Financial Closing Control Officer Porto

Financial Closing Control Officer
Porto
Porto, Porto District, Portugal

Natixis in Portugal is a Centre of Expertise whose mission is to transform traditional banking by developing innovative solutions for the business, operations and work culture of Groupe BPCE worldwide.

Natixis in Portugal is part of the Global Financial Services division, where it applies technology for the development of financial expertise in its two global business lines – Corporate & Investment Banking and Asset & Wealth Management – and, transversally, for the entities of Groupe BPCE.

The Centre of Expertise, based in Porto, currently has more than 2, 400 employees from over 30 nationalities, organised in three main departments: Information Technology, Banking Support Activities and Compliance. These teams work in an integrated, inclusive and transversal way, supporting and creating value for all the business lines and platforms of the group. The project in Porto is one of the biggest investments in Human Resources ever made by Groupe BPCE worldwide.

A disruptive mindset and a culture of proximity and agility identify Natixis in Portugal Team and reflect the company's mission to transform traditional banking at a global scale: a perfect match in the Portuguese dynamics and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

In 2024, Top Employers Institute has awarded Natixis in Portugal the Top Employer Portugal accreditation for the second time. This certification recognizes excellence in people practices, following the example of our head office, in France, who was certified Top Employer France for the eight year in a row.

Job Description

As part of the Finance Direction, you will integrate the Financial Data Integrity department which is in charge of the production and the justification of accounts for CIB activities of Natixis.

This department counts about 100 people with a target to be bilocated (40 in Porto and 60 in Paris).

You will join a team of 28 people in Porto.

As a Financial Closing Control Officer, you will be in charge of the certification of financial statements, i. e. produces, analyses, makes any corrections and validates the accounting results and exposures, as part of the monthly and quarterly closings, of the activities in one area of the CIB (Equity & Commodity, Financing or Fixed Income activities) of a major French banking institution with international dimension.

You will regularly interact with Support Trade (middle and back offices), other Finance departments (Financial Permanent Control Lo
D2, Norms, Statutory and Social Accounting) and Markets Risk (Economic P&L).

Generic Responsibilities:

• Certification of CIB Accounting: Ensure the reliability of accounting P&L by carrying out an analytical review of the result for the financing scope, reconciling accounting P&L with economic P&L for the operations market scope, and making necessary manual adjustments of accounting data or requesting economic P&L adjustments;
• Certification of Outstanding: Reconcile accounting balances with inventories data (BO applications) and FO data (FO applications) and make manual adjustments of accounting data and/or inventories;
• Balance of Responsibilities: Check that the balance of all accounts under the FDI responsibility is justified on a quarterly basis;
• Manual Entries Classification (Outstanding & P&L): Provide additional information related to manual entries, including additional comments and explanations;
• Neutrality of Internal Transactions (P&L): Ensure the neutrality of internal operations (operations booked between two desks of Natixis) by performing manual adjustments of accounting data;
• Justify alert controls, including abnormal balances and consistency of monthly balances;
• Produce audit trails for specific notices to Lo
  D1. 2. and Lo
  D 2 Produce supporting documents for the controls mentioned above;
• Compile and send financial syntheses to the external auditors and Lo
  D2 for the Financing scope;
• French GAAP-IFRS Transition: Justify the accounting standard discrepancies between French and IFRS GAAPs, including making manual adjustments of accounting data;
• Justification of Unrealized Accounts (Latent Accounts): Ensure that the
  -
  - date balance of latent accounts matches only with the latest valuation of the operations (unrealized P&L);
• Controls of Opening Balances: Ensure that the opening of a year matches with the closing of the previous year for the global market scope;
• Controls of Former FX Positions: Ensure that the opening of FX positions is justified by matching economic FX positions with accounting FX positions and ensuring hedged P&L impact fits economic expectations for the operations market scope;
• Process Improvement / Defect Tracking: Ongoing work to improve all control processes and defect tracking;
• Collaborate with other departments (FO, Market Risk, BO, Finance…) to ensure seamless financial operations. Ex Book Transfer: Verify that the transferred operations have been carried out correctly from an accounting point of view;
• Support the implementation of new accounting systems and tools.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Propose and update procedures and operating methods, identifying improvement opportunities to enhance reporting accuracy, completeness, and timeliness;
• Identify areas for process improvements and lead initiatives to implement changes that enhance operational efficiency;
• Create training materials and conduct training sessions for junior controllers to enhance their skills and understanding of accounting processes;
• Support more junior officers by sharing knowledge, providing technical guidance, and offering constructive feedback;
• Act as a liaison between the accounting control team and other departments to ensure clear communication and understanding of financial matters;
• Lead the reconciliation of
  - office inventories (Loan IQ, FBTI, SUMMIT TCI & BONDS & SEC, SYSCO, ECRIN) and explain discrepancies;
• Support the control of P&L per financing business line, analyzing margins, commission levels, provisions (individual and IFRS 9), funding, etc;
• Provide accounting and financial information to different areas of the business, external auditors, regulatory entities, and support tax inspections;
• Perform
  -
  - case analysis and respond to queries from internal and external stakeholders, including Finance, Risk Departments, Audit, and FPC;
• Participate in projects related to accounting and/or regulatory topics to adapt control processes;
• Stay informed about changes in accounting regulations and standards and ensure the team is updated and compliant.

Qualifications

• Higher education in a Finance (Master´s degree Finance, Accounting or Economics);
• Knowledge of the banking system and financial products;
• Financial instruments such as medium to
  - term loans, trade finance, structured finance, and global Markets Operations (Fixed Income, ALM, Treasury & Equity Market and commodities);
• Good knowledge of database management;
• Good level of expertise in excel and word;
• Access, VBA, Easy
  Morph/SQL;
• Some expertise in Power BI also a plus;
• Good knowledge of database management;
• Good level of expertise in excel and word, Access is a plus;
• Fluent in English (mandatory)and French (as a plus).

Soft Skills:

• Rigor;
• Analytical skills & Critical thinking;
• Autonomy;
• Availability;
• Team spirit;
• Problem-solving skills;
• Attention to detail and strong organization skills.

Only CV´s in English will be considered.

Additional Information

At Natixis, we are committed to fostering a working environment where each and every one of our people is treated with dignity and respect and where every voice is heard. Our differences make us collectively stronger and are a source of fulfilment, innovation and performance.

In the framework of its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion policy, Natixis in Portugal has implemented a Blind CV Screening process, with the purpose of reducing hiring bias. A blind CV excludes any personal details which refer to the applicant’s gender, age or ethnicity. When applying for our positions, please submit a blind CV, that is, with no picture, name, gender, age, nationality, ethnicity and address. Your personal statement, work experience, courses and certifications, education, skills and contact information is what matters to us.