Early Talent - Financial Accountant, Internal Controls (Winter 2025 - 12 month contract - CPA Approved Training Office)

Financial Accountant, Internal Controls

(Winter 2025 - 12 month contract - CPA Approved Training Office)

Job Description Summary

The candidate will support the Senior Manager, Internal Controls Program & Finance Projects in the execution of the Internal Controls Program. Primary responsibilities include reviewing and updating control documentation, coordinate controls testing activities with KPMG and control owners (Finance, Risk, Payroll and Member Services) and coordinating the quarterly user access reviews. During mid-year and year-end financial reporting cycles, the candidate will assist with the preparation and review of the Ontario Teachers' financial statements, and material for the Board Audit & Actuarial Committee as well as support financial reporting in multiple jurisdictions. The candidate will also contribute to and implement operational improvement projects and initiatives related to internal controls and financial reporting.

Job Description

The candidate will support the Senior Manager, Internal Controls Program & Finance Projects in the execution of the Internal Controls Program. Primary responsibilities include reviewing and updating control documentation, coordinate controls testing activities with KPMG and control owners (Finance, Risk, Payroll and Member Services) and coordinating the quarterly user access reviews. During mid-year and year-end financial reporting cycles, the candidate will assist with the preparation and review of the Ontario Teachers' financial statements, and material for the Board Audit & Actuarial Committee as well as support financial reporting in multiple jurisdictions. The candidate will also contribute to and implement operational improvement projects and initiatives related to internal controls and financial reporting.

Key work outputs and accountabilities

• Coordinate and participate in internal control testing with control owners, control testers and the external auditor including:
  • Reviewing internal control documentation (Workflow, Risk and Control Matrix) to ensure they are up to date.
  • Reviewing internal control observations and coordinating remediation activities.
  • Review SOC 1 reports from key service providers and assessing impact of observations.
• Support the preparation and coordination of materials for the Board Audit & Actuarial Committee, Management Disclosure Committee and Senior Leadership.
• Support the coordination of the quarterly user access review and update of the Ontario Teachers’ Banking Resolution.
• Assist in preparation and review of year-end and mid-year Ontario Teachers’ financial statements and notes for presentation to the Audit & Actuarial Committee.  Prepare accurate supporting information and schedules in a format that is transparent for internal review and external audit.
• Produce and review subsidiary company financial statements spanning multiple jurisdictions for tax filing.
• Work with external parties (and external auditors as necessary) to coordinate external audit and regulatory filing process for audited entities including engagement letter approvals, board resolutions, audit support preparation and financial statements approvals.
• Support other Internal Control, Financial Reporting and Corporate Finance requests as required (peer benchmarking, surveys, ad-hoc inquiries, etc.).
• Proactively suggest and contribute to implementing operational improvement projects and initiatives.
• Proactively suggest improvements to any of the reports/processes used by the team.
• Coordinate with team members as required to meet deadlines.

Decision making

• This role is responsible for supporting the assessment of the design and effectiveness of internal controls proposed by control owners and the impact of control observations.
• This role carries responsibility for accurate reflection of information in the plan public financial disclosures including mid-year and year-end financial statements and annual report. The role also is expected to suggest improvements to any of the processes used by the team.
• The role reports to the Senior Manager, Internal Controls Program & Finance Projects and is expected to identify issues requiring escalation. The role will also correspond with others from other parts of the organization and external parties to help gather deliverables.

Essential qualifications, knowledge and experience

Qualifications

• A relevant university degree (e.g. business degree with accounting focus)
• Progress towards the CPA or CFA designation

Knowledge

• Attention to detail with a strong ability to prioritize/multi-task where appliable and maintaining a high work standard.
• Good priority setting and time management skills.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision.
• Effectively work independently and in a collaborative team setting, demonstrating initiative and leadership skills.

Experience

• Experience in audit or internal controls within financial services
• Experience preparing financial statements for investment structures
• Excellent use of MS Office products including Word, Excel – pivot tables, power pivot, other data manipulation tools (e.g. x/vlookup).
• Proficient written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency in data & analytics

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