Technical Accounting Advisor

Texas, United States of America

Job Family Group:

Finance

Worker Type:

Regular

Posting Start Date:

Business unit:

Finance

Experience Level:

Experienced Professionals

Job Description:

Where you fit in?

A great introduction to one of the world’s largest commodity trading businesses – you’ll sharpen your accounting expertise, learn about deal drivers and valuation techniques, and become a valued business partner to diverse decision-makers all over the world.

Shell’s Trading & Supply business is a significant part of the Shell Group, acting as interface between different business units and external customers. It is involved in optimisation and trading for profit and has a strong track record of growth and constantly developing new and innovative deal structures.  Shell’s Trading & Supply remains at the forefront of the energy transition with significant activity in renewables, emissions credits and biofuels alongside the gas, LNG, and oil businesses.

What’s the role?

You’ll be part of a 14-strong global team (based in London, Singapore, and Houston) who advise on the accounting treatment of new business proposals.  You’ll work collaboratively with stakeholders across finance and the business, be interested in understanding the business and deal drivers, and have a hand in how they get implemented and reported.

 More specifically, the Technical Accounting Advisor – Gas & Power Trading role will include:

• Supporting business growth through provision of accounting advice on new deals and input on how deals are structured and set up in trading systems
• Analysing complex and judgmental areas (e.g., impairments, market liquidity assessment, balance sheet presentation and derivative valuation)
• Owning technical accounting SOX controls and communication of results to processing teams
• Act as the subject matter expert on IFRS derivative accounting standards and apply these to value and account for derivatives in Trading
• Identify accounting risks and take proactive steps to address them, including influencing other finance teams and designing new processes and controls.

The successful candidate will also:

• Bring a positive, proactive approach to managing and solving problems.  Collaboration across the team is key, to ensure consistent advice, to learn (and share learnings) and to balance workload across the team.
• Have a genuine interest in developing a full understanding of end-to-end deal economics and how accounting outcomes might influence the returns or presentation of a deal.
• Be able to stand ground when presenting accounting recommendations.  For instance, persuading auditor why one treatment is justified over another; or delivering advice that may be unpopular with business stakeholders.

What we need from you

• Must have legal authorization to work in the US on a full-time basis for anyone other than current employer
• A qualified accountant, with 3 or more years of finance experience (including accounting & reporting) either in a commodity trading environment or with an accounting practice or other large corporate.
• A working knowledge of accounting standards such as financial instruments (IFRS 9 and 7), fair value (IFRS13) and leasing (IFRS16) and U.S. GAAP equivalents.  But the ever-evolving nature of deals means equally important is the ability to identify key deal features and be able to research issues, apply concepts and provided clear written analysis and advise.
• Working knowledge or exposure with Derivative accounting is a plus
• Able to understand how deal attributes are housed in ETRM systems, such as Endur, and then understand how that information flows into the financial results
• Able to handle ambiguity in deal fact pattern and apply judgment as for many deals, there may not be prescriptive policies or IFRS guidance.
• Able to work across different finance teams, an ability to influence others and to make supportable and actionable recommendations – thus ensuring advice is understood and gets implemented correctly.

The base salary range for this position is $113,000 - $169,000 per year. Individual pay will be based on various factors such as relevant work experience, education, certifications, skill level, seniority, and internal equity.

For regular full-time or regular part-time employees of the Company (participating companies as listed in the Summary Plan Description), insurance coverage options include medical, dental, vision coverage, life Insurance, Business Travel Accident Insurance, and Occupational Accidental Death Benefit programs. Employees also participate in a company pension plan and a 401(k) plan. Paid leave includes up to 6 weeks of paid vacation time, up to 11 paid holiday