Senior Manager, Compensation Accountant

At Chanel, we are focused on creating an inclusive culture that nurtures personal growth, contributing to collective progress. We believe the uniqueness of each individual increases the diversity, complementarity and effectiveness of our teams. We strongly encourage your application, as we value the perspective, experience and potential you could bring to CHANEL. 

About the role: 

CHANEL is looking for a Compensation Accountant to join our Finance Team in Piscataway, NJ.  You will play a leading role in ensuring all compensation-related transactions are accurately recorded in the correct fiscal period and in accordance with IFRS standards.  The scope of the role spans all compensation and benefit offerings, including salaries, payroll taxes, bonuses, loing-term incentives (LTI), severance, deferred compensation, 401(K), defined benefit pension plans, as well as benefits such as health, life and other employee offerings.  Our ideal candidate will have 5+ years of experience and strong knowledge of compensation structures, payroll systems, benefits accounting and payroll tax regulations. 

Reporting to the Group Director of Corporate Accounting, this role will serve as a ciritical liason among several key stakeholder groups, including Corporate Accounting, HR, Payroll and Financial Planning & Analysis.  As this position centralizes expertise and oversight for compensation-related matters, all stakeholders should anticipate a shift towards a more streamlined, accurate and compliant handling of compensation and benefits accounting. 

What impact you can create at CHANEL: 

This position offers an exciting opportunity for a skilled accounting professional to make a significant impact by improving processes, reducing risk and strengthening internal controls.  Success requires technical expertise in compensation accounting, a deep understanding of business processes/controls and the ability to collaborate effectively across HR, Finance and Payroll.  While this is not a payroll processing role, knowledge of how Payroll interacts with Accounting (i.e., understanding pay codes and the flow of payroll data) is crucial for ensuring accurate reporting and compliance.  This position also supports Financial Planning & Analysis by managing budgets and forecasts related to compensation/benefit related accounts and providing an understanding of significant fluctuations from plan.  This helps advance broader business objectives and interacts with the Business Finance Teams. 

You are energized by: 

• Strong knowledge of compensation structures, payroll systems, benefits accounting and payroll tax regulations 

• Excellent analytical skills, attention to detail and the ability to handle confidential information with maturity 

• Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively across internal departments and with external partners 

• Experience in process improvement and risk assessment within compensation accounting 

• Compensation, Benefits Accounting & Planning  

• Reconcile payments made through the UKG payroll system to general ledger, ensuring all transactions are properly recorded 

• Record and review accruals for salaries and payroll taxes earned but not paid 

• Record and review accruals for annual bonuses and long-term incentives (LTI) 

• Liaise with HR and Finance leaders to stay informed of employee agreements and arrangements that may require specific accruals 

• Conduct monthly reconciliation of deferred compensation accounts 

• Perform health and life insurance account reconciliations and related entries 

• With support from 3rd party actuaries, record necessary entries to properly account for defined benefit pension plans and analyze results to provide management with updates on plan activity and funding status 

• Assist financial planning teams in understanding variances between budgets and forecasts 

• Financial Reporting & Audit Support 

• Ensure compliance with IFRS standards and relevant regulations 

• Collaborate with actuaries to ensure financial statements include proper disclosures related to defined benefit plans and other compensation matters 

• Support internal and external audits related to all aspects of this role 

• Defined Benefit Plan Reporting & Compliance 

• Prepare separate financial statements for the company’s defined benefit pension plan, ensuring accuracy and compliance with relevant accounting standards 

• Lead the audit process for the defined benefit plan’s financial statements, collaborating with external auditors as needed 

• Complete and file Form 5500, working with 3rd party administrators and actuaries to ensure timely and accurate submission 

• System, Processes & Risk Management 

• Maintain thorough documentation of financial flows and assess internal controls related to compensation accounting and reporting 

• Proactively identify compliance gaps or risks and recommend improvements to compensation accounting processes and controls 

• Understand the data flow and reconciliation between UKG, Workday and SAP as well as data flows with 3rd party partners (i.e., AON – actuary, Fidelity – benefit administrator) 

• Participate in the upcoming transition from SAP to Microsoft Dynamics 365, including testing, data migration and process documentation for compensation-related modules 

What you will bring to the team: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or a related field (CPA highly preferred) 

• 5+ years of experience in accounting, payroll or compensation administration 

• Experience with UKG (payroll system), Workday (HR system) and SAP (accounting system) is preferred; familiarity with Microsoft Dynamics 365 a plus 

Position Logistics: 

Partially Remote: Role requires a minimum of three days in-person office presence at our Piscataway, NJ office. 

