Director, Sustainability Controller

Paint Stores Group • Cleveland, Ohio • 2w ago

Responsibilities

The External Reporting team is responsible for providing clear, complete, accurate and consistent financial and sustainability information to both internal and external stakeholders. The Director, Sustainability Controller will support this mission by leveraging a strong project management, accounting and internal controls background, attention to detail, and ability to oversee a team of talented professionals while collaborating as a business partner with various teams across the broader organization. The Director, Sustainability Controller will primarily focus on leading sustainability reporting activities, including ownership of the collection of quantitative and qualitative sustainability data. These reporting streams are managed within the context of many different requirements such as Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), EU Taxonomy, SEC, other global sustainability and government reporting regulations, Sarbanes-Oxley 404, US GAAP and company policies. as they play an important role in ensuring accurate and timely external financial reporting.

Because this role involves access to confidential financial information, the Company has determined that a review of criminal history is necessary to protect the business and its operations and reputation and to provide similar protections for its clients and potential investments.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

Lead the sustainability controllership team to gather and report the Company’s financial and non-financial sustainability information. This includes responsibility for obtaining, supporting, analyzing and closing a system based ledger of quantitative sustainability data and completing all reporting within a sustainability focused reporting system. In addition, the role will be a lead business partner in solutioning any sustainability data gaps identified from various regulations. Leverage strong project management skills to develop sustainability accounting and reporting policies as well as establish timelines for the completion of tasks to ensure internal and external deadlines are met.
Maintain and stay abreast of evolving sustainability regulatory disclosure requirements globally and perform analyses as necessary to determine applicability to The Sherwin-Williams Company. This includes refreshing the Company’s double materiality assessment on a periodic basis. In addition, the role involves building the knowledge and expertise required to be a reliable business partner to others in the organization including, but not limited to, the Environmental, Health and Safety, Risk Management, Human Resources, Legal, Internal Audit and Enterprise Finance teams. In addition, partner with the Director, External Reporting to be a subject matter expert on the intersection of sustainability reporting and the necessary requirements to be included within SEC and statutory financial reports.
Review tie outs of financial and non-financial information compiled to meet regulatory sustainability reporting requirements, including developing a systematic process to support all disclosures with objective and verifiable evidence. Develop process flow charts to document sustainability reporting requirements from initiation through completion. Utilize a strong knowledge of Sarbanes-Oxley 404 to identify risk points in the process and partner with others in the organization to ensure that those (whether manual, IT driven or through service organizations) are associated with internal controls designed and implemented to prevent and detect material misstatements.
Facilitate the external audit processes for sustainability reporting by being a point of contact for the external auditors and assisting them in obtaining an understanding of the Company’s policies, procedures, processes, and data compilation efforts to meet the requirements of the audit.
Oversee government reporting, including the maintenance of the catalog of government surveys and information requests and ensure deadlines for compliance are met. Review government surveys and their associated tie-outs for completeness and accuracy prior to submission to ensure information is in line with applicable requirements.
Proactively solution sustainability concerns and issues across the global organization as a trusted and reliable business partner. Contribute to team success through the continuous coaching and teaching of team members, including giving timely constructive feedback. Participate in projects and non-routine transactions, as needed.

Qualifications

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

FORMAL EDUCATION:

Required:

Bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting or a master’s degree in accounting, business, finance, or equivalent

Preferred:

Certified Public Accountant with an active license

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

Required:

8+ years of experience in accounting, auditing and/or financial analysis
Accounting and Reporting Regulation Knowledge – Ability to apply knowledge of rules and regulation to maintain financial and non-financial records, prepare financial and non-financial reports, and comply with legal and regulatory requirements, as well as apply the rules and regulations governing sustainability reporting for the industry/division/enterprise.
Internal Controls – Ability to use understanding of practices and procedures that are in place to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and consistency of information and transactions.
Data Analysis – Ability to interpret data, such as carbon emissions, performance metrics and other ad hoc data, and identify trends and patterns in data, and translate them into meaningful insights.
IT Systems & Digital Literacy – Stay current on continually transforming sustainability and cross-functional systems/platforms to support sustainability regulations, gain insights and drive innovative, timely, and prudent recommendations.
Project Management – Ability to remain organized given multiple priorities running concurrently through the use of technology, note taking and effective delegation while being able to clearly articulate status, including successes and challenges faced by the department.

Preferred:

Public accounting experience, particularly Big 4
SEC, statutory, government and/or sustainability reporting experience
Familiar with Benchmark Gensuite, Oracle financial systems, OneStream and/or Workiva

TECHNICAL/SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

Required:

Strong knowledge of US GAAP and internal controls
Strong Excel skills
Ability to learn new systems
Ability to professionally handle confidential information
Detail-oriented and well-organized
Ability to think critically and suggest solutions
Ability to work independently to research issues and recommend and implement solutions
Enjoys delivering on complex work in a dynamic global operating environment
Ability to coordinate efforts of others and work well with individuals at a wide range of levels as a dependable and reliable business partner
Ability to take initiative, complete assignments with minimal supervision and prioritize work to achieve objectives
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Sense of urgency, with ability to change priorities quickly as needed
Strong desire to learn and continuously improve