CORPORATE (HQ) HEAD OF ACCOUNTING

full-time (100%) | LOCATION: MADRID, SPAIN

This position is within the Group Corporate Finance team and has holding level responsibility within the world’s leading cargo and ground handling company. The main responsibility of the Corporate (HQ) Head of Accounting is to lead the full accounting and financial reporting function for the group’s holding entities based in Switzerland. The Holding Head of Accounting’s responsibilities include among others interpretation and booking of key Holding transactions, reconciliations of accounts, maintaining general ledger and preparing month-end close procedures, all in all ensuring that Holding accounts are accurate, robust internal controls are in place and compliance with IFRS and tax regulations. As Corporate (HQ) Head of Accounting you will have the responsibility of preparing and reviewing the monthly, quarterly and annual closing of the Swiss Holding entities. The role partners closely with Group Finance, Group Tax, Group Treasury, Holding FP&A, Group Service Business Center, Group Intercompany Team, Swiss Entities’ Accounting team and Holding management to provide reliable financial information that supports strategic decision making.

Main Responsibilities

Preparation and review of the monthly, quarterly and annual closing of the Swiss Holding entities:

• Lead and oversee all day-to-day accounting operations for the holding entities, including general ledger, accounts payable/receivable, intercompany, fixed assets, provisions, and accruals.
• Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual closing processes, ensuring timely and accurate standalone financial statements for the holding structure.
• Ensure compliance with Group Accounting Policy (IFRS), and local legal and regulatory requirements, coordination with external auditors, advisors, and regulatory bodies.
• Design, implement, and monitor internal control procedures across Swiss holding entities to safeguard assets, ensure data integrity, and mitigate financial and compliance risks.
• Supervise and where needed execute the accounting for intercompany transactions, dividends, loans, capital movements, and other typical holding-company structures, ensuring proper documentation and transfer pricing support. Intercompany trading and funding transactions are processed by a dedicated Group Intercompany team.
• Coordinate statutory audits and group audits, managing deliverables, audit queries, and remediation of identified issues.
• Collaborate with Tax and Treasury on corporate income tax, VAT, withholding taxes, and other indirect taxes, as well as cash management, financing, and bank relationship topics.
• Drive process standardization, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives within the accounting function (including ERP, reporting tools, and closing calendars).
• Prepare and present periodic financial reporting packages, commentary, and analysis in cooperation with the Holding Financial Controller.
• Support and book corporate transactions relevant to a holding company, such as restructurings, mergers/demergers, acquisitions, disposals, and capital restructuring from an accounting perspective.
• Lead, coach, and develop the Madrid-based Senior Accountant, setting clear objectives, monitoring performance, and fostering a culture of ownership and high quality.
• Ensure appropriate accounting policies, manuals, and procedures are documented, communicated, and consistently applied
• Ensure timeliness and completeness of transactional processing.
• Record transactions / changes in financial valuation based on input received and processed from Group FP&A, Group Treasury, Group Intercompany teams and Group Financial Reporting teams, as well as Holding Financial Controller.
• Maintain and operate proper accounting and reporting controls, spot errors and suggest ways to improve efficiency and accuracy
• Manage month-end and year-end close process
• Upload and review Swissport Holding entities’ balances to the Group Reporting System
• Maintenance and overlooking of ERP master data used by Swissport Holding entities
• Represent Swissport Holding Accounting in financial transformation projects
• Be a back-up for the Holding Senior Accountant.
  
  

Your Profile

• University degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or similar; a recognized professional qualification (e.g. CPA, ACCA or equivalent) is highly valued.
• At least 8-10 years of work experience in years of progressive experience in accounting and reporting, ideally within an international group or holding-company.
• Thorough knowledge of accounting principles and procedures.
• Solid technical knowledge of IFRS. Familiarity with group reporting frameworks and consolidation tools is an advantage.
• Proven experience in managing and developing accounting teams and cross-team cooperation, with the ability to organize work and meet demanding closing and reporting deadlines.
• Strong understanding of tax basics, intercompany financing structures, and the typical transactions of holding companies.
• Advanced user of SAP R3 and Excel.
• Experience in process automation or shared service environments is a plus, as well easy familiarisation with new IT tools and experience in OneStream.
• High level of English both written and spoken. German language knowledge is advantage, but not a requirement.
• Analytical, detail-oriented, and hands-on, combined with a pragmatic, business-partner mindset and strong communication skills
• Team oriented and independent working style is a must.
• Resilience, determination, accuracy and reliability.
• Genuine interest in aviation industry is a plus.
• Work model: Hybrid
• Reports to: Corporate (HQ) CFO.
• Manages: Madrid based accounting team (one Senior Accountant).
  
  

Looking for a new challenge?

If you are looking for a challenge in a rapidly environment in the aviation services industry and are motivated to work in a multicultural company and a position that allows you to put your ideas into practice, this will be an excellent opportunity for you.

http://www.swissport.com/careers/jobssearch-and-apply/switzerlandhq-external-career-section/