Controls Analyst - Esg/Ghg

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world’s most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Role

This newly created position is primarily responsible for establishing a robust and effective control environment around Northern Trust’s external Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) related reporting including the design, documentation, and validation of processes and controls around Northern Trust’s Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) reporting as well as risk and governance related financial disclosures. The role requires a strong understanding of process and controls principles under the Sarbanes Oxley (“SOX”) framework.

The successful individual will be working closely with the ESG Finance Team but will also have strong interaction and working relationships with Northern Trust’s Climate Risk team, Work Place Services (“WPS”), Corporate Sustainability, Inclusion and Social Impact (“CSISI”), Global Financial Control, and local Finance teams in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) and APAC (Asia Pacific).

The analyst will initially join the ESG Finance Team within the Corporate Controller’s Group and report directly to the ESG Controller. However, it is expected that the individual can work independently with minimal supervision.

Principal Responsibilities

• Design a robust and effective control environment around Northern Trust’s ESG related financial reporting process, especially as it relates to the calculation of GHG emission.
• Document controls in accordance with Northern Trust’s SOX documentation requirements.
• Identify and evaluate risk and sources of potential error for all relevant processes.
• Review and test controls and organize walkthroughs and controls testing with internal and external auditors.
• Identify and recommend best practices to continuously improve controls quality, precision, accuracy, etc.
• Provide recommendations for implementing controls around the GHG inventory collection processes in offices across the globe. Train WPS staff in how to properly perform and document controls.
• Design and administer controls related trainings to different stakeholders.

Skills / Experience

Required Skills

• Experienced background in a corporate financial control environment with a sound knowledge of accounting, reporting and financial control requirements as well as audit requirements.
• Willingness to learn the basics of GHG Accounting and obtain general knowledge related to the different climate reporting standards and Northern Trust’s reporting requirements.
• Ability to understand how the detailed activities in areas of focus fit into the larger climate accounting and reporting picture for individual legal entities and the Corporation as a whole.
• