Lead Accountant, Policy & Controls

Description

Boston or Plano office locations preferred, but remote candidates will be considered

 

When you enter finance and accounting position at Liberty Mutual Insurance, you will find the same dynamic environment and challenges as within other organizations. Yet you will find something more: an opportunity to apply your analytic and technical skills to a company renowned for its integrity and focus on developing its employees' careers.

 

As a Lead Accountant on the Accounting Policy and Controls team, you will play a critical role in ensuring the effectiveness of the Company’s governance, risk management, compliance and control practices. You will support the application of accounting policy across assigned areas and drive impactful insights that ensure continuous improvements in the external audit and internal attestation processes. The role is hands-on, requires strong judgment, and involves close collaboration with both internal stakeholders in Finance and across the business, as well as external partners such as regulators and auditors. It is a strong fit for a naturally curious, proactive person who spots opportunities, simplifies complexity, and drives solutions that stick.

 

Responsibilities:

• Manage the attestation program for internal controls over financial reporting, including risk assessments, control evaluations, and resolution of complex accounting issues related to reserves, reinsurance, and related insurance transactions, ensuring compliance with regulatory guidelines (SOX, Model Audit Rule, AICPA, and COSO).
• Support adoption and implementation of new accounting standards that impact the control environment within assigned areas.
• Coordinate with internal audit, external auditors and regulatory exam teams to support financial statement audits and attestation; manage control testing, remediation activities and documentation requests.
• Prepare and deliver clear, technically robust communications to management, proactively escalating control or audit issues and partnering closely with stakeholders to develop, drive, and monitor effective action plans.
• Lead efforts to improve audit and attestation processes, leveraging automation, analytics and new technologies where appropriate to drive efficiencies and strengthen controls.
• Establish and foster strong connections with leaders and key functional stakeholders to then effectively collaborate, share insights and best practices, build a deep understanding of their processes and initiatives, and challenge the status quo when appropriate.
• Serve as a mentor and technical resource to more junior team members; may oversee or coordinate work performed by contractors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (Accounting or Finance) required. Advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of accounting or finance experience.
• Experience implementing any accounting standard changes, testing controls or working with auditors 
• Familiarity with actuarial and reinsurance concepts/processes and/or working knowledge of P&C insurance.
• Internal or external audit experience a plus.
• Project management experience a plus.
• Experience presenting to management, strong stakeholder relationship, ability to influence.
• Must demonstrate attention to detail in a fast-paced work environment and the ability to adapt quickly to changing conditions to achieve results.
• Knowledge of interrelationships between large scale enterprise-wide systems and how the information flows through the organization.

About Us

Pay Philosophy: The typical starting salary range for this role is determined by a number of factors including skills, experience, education, certifications and location. The full salary range for this role reflects the competitive labor market value for all employees in these positions across the national market and provides an opportunity to progress as employees grow and develop within the role. Some roles at Liberty Mutual have a corresponding compensation plan which may include commission and/or bonus earnings at rates that vary based on multiple factors set forth in the compensation plan for the role.At Liberty Mutual, our goal is to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported, and can thrive. We build an environment that welcomes a wide range of perspectives and experiences, with inclusion embedded inevery aspect of our culture and reflected in everyday interactions. This comes to life through comprehensivebenefits, workplace flexibility, professional development opportunities, and a host of opportunities provided through our Employee Resource Groups. Each employee plays a role in creating our inclusive culture, which supports every individual to do their best work. Tog