Legal Entity Controller at Coca-Cola Company

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• Job Position: Legal Entity Controller (LEC)
• Ref No: R-52565
• Job Location: Lagos

Job Description

• As Legal Entity Controller you will be responsible for managing accounting and tax compliance of the legal entities in Nigeria, Ghana, and other legal entities within West North Africa and working as the key local Controllership business partner with the Franchise and Africa Operating Unit (OU) Leadership Team to proactively identify and mitigate strategic and transactional accounting and tax risks.
• Additionally, you will be overseeing compliance with US GAAP, IFRS, and/or other local accounting regulations as well as company accounting policies, and be safeguarding the resources of the Company by ensuring compliance with Statutory requirements (no fines/penalties), enforcing internal controls and Company policies, and continuously improving them to ensure smooth operations of the business.
• Due to the organizational structure of the global business, you will be required to travel approximately 10% of your time, mainly requiring overnight stays.

Job Responsibilities
Accounting and Reporting:

• Manage non-financial reporting to headquarters in Atlanta, including impairment surveys, third-party guarantee reports, legal reserves, payments to government officials, etc.
• Review monthly computation of service fees.
• Prepare monthly legal entity Profit and Loss´ (P&Ls) and narratives and quarterly legal entity balance sheets and narratives.
• Co-ordinate the completion, review, and sign-off of the Annual Financial Statements with Regional Controller, Finance Director, Planning and Analysis Manager, and external auditors.
• Ensure items highlighted at monthly Balance Sheet Risk and Opportunities meetings are addressed and acted upon within agreed timelines.
• Responsible for interacting as needed with other areas, i.e. Accounting Research, Corporate Treasury, Corporate Tax, Controllers Group, etc.
• Review Accountant in Charge Memoranda (AICs), Standard Practices and Procedures (SPPs), etc. that impact Coca-Cola business in order to ensure that the financial statements are being properly reported.

Tax Planning, Mitigation, and Compliance:

• Proactively work with the BU functions to mitigate all tax risks and support Commercial Finance and Franchise teams in resolving indirect tax issues (excise, customs, VAT, withholding tax, income, and PAYE) affecting the system.
• Review significant contracts, agreements, and business processes for compliance and tax efficiency.
• Maintain tax tracker and engage the BU and Atlanta corporate tax department on all tax issues arising and progress in resolving them.
• Review of the monthly VAT, withholding tax, deferred tax, and corporation tax computations, and related journal vouchers for posting into the ledger and prepare/review monthly tax returns and follow up for timely filing with, payment to, and reconciliation with Self-Assessment Returns (SARS).
• Approval of monthly/quarterly general ledger (GL) tax account reconciliations.
• In liaison with Regional Controller, engage senior tax counsel, external tax advisers, and tax authorities and coordinate responses to all tax audits and queries within timelines agreed with or demanded by tax authorities.
• Collaborate with Legal and Company secretarial service providers to ensure compliance with the Companies Act and other local/secretarial requirements.
• Monthly/periodic review of tax authorities´ statement of accounts for all taxes to ensure payments are correctly allocated and receipt of refunds are confirmed by the treasury.
• Proactively manage work assigned to an external advisor to ensure that agreed timelines are met and quality standards are adhered to within the approved budget.

Operational Control and Compliance:

• Support the quarterly Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) certification process for the Africa OU
• Work with BU Finance to ensure proper documentation, communication, and implementation of all relevant Company policies and procedures.
• Support internal and external audit processes conducted by the Corporate Audit Department.

Interaction Points:

• Platform Services Controllership GPO and Regional Controller – Supervision, allocation of work, and problem-solving.
• Senior Tax Counsel / Accounting Research Manager / Treasury Services Managers – Problem-solving and exchange of information.
• R2R Manager / Disbursements Manager / Treasury Supervisor / Accounts Payable Manager – Liaison, exchange of information.
• General Managers – SEC Letter process and alignment of problem-solving on business and finance issues.
• Finance Management – Strategic partnerships, problem-solving
• Franchise and OU operations (Legal, HR, Operations, etc.) – Problem-solving and multi-functional projects.
• Suppliers / Tax Advisers / Auditors / Tax officials – Exchange of information.
• Bottling Investment Group (BIG), Equity Investment contacts, and Equity Investees Finance Managers – Exchange of information and compliance with company’s policy and procedures.
• Controls & Compliance – Liaison, exchange of information.

What You Need To Be Successful

• In order to be successful as Legal Entity Controller for Coca-Cola, you need to be able to understand the business very well in order to develop resolutions to issues that take care of greater Company interest while obtaining alignment with all stakeholders, which on the other hand requires developed influencing skills. Effective planning and routines setting, great collaboration skills, a high level of integrity in everything you do, and a good sense for prioritization and organizing your work will be additional key success factors for you to be able to ensure stakeholder and business unit requirements are met. As occurring issues generally vary on a case-by-case basis, a high degree of flexibility, agility, and out-of-the-box thinking is required in this role.
• As you will be working in a global, virtual team, previous cross-cultural exposure paired with the ability to interact across functions and hierarchies, as well as the ability to communicate with confidence while being culturally aware are crucial.
• If in addition, you have a knack for developing new internal control procedures with the aim to match new business models and ensure compliance while avoiding undue complexity, you´re just the one we´re looking for.
• Ensuring accounting that complies with US GAAP, IFRS, and local GAAP as well as identifying root causes of non-compliance with procedures and policies, and developing action plans to mitigate and tracking progress will be your daily business. Therefore, you should bring the following

Technical Skills:

• University Degree preferably in Finance, Accounting or related and registered qualified professional accountant (CA, CPA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent).
• 5-10 years’ experience in applied Accounting, preferably gained in a multinational environment (Big 4 or FMCG Multinational).
• Tax Planning and Compliance.
• Strategic Financial Consulting.
• Risk Management, Internal Controls (e.g. SOX, Segregation of Duties, etc.), and Auditing.
• US GAAP, IFRS, and local GAAP.
• Advanced SAP and Excel skills.
• Treasury appreciation.
• Analytical skills.
• Systems thinking.

Leadership and Growth Behaviors:

• Be the role model
• Set the Agenda
• Help People be their best selves
• Curiosity
• Empowered
• Agility
• Inclusive

Closing Date
22nd February 2021.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online