Fp&A Manager Jobs

Company:

Founded in 1946, HI-LEX is a leading supplier of window regulators, door modules, power lift gate systems, and mechanical control cables primarily serving the automotive industry, but also the power sports, marine, construction equipment, and medical device sectors. Headquartered in Takarazuka, Japan (near Osaka), and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), HI-LEX employs more than 12,000 associates across its global footprint.

In the Americas region, HI-LEX has grown steadily in the region, and now has ten (10) manufacturing facilities across the the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. In the U.S., HI-LEX operates under three divisions: HI-LEX America in Battle Creek, Michigan; HI-LEX Controls in Hudson, Litchfield, and Hazel Park, Michigan; and Daedong HI-LEX of America in Cusseta, Alabama. The company’s automotive center is in Rochester Hills, Michigan which consists of finance, sales, engineering, testing, and program management, and will serve as the location for the new FP&A Manager.

Posiiton Summary

The FP&A Manager will report to the Finance Director, Reev Edd. The Finance Director reports to the President of HI-LEX Controls Inc. & HI-LEX Automotive Center, Dr. Brad Semp in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Under Dr. Semp’s leadership, HI-LEX is undertaking a shared services strategy to centralize and provide finance leadership and support across all business groups in the United States (and including one location in Saltillo, Mexico). Having traditionally grown as separate finance teams at each plant location, this is the first time that the finance team is aligned and challenged to cultivate a culture of consistent, sustained, and effective financial policies and practices. All aspects of the current finance organization including people, processes and technology will be assessed and undergo a systematic transition to synchronize all locations and divisions across the Americas region. Total revenues for the HI-LEX operations in the United States are approximately $650 million with roughly 1,000 hourly associates and nearly 350 salaried.

The FP&A Manager will be responsible for all aspects of central accounting, and will have the Central Accounting Supervisor, the Accounts Receivable Supervisor and the Accounts Payable Supervisor as direct reports. The expectation for this position is to be a hands-on manager who will support the Finance Director in developing the whole processes for the Finance Shared Services and to work closely with all Central Accounting team members to make sure that all daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly accounting records and reports are completed with the utmost accuracy and in a timely manner based on deadlines determined internally by the management of the company and externally by HLJ, auditors and other stakeholders. The FP&A Manager will collaborate with the Finance Director to develop and maintain standards and systems related to consolidation accounting, treasury and reporting, and ensure their consistent application at all locations of the company and its sister companies in U.S.A.

Key strategic initiatives for this role will include, but are not limited to:

• Having sense of urgency and supporting data needs for decision-makers at all levels and locations
• Effectively driving and managing change, championing new and innovative ideas
• Thinking outside the box to challenge status quo for continuous improvement of the accounting and finance processes
• Adaptability to new circumstances in a fast-paced environment
• Reducing external audit time by ensuring that all transactions posted in the system are approved and all supporting documents can be easily retrieved and explained
• Technical knowledge of US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) especially consolidation accounting, budgeting, internal auditing and tax accounting
• Improving the timeliness and accuracy of all financial accounting related outputs to Best In-Class levels

The FP&A Manager will ensure that there is always open communication between Shared Services and each department at the corporate. He or She will lead his or her team to work relentlessly towards earning the trust of the management team by providing reliable and timely data.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• Financial Close: Supervise monthly, quarterly and annual financial close to meet strict deadlines and to uncover errors and discrepancies before submission to senior management
• Forecast: Prepare consolidated monthly P&L forecast based on EDI sales from OEM, historical financial data trend and assumptions on current and future business outlook and economic environment. Prepare weekly cash flow forecast. Work closely with the Sales Department to obtain sales forecast data
• External Audit: Prepare and coordinate quarterly review and annual audit. Interface with external auditors.
• Financial Statements: Prepare monthly consolidated P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. Ensure accuracy of all reports before submission to HI-LEX Japan
• Staff development: Develop staff by managing performance, setting goals, providing ongoing training, and maintaining strong employee relationships
• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned
• Automation: Define processes and work closely with the Finance Director to automate them
• Leadership: Lead by example all controllers in different facilities to achieve the objectives of the Finance department and to comply with all processes and policies of the Company
• Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Monitor performance indicators for the corporate, highlighting trends and analyzing causes of unexpected variance
• Budget: Work closely with the Finance Director and the Head of all other departments to prepare the annual budget
• Internal Audit: Perform monthly internal audit of the finance department and improve the internal control system based on the audit results
• Bank Reconciliation: Supervise bank reconciliation activities and ensure that they are accurate and completed at the end of each month
• Data Cleanup: Work closely with other departments to clean master data related to or impacting shared services financial and accounting records
• Capital Investment: Support of Return On Investment (ROI) of CAPEX investments to help prioritize spend and ensure accountability of plant deliverables.
• Financial Reporting: Prepare monthly financial analysis reports based on standard format. Perform variance analysis between actual, budget and forecast financial results, and present the results in graphs for visual management purposes
• Process Documentation: Document all standards of procedures for Finance Shared Services
• Tax Compliance & Planning: Work with outside tax professionals on state and federal tax compliance, and manage tax planning activities such as transfer pricing and R&D and other tax credits

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or business administration, or equivalent business experience

Functional Experience

• 10-year experience with major ERP systems, preferably a few years with PLEX
• 3 years of internal and/or external audit experience
• Personal ability to use Google Sheets for spreadsheet analyses and related knowledge and experience of how to lead a digital transformation from MS Excel to Google Sheets
• 10-plus years of overall cost accounting experience with a minimum of four years as Financial Manager or equivalent position
• Knowledge of tax accounting
• Monthly preparation of financial analysis and use of various types of charts

Industry Experience

• Experience working in organizations where continuous improvement and “field standardization” has been part of the company’s culture would be another advantage
• Ideally, the successful candidate will bring an automotive background, and preferably a business with multiple plant locations and in a fast-paced environment
• Experience in a non-U.S. headquartered company would be positive, and experience in another Japanese company would be considered ideal

Core Competencies

• Business acumen and ability to communicate advice and counsel effectively in written and oral forms to all management and employees for all subjects related to controlling activities of all plants
• Time and project management skills to multi-task and achieve results in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to solve day-to-day issues related to general accounting, treasury, accounts receivable and payable.
• Task prioritization skills using Eisenhower Matrix
• Outstanding knowledge and understanding of US GAAP, IFRS and SOX compliance
• Detail-oriented and excellent organization skill
• SQL and other scripting languages are preferred but not required
• Strong knowledge of financial accounting, budgeting and forecasting
• A reputation for impeccable ethics and integrity
• Problem-solving skill
• Process automation
• Dedication to driving and achieving results
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Service-oriented to support the operational leaders in the business

Other Requirements

• High emotional intelligence (EQ)
• Experience in a shared services environment with multi-site manufacturing plants
• A sense of urgency to drive the financial accounting system improvement
• Able to stand, walk short distances and/or sit for prolonged time; and occasionally lift up to ten (10) pounds
• Resilient and action-oriented
• Ability to act independently.
• Trusted to manage highly confidential and sensitive matters
• About 10% travel required
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to quickly inspire confidence and establish trust, respect, credibility, and rapport with the management team
• Hands-on, working manager with an entrepreneurial spirit
• Excellent listening skills – including the ability to hear the concerns of the management team in terms of the finance services they require to achieve their goals
• Experience in implementing various financial models