Country Controller, France & Southern Europe

Company Description

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.

We have the vision of a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. These aren’t easy goals to accomplish – but we’re not here for easy. We’re here for better. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

Disruption is at the core of our technology and on our way of work to meet the needs of our employees now and in the future through FLEXWORK, our approach to how we work. We’re changing the nature of work from benefits to learning, location to leadership, we’ve rethought and recreated every aspect of the employee experience at Palo Alto Networks. And because it FLEXes around each individual employee based on their individual choices, employees are empowered to push boundaries and help us all evolve, together.

Job Description

Your Career

Palo Alto Networks, the network security company, is looking for a financial professional interested in a senior level opportunity as Country Controller to ensure accuracy and completeness of accounting and financial reporting for the Palo Alto Networks legal entities in France & Southern Europe region. This is a key role in re-engineering processes to drive improvement. This position has extensive interaction with cross functional business partners at all levels, including senior management in multiple geographical locations.

Your Impact

• Drive cross functional process improvements including, but not limited to internal and external financial reporting, regulatory compliance, internal controls and system integration in the region
• Lead the formulation of the Country Controlling strategy for the region to align with business needs and corporate strategy
• Take ownership of facilitation and creation of accurate project plans with clearly defined milestones, deliverables and tasks
• Perform monthly detailed reviews of the regional financial statements to ensure alignment with corporate reporting and local accounting GAAP reporting requirements
• Perform month end close for the regional entities to ensure accurate US GAAP compliant financial statements, including reviewing the balance sheet account reconciliation and income statements for reasonableness
• Effectively provides guidance and support to GL resources in the Palo Alto Networks Center of Excellence  to improve the quality, timeliness and efficiency of month end close process
• Coordinate with IT, global and regional accounting functions, and regional third party accounting service providers on regional SAP configuration projects
• Establish effective partnerships with Palo Alto Networks Global Process Owners, Centers of Excellence and Corporate and regional Accounting teams to drive the incorporation of global process standards in the region
• Establish and document all policies, process and procedures localization requirements for the region
• Ensure local accounting GAAP rules are followed, and local regulatory filings are complete
• Effectively manage third-party service providers in region to improve the quality, timeliness and efficiency of their services
• Coordinate annual statutory audits for various entities in region
• Review and approve non-routine transactions in the regional entities
• Ensure controls and discipline are in place to achieve high employee satisfaction
• Drive cross functional initiatives in region

Qualifications

Your Experience

• Bachelor’s in accounting or finance is required +  a qualified accounting certification (CPA/CMA, or equivalent) is a plus
• In-depth expertise, excellent working ability, and knowledge of French GAAP accounting principles, regulatory compliance and reporting requirements
• At least 5-8 years of relevant experience in an international reporting environment and prior Big 4 accounting firm experience is a plus
• Proven ability to work in fast-paced environments, meet challenging deadlines and priorities on multiple simultaneous projects and drive changes
• Problem solver with strong project management skills
• Hands-on experience managing the accounting for international operations in the France, and preferably some of the Southern Europe countries
• Experience with an ERP system, preferably SAP
• Familiarity with US accounting standards, principles and pronouncements
• Demonstrated judgment in prioritizing work, identifying issues and recommending solutions, and managing multiple task