*Chanel, Inc. reserves the right to edit, change, or make exceptions on designations where circumstances where deemed appropriate. 

Compensation: 

• The anticipated base salary range for this position is $87,500 through $150,000. Base salary is one component of the total compensation for this position. Other forms of variable pay [may/will] be offered for this position. Other components [may/will] include bonus potential, benefits, and/or perks. 

Benefits and Perks: 

• Wellbeing resources include dedicated paid time off for wellbeing (2-week August office closure and a Wellbeing fund)

• Family and care giving benefits (inclusive of parental leave, fertility support, MilkStork, and Care.com Membership) 

• Generous paid time off policies to include vacation, holiday, sick and volunteer days  

• 401K and other incentives  

• Robust healthcare offerings; medical, dental, vision, MDLIVE (virtual care), One Medical, Flexible Spending Accounts (Health Care & Dependent Care), Health Savings Account and Employee Assistance Program 

• Life insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, Health Advocate, International Business Travel Accident & Medical, and Commuter Transit & Parking 

Additional Information: 

Chanel is a private company whose values are grounded in creating the conditions for people to perform at their best and feel fulfilled and confident in their work. We offer a unique work environment where individuals are encouraged to better understand the brand, the business, and motivations, so that together we can unlock the possibilities of growth. This is reflected in: 

Diversity and Inclusion: 

• At CHANEL, we are intentional in promoting Diversity & Inclusion. We foster respect, empathy and dignity for all.  We believe strongly that the diversity of our people across the full spectrum of human differences is essential to our organisation and the connections we have with each other and our clients.  

• We offer Employee Resource Groups in the US that are voluntary, open to all, employee-led groups formed around a shared identity or lived experience, whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community aligned with the values and missions of the communities they support. 

Chanel Community: 

• CHANEL Community empowers our employees to channel their passions, talents and sense of purpose to contribute to and learn from our communities. 

• Employees are encouraged to take time off annually to volunteer through CHANEL Community. CHANEL also matches employee donations to select charitable organizations. 

Sustainability: 

• CHANEL Mission 1.5° is our climate action plan. It is focused on transforming the business in line with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit the average global mean temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. 

• Employees are encouraged to contribute to our US Sustainability efforts at the corporate level and within the divisions, through organized taskforces and initiatives. 

Arts and Culture: 

• We are committed to extending our legacy of cultural engagement. Global support includes the CHANEL Culture Fund, which supports a select group of leading art culture institutions across the globe, and the CHANEL Next Prize for the next generation of creative talent.  US support currently includes Annual sponsorship of the MoMA film program, Tribeca Film Festival programs and Through Her Lens, Support of the Academy Gold Fellowship for Women and Sponsorship of the BAAND Together Dance Festival at Lincoln Center.

Fondation Chanel: 

• Since 2011, Fondation CHANEL’s mission is for women and girls to be free to shape their own destiny.  Through multi-year partnerships with financial and technical support, Fondation CHANEL is committed to improving the safety and autonomy of women and adolescent girls around the world, impacting over a million women and girls in its first 10 years.     

• For more information, please navigate to the Fondation Chanel website here   

Career and Leadership Development:  

• We have dedicated in-house teams focused on supporting the onboarding of employees, developing leadership skills via custom programs like Imagine Chanel People, Heart of Leadership and group and individual coaching, and blended online and live classes offered on our Bloom platform and by skilled trainers, such as Shape Your Career, to develop career building skills. 

*Chanel, Inc. benefits and perks are dependent on eligibility and subject to modification by Chanel at any time.