Global Group Accounting Policy specialist in Den Haag

The Group Accounting policy team is part of the department Financial and Risk Reporting & Analysis (FRR&A) which sits in Group Finance. The primary objective of Group Finance is to provide the Executive Board (EB), Management Board (MB) and Supervisory Board (SB) with meaningful financial and non-financial information (e.g. capital, income, balance sheet, sales etc.) to support the board’s decision making process.

Position in the organization
The accounting specialist as a member of Group Accounting Policy team monitors (inter)national developments with regards to financial reporting. The accounting specialist translates these developments into the accounting and reporting policies and formats of Aegon and advises the Management and Supervisory Board and Businesses on the application thereof.

You will be part of an international team that is managed by the Head of Group Accounting Policies. The manager is also part of the Technical Expert Group of the EFRAG. You will work within an inspiring and open environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assist reporting units in drafting position papers / review position papers drafted and assist reporting units in finalizing them – for review by Head of Accounting Policies;
• Research into accounting guidance to find solutions to accounting issues raised by reporting units;
• Review complex investment transactions and determine, in collaboration with Senior Management, the appropriate accounting treatment. In some cases, suggest changes to preliminary agreements that will provide favorable accounting treatments for the company;
• Assist Head of Group Accounting Policies in establishing and maintaining collaborative network with external peers (direct and indirect) so as to facilitate financial statement benchmarking and establishing market convention;
• Maintain a log of consultations (documents questions received and how they were resolved – i.e. answered / pending the writing of a position paper / other course of action) and follow up on the resolution of open items;
• Maintain the organization of position papers in the Group SharePoint Database and ensure compliance with SOx procedures. This would involve gathering new position papers (from reporting units & group controllers), ensuring they are approved, filing the same on SharePoint, ensuring that old position papers which are superseded are removed and archived;
• Participate in international projects concerning implementation of new financial reporting standards such as IFRS 9 – Financial Instruments and IFRS 17 – Insurance Contracts
• Monitoring (inter)national developments that are relevant for Aegon’s financial reporting under IFRS in annual and interim accounts and financial reporting to supervisors (including developments at the IASB, AFM, DNB, SEC etc.);
• Prepare a quarterly newsletter of new accounting and regulatory developments and its impact on Aegon for distribution across the Group;
• Maintenance of accounting policies and manuals for IFRS;
• Review the interim and annual IFRS financial statements for compliance with IFRS accounting and disclosure requirements; and
• Liaise with external auditor and advisors.

Requirements
We’re looking for a strategic, forward-thinking and international experienced Accounting or Reporting professional who has significant experience within a financial institution or one of the big 4 audit firms. We’re seeking an Accounting Policy specialist, to partner with key stakeholders and peers to support and engage with our powerful networks of people, opportunities, and investments. Your leadership skills will be put to the test in this role as you will be overseeing large projects and managing complex process streams too. Senior management will be turning to you as a trusted subject matter expert to drive business results and provide accounting advisory direction.

Moreover, you have the following qualifications:

• Qualified accountant (Dutch RA, CPA or equivalent) with at least 5 years of accounting experience;
• Deep knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (‘IFRS’) and application of IFRS in complex situations;
• Ability to provide pragmatic accounting advice through understanding the business environment and managing potentially sensitive financial reporting issues;
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in written and spoken English with the ability to communicate complex accounting information to a non-technical audience;
• Strong impact and interpersonal skills – ability to influence, engage and work with a diverse group of stakeholders at various levels of the organisation;
• Proactive attitude with a keen sense to respect and meet deadlines;
• Experience in an international, multinational environment;
• Self-starter, autonomous;
• Strong commitment to the job, ownership;
• Drive and focus on results with a client-oriented mind-set;
• Establishes Valuable Partnerships - Works with internal and external customers leading by example to create mutual success;
• Takes accountability for not only individual goals but for team goals as well. Consults others and makes them aware of information that may be useful to them; and
• International experience required.

Terms and conditions of employment
We offer you an interesting position where you work independently and professionally in an ambitious and dynamic organization. Growth and development are important to us, that is why we invest amply in our employees in the form of development and career possibilities. In exchange for your commitment and efforts we offer you an extensive and excellent package of pay and benefits, e.g.:

• a competitive monthly salary;
• in addition you receive a fixed 13th month’s salary and holiday allowance in the form of a monthly flexible budget of 16.7% of your monthly salary;
• good balance between work and private life with at least 27 holiday days;
• an appropriate commuting allowance; and
• excellent pension scheme and discount on Aegon products.

Interested?
Does this role appeal to you? We then look forward to receiving your cv and motivation via our application form on this website. An online assessment is part of the selection process. For more information about the application procedure you can contact Dave Heilbron, Sr. Talent Acquisition Manager Dave.Heilbron@aegon.com or +31 (0)6 83 25 44 97