Corporate Expense Accountant

Corporate Expense Accountant

Corporate Expense Team

Full Time

Springfield, MA

The Opportunity:

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Accountant to provide oversight of MassMutual’s fixed assets, intangible assets (including internally developed software), and lease accounting. In this role you will provide expert guidance on corporate processes to a wide audience, provide oversight to an offshore team, and ensure compliance with internal policies, US GAAP/IFRS, and statutory accounting principles. You will serve as the subject matter expert for all related accounting issues, researching and collaborating with accounting policy on new and emerging issues, able to translate accounting policy memorandums into operational processes with key controls.

The Team

The expense team is responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the ledgers for all operating expense accounts and select balance sheet accounts. Where we do not directly control the expenses, assets, and liabilities, we partner with others to validate the amounts and understand any changes. As a team, we are accountable for leases, fixed and intangible assets, select inventory accounts, impairments, intercompany management fee agreements, corporate expense accrual process, financial exhibits, select footnotes, quarterly expense commentaries for both GAAP and STAT, and general support and training to cost centers owners.

The Impact:

In this role you will directly impact the accuracy and integrity of MassMutual’s FA and leasing subledgers, as well as expense ledger and balance sheets for all related accounts. You will become a key subject matter expert understanding a multitude of expense accounting topics, helping business partners navigate corporate processes, monitoring and improving our key controls, solving problems, and translating accounting data into valuable information. You will also serve a vital role in assisting with the modernization and relaunching of SAP’s Fixed Assets subledger as part of a multiyear plan to upgrade our enterprise resource planning software – moving from SAP R3 to SAP S4 HANA. 

Key Responsibilities

Fixed Assets

• Oversee the acquisition, capitalization, tracking, depreciation, revaluation, and disposal of fixed assets (SAP FA sub ledger).
• Maintain and reconcile the fixed asset sub ledger to the SAP general ledger, ensuring completeness and accuracy.
• Assist and advise Procurement and Accounts Payable on capital expenditures and prepaid accounting treatments.
• Ensure compliance with company capitalization thresholds and asset classification policies.

Intangible Assets & Internally Developed Software

• Manage accounting for intangible assets, including software developed internally and acquired externally.
• Apply appropriate capitalization and amortization rules for internal-use software, cloud computing arrangements, and other intangible assets.
• Distinguish between research and development phases for internally generated intangible assets; expense or capitalize costs as required.
• Track and report on the useful life, impairment, and amortization of intangible assets, including providing guidance on asset impairments and write offs.
• Lead monthly assets under construction governance calls, ensuring compliance with appropriate accounting policies and guidance.

Lease Accounting

• Oversee lease accounting in accordance with ASC 842, IFRS and other relevant standards.
• Track and account for leasehold improvements, sale-leasebacks, and related transactions.
• Ensure proper classification, amortization, and reporting of lease assets and liabilities. (Lease Harbor sub ledger)
• Collaborate with facilities and legal teams to ensure accurate lease documentation and compliance.

General Corporate Accounting

• Develop and maintain robust internal controls for asset and lease management.
• Provide expense accounting oversight and support to Enterprise Technology and Experience organization (IT), ensuring the accurate and timely recognition of expenses.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual reports, roll forwards and footnotes on asset and lease activity.
• Support budget preparation and financial analysis related to assets and leases, where actuals can inform the budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Recommend improvements to procedures and systems for enhanced asset management.
• Provide guidance and support to other accounting team members.

The Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree
• 8+ years of progressive expense accounting experience with a combination of the following, owning a Fixed Asset subledger and related processes, creating and supporting journal entries, reconciling accounts and working with account controls,
• 4+ years of experience applying GAAP and statutory accounting principles.
• 6+ years of experience with SAP R3 or S4 journal entry processes, or comparable ERP system.
• 6+ years of experience with month-end, quarter-closing, and year end accounting cycles

The Ideal Qualifications

• MBA, MSA or CPA
• 15+ years of progressive accounting experience in a variety of expense roles
• Experience with Lease accounting software (Lease Harbor, Trullion, etc)
• Prior experience with offshore, sourced team members
• Ability to influence others using expert knowledge, effective communications and demonstrated results
• Ability to interact with all levels within an organization – listening, leading, and advising as needed.
• Experience writing accounting memorandums, business processes and standard work.
• SAP S4 Hana with SAC and AO experience
• Previous experience summarizing and presenting accounting results to senior leadership.
• Ability to create and evolve new processes.
• Prior experience advising and teaching accounting concepts and processes to non-accounting business partners.
• Prior leadership experience

What to Expect as Part of MassMutual and the Team

• Regular meetings with the Expense Team
• Focused one-on-one meetings with your manager
• Networking opportunities including access to Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, African American, women, LGBTQIA+, veteran and disability-focused Business Resource Groups
• Access to learning content on Degreed and other informational platforms
• Your ethics and integrity will be valued by a company with a strong and stable ethical business with industry leading pay and benefits

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MassMutual is an equal employment opportunity employer. We welcome all persons to apply.

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