Job Openings

Senior Financial Accountant

Job #:	7234-JS
Job Title:	Senior Financial Accountant
Location:	Tokyo, Japan
% Travel:	None to Minimal
Area of Interest:	Senior Financial Accountant

Job Summary

This position reports to the Japan Senior Finance and Operations Manager and will be responsible for the monthly close of the books as well as monthly financial reporting of The MathWorks’ sales offices in Japan. The position will also be responsible for the preparation of the yearly statutory accounts with a designated outside accounting company, will be the main contact person for audits, give direction as well as support the offices’, accounts payable, travel expenses, inter-company reconciliations, bank reconciliations, revenue recognition and classification and other general ledger-related tasks locally and with the US parent company They will also be performing a supportive role in other functions as needed and trained. The position may involve occasional travel to other cities in Japan as well as the USA.

Responsibilities

• Assure the integrity of the financial statements, and associated general ledger accounts, complying with local Japanese statutory reporting and internal parent-company reporting policies leveraging the Company’s JD Edwards software for all revenue and expense/cost of sales transactions
• Prepare monthly payroll and record all transactions in accordance with internal reporting specifications for a 150+ staff in 3 locations in Japan
• Record timely and accurately all business related expenses (personnel expenses, travel, marketing, fixed assets depreciation etc.) according to company and local requirements and guidelines
• Produce Balance Sheet account analysis and reconciliations while providing supporting schedules. Bank accounts, A/R, A/P, Accruals, etc.
• Prepare monthly accruals, analyze business segments and provide recommendations.
• Interface with external auditors, providing schedules, analysis and system documentation as required.
• Prepare and submit monthly and quarterly VAT, local and Service tax filings and other statutory filings as required.
• Maintain and document the reconciliation of statutory and inter-company income statement, balance sheet and retained earnings.
• Support relationships with local banking contacts and accounts.
• Prepare payroll and commission summaries as required on a monthly basis.
• Support other tasks within the department during peaks.
• Ensure all compliance with pension declarations, withholding tax declarations, FBT reporting, internal commerce taxes and duties, importation duties, etc.
• Give support and guidance to junior accounting staff as required

Qualifications

• University Level Accounting Degree with proven Japanese statutory accounting experience
• Chartered Accountancy certification or equivalent training in Japan
• 8+ years technical accounting experience with exposure to software companies and accounting experience with related services (consulting, engineering and training) as well as exposure to international accounting principles (US GAAP, IAS) supporting these particular disciplines.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to meet deadlines
• Proven experience with monthly and yearly closing process, accounts payable, bank reconciliations, payroll, commission and accrual accounting, tax and VAT preparation
• Effective communication skills with all levels of personnel.
• Possess automated general ledger systems experience. (JD Edwards, Oracle, Sage, etc.)
• Exposure to the payroll process
• English language and local language required.
• Exposure to multi-national financial reporting and analysis including foreign exchange
• Expert skills with Excel and other MS Office applications
• Experience with inter-company transactions and charge-backs, preferably with multi-national transactions.
• Experience with monthly documenting and posting of all balance sheet reconciliations
• Previous audit history a plus