Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Financial Reporting Associate

🎯 Role Definition

The Financial Reporting Associate is a finance professional responsible for preparing, analyzing and delivering accurate financial statements and disclosures in accordance with GAAP and/or IFRS, supporting month-end and quarter-end close activities, and ensuring robust financial controls and audit readiness. This role collaborates across accounting, tax, treasury and business teams to drive timely reporting, continuous process improvements and compliance with internal controls, regulatory filings and corporate policies.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Staff Accountant or Junior Accountant with experience in month-end close and reconciliations.
Financial Analyst with exposure to reporting, variance analysis and budgeting.
Accounting Intern or Co-Op who has supported reporting tasks and reconciliations.

Advancement To:

Senior Financial Reporting Analyst
Accounting Manager / Reporting Manager
Financial Reporting Lead or Consolidation Manager
Corporate Controller (mid-term with further experience and certifications)

Lateral Moves:

FP&A Analyst (forecasting and planning)
Internal Audit or SOX Compliance Specialist
Treasury Analyst or Tax Reporting Associate

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Prepare and deliver timely monthly, quarterly and annual consolidated financial statements, including balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement, ensuring accuracy, completeness and alignment to GAAP/IFRS.
Execute month-end and quarter-end close activities, drive close schedules, prepare journal entries, complete account reconciliations and resolve reconciling items to meet reporting deadlines.
Lead consolidation and close processes for multiple legal entities, including elimination entries, intercompany reconciliations and minority interest calculations to produce consolidated financials.
Prepare regulatory and external filings such as SEC 10-Q/10-K schedules, investor reporting packs, statutory filings and ad-hoc regulatory disclosures as required.
Support quarterly and annual external audit processes by preparing schedules, providing supporting documentation, responding to auditor inquiries and tracking audit deliverables.
Maintain and document internal control procedures, support SOX testing and remediation activities, and ensure compliance with control frameworks and company policy.
Perform variance analysis and explain significant fluctuations in revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses and other key line items to management, providing commentary for board and investor reporting.
Apply complex accounting standards (ASC 606 revenue recognition, ASC 842 leases, IFRS equivalents, stock-based compensation, income taxes) and research technical accounting issues, documenting conclusions and journal entries.
Prepare and review technical accounting memos and disclosure notes for inclusion in financial statements and investor materials, ensuring consistency and clarity.
Reconcile balance sheet accounts (e.g., cash, AR, AP, fixed assets, accruals, deferred revenue) and investigate variances, ensuring accurate period-end balances and audit readiness.
Partner with Tax, Treasury and FP&A teams to coordinate tax provision inputs, cash flow impacts and forecasts for integrated financial reporting and forecasting.
Maintain and enhance financial reporting templates, consolidation tools and disclosure checklists to streamline reporting cycles and improve accuracy.
Monitor changes in accounting standards and regulatory guidance, assess impact to the company and coordinate implementation plans with accounting leadership.
Assist in the preparation of management reporting packages, board materials and KPI dashboards, translating accounting data into actionable insights for stakeholders.
Support equity and incentive reporting activities including stock option expense, RSU accounting and share-based payment disclosures.
Manage relationships with external advisors and service providers (audit firms, tax consultants, external consolidators) to ensure timely delivery of required workstreams.
Drive process improvement and automation initiatives across reporting activities (Excel optimization, Power Query, macros, RPA, or consolidation tools) to reduce manual effort and error rates.
Coordinate and execute disclosures related to related-party transactions, contingencies, subsequent events and other footnote requirements under applicable GAAP/IFRS guidance.
Assist with cash and bank reconciliations and work with Treasury to ensure accurate presentation of cash and short-term investments on the balance sheet.
Support integrations and accounting impacts for M&A, divestitures and business restructurings, including carve-out financials and pro forma adjustments.
Prepare and deliver ad-hoc financial analyses and special projects requested by senior finance leadership, legal or investor relations teams.
Train and mentor junior accounting team members on close checklist execution, reconciliations and reporting deliverables to build depth and consistency within the team.

Secondary Functions

Participate in cross-functional projects to implement ERP upgrades or new consolidation/reporting systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle EPM, OneStream) and validate accounting configurations and outputs.
Assist FP&A in building closing timelines and ensure alignment between actuals, forecasts and budget inputs to support timely management reporting.
Document and update accounting policies, internal control manuals and process flows to support compliance and knowledge transfer.
Support continuous improvement efforts, including creation of self-service reporting tools, data quality checks and process standardization across subsidiaries.
Provide data and subject matter support for internal audits, compliance reviews, and Finance transformation initiatives.
Engage with business unit controllers to clarify accounting treatments, drive timely resolution of balance sheet reconciling items and improve accounting processes at the source.
Create training materials and run knowledge-sharing sessions for business stakeholders on revenue recognition policies, intercompany processes and reporting requirements.
Monitor key accounting deadlines, regulatory milestones and tax filing dates and escalate risks or delays to senior finance leadership.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced knowledge of US GAAP and/or IFRS and hands-on experience applying complex accounting standards (ASC 606, ASC 842, stock-based compensation, leases, revenue recognition).
Experience preparing consolidated financial statements and working knowledge of multi-entity consolidation, intercompany eliminations and currency translation.
Strong month-end close expertise including journal entry preparation, balance sheet reconciliations and variance analysis.
Familiarity with SEC reporting and public company disclosure requirements (10-Q, 10-K, MD&A) or experience preparing statutory filings for non-public companies.
Solid Excel modeling skills including pivot tables, advanced formulas, Power Query, macros/VBA and spreadsheet best practices.
Experience with ERP and consolidation systems such as Oracle EBS/Cloud, SAP, NetSuite, OneStream, Hyperion FDM/Essbase or similar.
Hands-on experience supporting external audits and SOX compliance, including preparing audit schedules and responding to auditor requests.
Working knowledge of accounting research tools and precedent guidance (ASC codification, IFRS standards, PwC/Big Four technical resources).
Familiarity with financial reporting tools and visualization software such as Power BI, Tableau, or Cognos for management reporting.
Strong reconciliation and analytical capabilities with experience investigating and resolving complex account variances.
Experience with journal entry automation and process-improvement tools (RPA, workflow automation, accounting consolidation add-ins).
Understanding of tax provision inputs and the ability to coordinate with tax teams for deferred tax and related disclosures.

Soft Skills

Exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to producing accurate, high-quality financial information under tight deadlines.
Strong written and verbal communication skills to present technical accounting information clearly to finance and non-finance stakeholders.
Analytical problem-solving skills with the ability to synthesize large datasets into concise explanations and actionable recommendations.
Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and manage competing deadlines in a fast-paced close environment.
Collaborative mindset with experience working cross-functionally and influencing partners without direct authority.
Proactive learner who stays current on accounting standards and drives adoption of best practices.
High ethical standards and professional judgment handling confidential financial and strategic information.
Adaptability and resilience in responding to business change, system implementations and evolving reporting requirements.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree plus CPA, CMA, or progress toward CPA; Master’s in Accounting or Finance preferred for senior roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting
Finance
Business Administration
Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years of progressive accounting or financial reporting experience in a corporate, public company or public accounting environment.

Preferred:

3–7 years of relevant experience including experience with multi-entity consolidations, SEC or statutory reporting, and demonstrated exposure to SOX controls and external audits. Experience with ERP/consolidation tools (Oracle, SAP, OneStream) and advanced Excel/reporting tool skills is highly desirable.