Senior Fund Accountant

About Northern Trust

As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.

With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Role/ Department:

A vacancy has arisen in our Private Equity (PE) Operations team. Northern Trust offers a first class service to a variety of PE clients and work as a closely to ensure deliverables are met. 

You will be working as a key member within the administration team whilst providing additional support to the wider team that administers either a variety of clients or a very large client with an active investment portfolio.

Key components of the role include liaising with internal teams and the Investment Advisor, completion of various non-accounting tasks, completion of all aspects of accounting and dealing with ad-hoc queries as they arise, all within scheduled timeframes and ensuring that all client KPIs are met.

The key responsibilities of the role include:

Client contact:

• Providing a premier client service by building strong relationships with the Investment Advisor and any other third parties;
• Developing a thorough knowledge of your client and their bespoke requirements with regards to key processes;
• Working closely with the client to resolve complex issues and queries;
• Working with other teams within NT to ensure delivery of client deliverables;
• Responsible for the delivery of key client tasks, organising others in the team to ensure deadlines are met;
• Ability to run projects with the client with regards to a variety of more complex tasks;
• To have a good understanding of fund administration business.

Team Administration

• Own the monitoring of assigned mailboxes, completing tasks assigned by management;
• Support basic training of tasks that are learnt on-the-job;
• Support other team members with workloads and rotate tasks on a regular basis;
• Perform reviews of junior team members work.

General tasks may include:

• Complex accounts Preparation/Review under various GAAP/IFRS standards
• Bookkeeping / Cash Management
• Investments: Update and maintain investment and portfolio records on behalf of clients, including processing of purchases and disposals; recording of income receipts; revising quarterly valuations and understanding other types of complex investment transactions and restructurings.
• Investor Calls/Distributions: Calculate call/distribution amounts for recommendation by client; liaise with client and investors regarding receipt/payment of monies; liaise with financial institutions receiving or making payment of fund and maintain accounting records.
• Develop client specific knowledge to facilitate the delivery of ad-hoc queries. This includes having detailed understanding of fund structures and how they interact with one another.
• Investor reporting: Complete common / regular reporting for investors where quantitative data forms a part of the response.
• AIFMD and Solvency II Reporting: Review data exported from accounting systems and filing final reports with regulators / investors as applicable.
• Tax Reporting: Provide information for tax returns to internal and external tax professionals; review qualitative and quantitative data prior to supply of returns to investors; liaise with other internal departments such as CDD and Tax across numerous judications. Examples include FATCA & CRS; UK, German and US tax reporting.
• Organisation of the Accounting Team: For various deliverables, ensure that agreed timetables are adhered to and that proactive communication is maintained throughout the process; identify system and process enhancements for discussion with the wider team; prioritise assignments, providing continuous feedback to the team and escalate issues appropriately.
• Other: Prepare and circulate accounts and tax timetables; advise on potential accounting issues & best practises; prepare management fee and carried interest calculations; input and update SharePoint-based workflows; liaise with other Northern Trust departments and jurisdictions; maintain existing strong client relationships; deal with all queries in an efficient and timely manner and promote effective communication. 

Risk Management & Efficiencies:

• To identify efficiencies and areas for improvement to reduce risk and become more efficient;
• Ensuring that technology available is being fully utilized in the most efficient manner;
• Working with technology to resolve any issues and improve processes;
• Working closely with legal/compliance to ensure all funds are in compliance with the relevant regulatory authorities;
• To ensure full and proper reporting to your manager of any operational issues;
• Where delays are expected to flag any service delivery issues as early as possible;
• Act as a subject matter expert and ab le to take on departmental tasks with limited support;
• Ongoing review of daily controls and communications of any new ideas or suggested procedural changes.

Skills/ Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate will hold an accounting qualification (ACA or ACCA preferred) and be familiar with UK; US and Lux GAAPs. Those partially-qualified or with at least 2 years of relevant experience will also be considered
• Have a general understanding of the Guernsey Company / POI / Partnership laws and possess an ability to keep up to date with all applicable legal developments
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Confidence in communicating directly with clients and other senior stakeholders
• Good analytical and problem solving skills
• Ability to set priorities and manage deadlines
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel, and knowledge of Investran would be an advantage
• Good team player, self-starter, flexible, with the ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision
• Able to demonstrate professional judgement and attitude in all aspects of work, including detailed self-review of own work.

Working with Us

As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to an inclusive workplace and assisting the communities we serve.

Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Northern Trust’s history and is an essential element of our culture. Employees around the world give their time and talent to work for the greater good of their communities.

Reasonable Accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com, or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.