Job Overview
Branch Compensation is responsible for the timely & accurate payment of all elements of Compensation including Commissions, New FA Compensation, Trimester Bonus, Travel Award Program, etc. This position will work in collaboration with the Branch Compensation Department Leader to ensure team responsibilities, both recurring and ad hoc, are completed timely and accurately. This includes general ledger account reconciliations, journal entries, process improvements, process control enhancements, escalations, policy enhancements, compensation education and communication. Branch Compensation is a fast paced, highly complex environment with each associate responsible for many key processes throughout the month. Therefore, understanding upstream and downstream impacts of Salespeople Compensation, the ability to plan, organize and prioritize, think strategically, assist others and solve problems from routine to complex are crucial to the role.
Responsibilities:
- Reconcile and review general ledger, customer, and/or firm accounts and transactions. Review of reconciliations and transactions performed by others.
- Prepare, summarize, and present firm financial reports and analysis to leader. Identify trends and present recommendations to Senior Leadership in order to influence decision making.
- Ability to research technical topics to determine and recommend the appropriate action to be taken.
- Continually evaluate and improve processes and controls related to the functional area.
- Leverage functional knowledge and ability to understand concepts and analyze data to inform or make decisions.
- Analyze, document, and monitor business processes. Identify and implement process and control improvements where needed.
- Support and/or lead system design, documentation, testing, and implementation to ensure functional business area requirements are met.
- Build, maintain, and leverage relationships to gather critical information and influence key decisions. This involves communication and coordination both within and outside the organization.
- Inform and educate other business areas as to the financial impact of potential business decisions they are responsible for making.
- Understand the roles, responsibilities, and activities performed by organizational functions (e.g., marketing, sales, operations, finance, human resources); understand the interrelationship among organizational functions; have experience and skill in managing across functional and organizational lines.
- Proactively identify high risk issues, formulate recommendations, and play a major role in implementing solutions.
- Support or lead system design, documentation, testing, and implementation to ensure functional business area requirements are met.
- Takes constructive action at work with little or no direction from others; drives for results through new, innovative ideas or work methods.
- Build, maintain, and leverage relationships to gather critical information and influence key decisions. This involves communication and coordination both within and outside the organization.
- Participate in and/or lead cross functional teams responsible for implementing Finance business objectives and projects.
Skills/Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting
- 8 – 12+ years of relevant work experience in accounting
- Prior or current commissions accounting experience required
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office is required.
- Working knowledge of MS Dynamics/NetSuites a plus.
Problem Solving:
- Able to look at business financial objectives and provide solutions to problems that are right for the firm. Problems are often complex.
- Identifies problems affecting the functional areas processes and controls, recognizes the root causes, and identifies multiple potential or innovative solutions to problems.
- Ability to solve problems while working with tight time frames, heavy workloads, or conflicting demands.
- Ability to manage highly complex matters or processes in their area of expertise.
- Knows when to depart from traditional methods or behaviors or when to compromise for the sake of organizational accomplishment; adapts quickly and effectively when situational constraints require a change; employs unique and creative perspectives to situations as appropriate.
Decision Making:
- Responsible for making decisions regarding application of accounting policy, the firm's financial condition or sound financial concepts.
- Approach issues and provide solutions that recognize the complex interrelationships among business activities; outline how decisions affect the overall firm's financial condition, other business areas, outcomes, or processes.
- Setting priorities according to criteria such as time urgency, perceived value of outcome, ease of completion, importance, and political/organizational factors.
- Moderate risk decisions are made without input from higher management levels. Larger or more complex decisions and strategies would be reviewed and agreed with the Manager's leader.
Span of Influence:
- The position requires a consistent need to work closely with the team, with other departments within Finance, and with various levels of associates in other divisions of the Firm. Direct interaction with senior Finance leaders and external parties.
- While there are no direct people responsibilities, coordinating with others to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines will be required and there could be mentoring and training responsibilities for other associates on the team. May provide direction and leadership, able to lead and influence others directly or indirectly.
