Job Details
Company Description
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands. At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.
Position Overview
The Senior Retail Finance Operations Analyst is a member of the EU Sales audit team looking after all Ralph Lauren stores and Ecommerce activities in Europe and responsible for ensuring that Sales, Cash/Credit card settlements and Accounts receivable are completely and accurately accounted for and reported in the financial reporting. In this context the Senior Analyst partners with other team members to ensure that Sales and Cash/Credit card settlements are reconciled and differences are investigated and resolved in a timely manner. The Senior Analyst oversees the accounting of Retail accounts receivables and is thus in charge of the completeness and accuracy of the financial reporting for that area, under both US GAAP and local EU statutory requirements. She/He is the subject matter expert for all accounting-related matters in the team and designs or validates the accounting scheme of every new process / interface / project. The Senior Analyst takes part into multiple projects as the Retail environment evolves constantly and as new stores open-up, new payment methods are developed, new partnerships with payment providers are signed, etc. Given the nature of his/her role he/she partners with numerous and diverse partners both internally (store managers, retail operations, IT, accounting, FP&A, P&D, etc.) and externally (banks, payment providers, cash handling companies, etc.) and is thus a key actor of the Retail / Ecommerce activities in Europe.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
* Partner with other Sales audit team member(s) in the investigation and escalation of issues and/or differences flagged as part of the reconciliation process between Sales data and Cash & Credit card settlements.
* Escalate and coordinate investigations with internal and external partners (store managers, store operations, IT, banks, payment providers, etc.)
* Perform reviews and regular checks around completeness of data loaded in the reconciliation system (ReconNet) and drive resolution.
* Track, monitor and report on the Key performance indicators for the areas of responsibilities (ageing, auto-match rate, variances created). Put actions in place to improve metrics or address deviations from target.
* Report regularly to Manager regarding potential write-offs and partner with other team members to resolve aged differences.
* Provide support on month-end close activities for the areas of responsibilities: journal entries, balance sheet accounts reconciliations, analytical, Rec Sheet reviews, etc.
* Prepare the accrual for Credit card fees for all EU stores and partner with FP&A to investigate unexpected movements and/or variances to forecast.
* Act as subject matter expert for all accounting-related matters and be the first point of contact for internal partners on these topics: FP&A, Accounting teams, P&D, etc.
* Assess the accounting implications of each new project, enhancement or redesign of processes and validate accounting set-up before implementation.
* Coordinate the collection of documents and responses for both external and internal auditors.
* Identify and drive process improvements and opportunities for automation and enhancements.
* Identify best practices for store operations and partner with store managers to drive changes and implementation across EU.
* Take part into Retail projects and drive all aspects related to areas of responsibilities: store openings, new payment provider set-up, new payment methods, etc.
* Review, analyze and process the Sales data into the retail system (Island Pacific) on a daily basis.
* Partner with FP&A, Accounting, P&D and IT teams to identify differences between the retail system (Island Pacific) and the Till system (XStore) and drive investigations of these differences until resolution.
Experience, Skills & Knowledge
* Either an academic degree in Finance/Accounting/Business or relevant industry experience.
* ACCA qualified or part-qualified desirable.
* Minimum 3 full strategic cycles related experience in Finance and/or External audit
* Advanced proficiency level in Microsoft excel.
* Experience with Trintech ReconNet (desirable), SAP and Island Pacific a strong plus
* Fluency in English is mandatory
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills
* Strong attention to detail and analytical skills
* Can-do and problem-solving attitude
* Proven ability to think out-of-the box and propose innovative solutions
* Ability to work well both independently as well as within a team environment
* Ability to adhere to tight deadlines and escalate issues timely
* Must be able to maintain an exemplary degree of professionalism in all situations