Sr. Finance Mgr – Bus. Finance & Accounting Leader

Description & Requirements

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) is a global leader in sustainable paper and packaging solutions. We are materials scientists, packaging designers, mechanical engineers and manufacturing experts with a shared purpose: Innovate Boldly. Package Sustainably. Guided by our values of integrity, respect, accountability and excellence, we use leading science and technology to move fiber-based packaging forward.

The opportunity:

We are seeking a Business Finance & Accounting leader that will report to the Regional Sr. Finance Manager – Southeast cartons. This individual will be responsible for the Claremont, NC manufacturing plant and will, through fact-based analysis, provide insights into recommendations, analysis and drive improvements in operations, sales and the overall profitability of the plant. The Business Finance & Accounting Leader will be a business partner to the site General Manager and accountable for the bottom-line results of the facility.

How you will impact Smurfit Westrock:

• Budget & Financial preparation and reporting.
  1. Prepares annual budget and quarterly forecasts in conjunction with the plant General manager with a goal of forecast accuracy.
  2. Utilize KPI’s and plant initiatives to project future plant growth opportunities, encourage going beyond just the traditional product cost.
  3. Collaboration with Commercial Business leads to challenge and validation of top line revenue expectations.
  4. The Business Finance and Accounting Leader should be able to effectively communicate the organization’s values.
  5. Creates simplified budget and reporting processes.
  6. Balances financial and non-financial indicators
  7. Clearly reports and articulates key impactful items to the business results.
  8. Serves as a consultant to business partners to help develop action plans for improvement.
  9. Cost Take out support, review and tracking.
• Strategic Planning (CAPEX)
  1. Partner with the General Manger on future and long-range Capital needs to sustain and or grow the sites business opportunities.
  2. Understand competitor strengths and weaknesses.
• Internal Controls
  1. The Business Finance and Accounting Leader is accountable for overseeing all internal controls and failures of the site(s).
  2. They ensure decisions are made by those with authority to do so.
  3. They ensure key processes follow documented company policies.
  4. They ensure adequate control over the company’s local assets and financial reporting.
  5. They find the right balance between effectiveness in value creation and control efficiency.
  6. Responsible for optimizing processes through IT improvement and implementation.
  7. Drive process improvements through the utilization of best practices across the organization.
• Profitability Analysis
  1. Leverage data systems to provide ongoing customer profitability analysis to help catch and correct margin erosion.
  2. Facilitate open discussion among business leaders on how to drive more margin through volume, price or operational changes.
• Accounting
  1. Actively review and validate plant WIP, Finished Goods and raw materials values.
  2. Creation and/or review of site monthly Journal Entries
  3. Review P&L accounts for the necessary reclassification of costs.
  4. Facilitate and assist with plant inventory counts, count verifications and reconciliation processes.
  5. Other tasks as deemed necessary
• Working Capital/ Cash flow monitoring
  1. Serve as the facilitator to their business partners on decision making processes that drive working capital improvements or that prevent negative impacts.
  2. Ad Hoc Analysis
     1. Plant Comps in performance to other “like” plants or businesses
     2. Profitability Improvement programs if the plant is on an improvement plan
     3. Compiling and Delivering Plant visit decks to Senior leadership during onsite or Teams meetings.

What you need to succeed:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance or Business Administration; CPA and/or MBA preferred.
• Finance career progression in corporate/operations finance with 10+ years of experience.
• Experience in the paper and packaging industry or another manufacturing or operations environment is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing and exerting influence on diverse teams, with full responsibility for hiring, development and performance management.
• Strong analytical ability/perspective required along with willingness to dive into the details.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and demonstrated experience as a business partner to operational leaders.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with all levels of the organization.
• Must be a self-starter and completely self-directed, with a passion for continuous improvement and ambition to continue to grow to greater levels of responsibility.
• Strong PC skills in Knowledge of AS400, BPCS, Radius, MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint, pivot tables and data mining. Prior Hyperion experience is desired.

What we offer:

• Corporate culture based on integrity, respect, accountability, and excellence
• Comprehensive training with numerous learning and development opportunities
• An attractive salary reflecting skills, competencies and potential
• A career with a global packaging company where Sustainability, Safety and Inclusion are business drivers and foundational elements of the daily work.

Candidates are required to undergo a drug screening after receiving a conditional job offer, but before starting employment.

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