We are looking for an experienced Sr. Accountant with hands-on experience working in a shared services environment to join a pharmaceutical organization in Mississauga, Ontario on a contract basis. In this role, you will take ownership of key accounting activities, support accurate and timely financial reporting, and contribute to a disciplined month-end close process. You will serve as a key liaison between corporate finance, shared services, and local business teams, coordinating the resolution of accounting issues, strengthening collaboration, and identifying opportunities to improve processes and efficiency.
Responsibilities:
- Serve as a key liaison between corporate finance, shared services, and local business teams to address accounting inquiries, resolve issues, and ensure alignment on deliverables and reporting expectations.
- Investigate accounting discrepancies and processing issues, identify root causes, and coordinate corrective actions with the appropriate teams through to resolution.
- Lead core month-end accounting activities, including preparing and reviewing journal entries, reconciliations, and reporting packages for corporate finance.
- Manage the full close cycle for assigned entities, coordinating shared services inputs and ensuring deadlines are met and financial information is complete, accurate, and compliant with reporting requirements.
- Review work and financial information provided by shared services, address gaps or errors, and follow up on outstanding items to support a timely and accurate close.
- Assess intercompany billings to confirm correct coding, reasonableness, and allocation across business units and profit centres, working with corporate and shared services teams to resolve discrepancies.
- Collaborate with FP&A to analyze differences between actual results and budget or forecast and provide meaningful explanations for cost centre variances.
- Perform detailed account and cost analysis to support decision-making, highlight trends, and improve financial visibility.
- Identify inefficiencies in accounting workflows, handoffs, and communication between teams, and help implement practical improvements that reduce errors, rework, and delays.
- Maintain adherence to accounting standards, internal controls, and company policies while strengthening process documentation and clarifying responsibilities across teams.
- Support internal and external audits by coordinating documentation, responding to inquiries, and assisting with tax-related financial requests.
- Apply sound judgment to prioritize deliverables, take ownership of issue resolution, and escalate matters appropriately.
- 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, including responsibility for month-end close and financial reporting.
- Hands-on experience working in a shared services environment, with demonstrated success serving as a liaison between corporate finance, shared services, and local business teams.
- Proven ability to investigate accounting discrepancies, identify root causes, coordinate corrective actions, and follow issues through to resolution.
- Strong experience with account and balance sheet reconciliations, bank reconciliations, general ledger activities, and journal entries.
- Proficiency with SAP and advanced Microsoft Excel skills for analysis, reporting, and data review.
- Working knowledge of accounts payable, accounts receivable, and intercompany accounting, including coordination with shared services teams to resolve processing and reconciliation issues.
- Experience partnering with FP&A and business stakeholders to investigate variances and explain financial results.
- Demonstrated ability to identify process gaps and improve workflows, team handoffs, and accounting efficiency.
- Solid understanding of internal controls, audit support requirements, and corporate accounting compliance expectations.
- Ability to manage competing priorities independently, take ownership of deliverables, and exercise sound judgment in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to clarify responsibilities, influence improvements, and escalate issues appropriately.
