Accounting Policy Manager

Develop and maintain effective relationships both internally and externally with various stakeholder groups, and support the Assistant Director, Accounting Policy in communicating with senior executives and the Audit and Finance Committee, and external stakeholders (e.g. external auditors) as required.

**Major Responsibilities**:
1. Provide timely and high quality accounting advice on new or current projects/ transactions from a technical IFRS framework accounting lens, support entity-wide corporate initiatives and any other transactions or projects from a variety of areas within the WSIB where the accounting treatment would have an impact to WSIB’s operations or financial results. For example, ongoing accounting review by the Accounting Policy team is necessary for the WSIB investment pooling initiative.

In addition, the Accounting Policy Manager will support the Assistant Director, Accounting Policy on identifying industry best practices across finance functions within the Finance cluster and communicate/benchmark with other worker’s compensation boards (AWCBC) with regards to accounting policies and procedures, where needed.

The Accounting Policy manager will also be representing the Finance team in the Corporate Policy table discussions relating to WSIB- wide corporate policies (for example, assist in updating the funding and pricing policy, travel policy, etc.)

Act as key point of contact liaising with external auditors to discuss and resolve technical accounting issues and ensure that WSIB teams are aware of key developments and decisions;
2. Research new and changing accounting standards. This includes:

- Obtain a solid understanding on the technical topic, and assess its impact on the WSIB based on a thorough understanding of the WSIB’s business and accounting practices;
- Draft technical accounting memos to outline the results of research and impact assessments for the WSIB;
- Communicate to senior management as well as various internal groups on the new/changes in accounting standards;
- Lead training and education initiatives for internal stakeholder groups on new accounting standards and other complex accounting topics as needed;
- Provide input in forming implementation plans for accounting standards and advise the Assistant Director, Accounting Policy if and when external resources or expertise may be required to facilitate timely implementation of new/changed standards;
3. Develop, update and maintain formal accounting policies to be implemented organization wide and act as a key contact to provide guidance on specific policy implementation issues. The individual would be required to:

- In collaboration with the Assistant Director, Accounting Policy, determine and prioritize the most significant accounting policies to be developed;
- Draft formal accounting policies to be adopted throughout the organization;
- Communicate effectively to obtain input from various internal groups impacted as well as obtaining input and address comments from senior executives (e.g. CFO) in the review and approval process;
- Provide on-going support to various groups internally to help resolve inquires and implementation issued related to accounting policies issued;
- Stay up to date with most recent changes in IFRS and other reporting frameworks relevant to the WSIB to assess if any updates to existing accounting policies would be required as a result of changes in accounting requirements

4. Update relevant sections of the quarterly financial statements and the annual report as it relates to new/upcoming accounting standards and WSIB significant accounting policies.
Maintain an IFRS standards tracker that assists the Financial Reporting team in the compilation of quarterly and annual financial statements.

5. Effectively develop and maintain relationships internally and externally
- Communicate and develop effective relationships with various internal stakeholder groups. (e.g. Financial Planning, Actuarial, Operations, and Employer Account Services).
- Assist the Assistant Director, Accounting Policy in managing vendors and provide support on various tasks on an ad-hoc basis; prepare ad-hoc analysis and reports as required.

**Job Requirements**:
1. Education requirements:
**Minimum Level Required**
- University Degree in Business or Accounting
- Must possess a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) accounting designation

**Preferred Level**
- University Degree in Business or Accounting

2. Experience:
**Minimum Level Required**
- 3 to 5 years of post-qualification experience
- Strong IFRS technical accounting background
- Excellent written and verbal communications skills with the ability to communicate complex concepts concisely to a senior or non-finance audience
- Strong initiative and results oriented mentality

**Preferred Level**
- 5-7 years of post -qualification experience
- Experience in Financial Services and strong knowledge of insurance and financial instruments accounting
- Demonstra