Senior Manager- R&D Accounting

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS                                   

This is a key management position within the Enterprise R&C Global Controllership team which is responsible for leading the centralized global accounting close and consolidation process in compliance with US GAAP, Sarbanes-Oxley 404 and company policies. This position will be responsible for the coordination and management of all R&D accounting processes and procedures to ensure the accurate and timely financial close and reporting at the project level to support government grant initiatives and other aspects of the R&D function. In addition, the position will support certain other corporate and consolidation matters within the controllership function. This position will interact with numerous functional areas, such as R&D, Tax, Treasury, Legal, Enterprise FP&A, SBS, and the Group & Division commercial finance teams, providing exposure to many different areas as well as to senior executives of the global Sherwin-Williams business. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

R&D Government Grant Accounting 

• Partner with the R&D function to design and implement processes to support the requirements to obtain and maintain government R&D grants by:
  • Document and maintain written accounting policies in line with government requirements
  • Utilize existing accounting systems to track expenditures on a project-by-project basis
  • Maintaining proper segregation of direct and indirect expenditures, including separation of unallowable costs per government policy
  • Perform a reconciliation of all expenditures at the project level to the general ledger
  • Partner with third party consultants, as necessary, to manage outsourced services such as timekeeping on a project-by-project basis
  • Determine reasonable and supportable allocation methodologies for the complete and accurate recording of overhead expenditures  
• Support the R&D function by designing reporting functionality from existing accounting systems to facilitate management of projects backed by government grants (including analytical explanations of trends in financial information), including the reporting of financial information to the government
• Provide accounting support during government audits of grant programs

Global Supply Chain R&D month-end reporting, review and analysis of results 

• Participation in month-end close calls to review monthly R&D results
• Prepare month-end close journal entries for sales/use tax and various reclasses (such as for failure dollars) based on initial review of monthly R&D results
• Communicate and review monthly financial results with SVPs and Sr. Directors
• Prepare failure dollars reporting to share and review with Sr Directors 
• Partner with the tax department to provide support for the R&D income tax credit

Corporate Controllership 

• Accounting ownership for the Sherwin-Williams captive insurance entity, SW Insurance Company, LLC 
• Accounting ownership/review for equity method investments and non-controlling interests
• Accounting ownership/review of the various components of AOCI (Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income), including but limited to, CTA (Cumulative Translation Adjustment)
• Act as a liaison coordinating between Corporate Controllership/Enterprise Finance and our business partners in Tax, Treasury, Legal, EHS, and Benefits/Compensation on Finance and Accounting topics related to their respective departments. 

Execute and maintain documentary and verifiable evidence to support the operating effectiveness of various key internal controls to ensure the completeness and accuracy of financial results and reporting

Contribute to company success through participation in projects, company initiatives, system implementations and non-routine transactions on an as needed basis.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS 

FORMAL EDUCATION: 

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting or finance
• Certified Public Accountant license

Preferred:

• MBA

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

Required:

• 8+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience

Preferred:

• Experience in the application of and management of grants, whether from government or private sources
• Previous experience with Oracle and/or OneStream

TECHNICAL/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

Required:

• Strong knowledge of US GAAP
• Strong Excel skills
• Ability to learn new systems 
• Ability to professionally handle confidential information
• Detail-oriented and well-organized
• Ability to work independently