Accountant (Payroll)

Summary:

Our client, a leading biopharmaceutical company based in East Cork, is seeking an Accountant to join their team. The successful candidate will be responsible for preparing transactional and accrual journal entries, reconciling payroll-related general ledger accounts, performing payroll data audits, and supporting additional finance projects as required. This role will involve the timely and accurate review and posting of month-end close activities and accounting transactions, along with detailed P&L and balance sheet analysis, reconciliation, and issue resolution. The team currently manages payroll operations across approximately 45 countries within the EMEA, APAC, LATAM, and Canada regions, offering excellent exposure within a global finance environment.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for month-end and year-end close activities including preparation of monthly payroll related journals, accruals, and adjustments, all in accordance with company policy and accounting guidelines.
• Prepare month-end reconciliations for payroll related balance sheet accounts and actively manage any open items.
• On a monthly basis review reconciliations completed by the Payroll Specialists, ensuring any reconciling/aged items are tracked and cleared before next month end.
• Manage hypo tax accruals & reconciliations.
• Support with preparation of the budget and actively manage the payroll PO.
• Partner with mobility partner on hypo tax/mobile employees.
• Partner with RTR accountants & finance teams to answer and support on queries related to payroll accounting and attend monthly calls.
• Support the Payroll Specialists with month/qtr./year end-end activities.
• Interact successfully with internal and external auditors and support quarter-end, interim and year-end audits by providing timely and accurate data and communication.
• Lead & support on balance sheets reviews.
• Liaise with Controllership on requests.
• Support with ad-hod business reporting.
• Lead & support the team with SOX controls. Provide knowledge, training & support.
• Work with payroll managers to recommend and lead improvements and process enhancements.
• Create and update standard operating procedures (SOPs) at regular intervals.
• Support & lead ad-hoc finance-related projects and systems testing as assigned.
• Work with the payroll provider to map new elements to GL, understand how payroll reports are linked e.g. GTN/GL
• Provide a monthly update to management team.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree in an appropriate field of study or equivalent work experience.
• Qualified Accountant or individual with an equivalent accountancy qualification, with a fundamental understanding of operating within a multi-country environment in a multinational corporation.
• Proven working experience in Accounting, Finance, and/or Payroll roles.
• Experience working within a global finance function in a multi-location, multinational corporation.
• Strong working knowledge of SAP.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.