding of relevant Finance process including IFRS (ie IAS 12)
  • Very good program and project management skills (ability to identify problems and define solutions) incl. implementation plans in a structured manner)
  • Inventory management knowledge
  • Ability to think strategically and take a helicopter view, but also be able to dive deep into operational problems when required
  • Strong delivery orientation including development of business cases, planning, execution and measuring ROI
  • Problem solving and ability to exercise good business judgment in a fast-paced working environment with prioritizing capacity (complex tax matters)
  • Very good communicator with an ability to discuss on executive level within Sanofi and externally
  • Fluency in English, written and spoken
  • Leadership skills: ability to shape culture, shape GFS sense of belonging and motivate a large group of people to work towards a common set of goals
  • Good knowledge of the BE, NL tax legislation including WHT, VAT
  • Excellent IT skills (Excel including VLookups, Pivot Tables etc) or SAP
  • Ability to set ambitious goals and priorities, motivating the team towards established objectives
  • Ability to work independently with minimal supervision

Why choose us?

• At Sanofi, we believe in continuous learning and development. We encourage innovative thinking and welcome fresh ideas for process improvements and system optimizations.
• An international work environment, in which you can develop your talent and realize ideas and innovations within a competent team
• An individual and well-structured introduction and training when you onboard
• You can create your own career path within Sanofi. Your professional and personal development will be supported purposefully
• As a globally successful and constantly growing company, Sanofi provides international career paths as well
• We offer a dynamic work environment where your contributions will have a direct impact.
• Discover endless opportunities to grow your talent and drive your career, whether it’s through a promotion or lateral move, at home or internationally.
• Enjoy a thoughtful, well-crafted rewards package that recognizes your contribution and amplifies your impact
• Drive implementation science, powerful crowdsourcing and open innovation, discovering the ways to bring science to live faster, contributing to a patient first mindset
• Take good care of yourself and your family, with a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits including high-quality healthcare, prevention and wellness programs and at least 14 weeks’ gender-neutral parental leave

Pursue Progress. Discover Extraordinary.

Progress doesn’t happen without people – people from different backgrounds, in different locations, doing different roles, all united by one thing: a desire to make miracles happen. You can be one of those people. Chasing change, embracing new ideas and exploring all the opportunities we have to offer. Let’s pursue Progress. And let’s discover Extraordinary together.

At Sanofi, we provide equal opportunities to all regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, or gender identity.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, committed to offering interviews to candidates who request consideration under the Scheme and meet the minimum requirements for this role.

If you have a disability and require adjustments for the interview process, please email us at diversity.recruitmentUKIE@sanofi.com. We are dedicated to ensuring an inclusive and supportive experience for all applicants.

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