Senior Manager, Compensation Accountant

CHANEL • Fort Washington, MD

6d • $87,500 - $150,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

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. 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.

Requirements

• 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
• 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

Responsibilities

• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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

Benefits

• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager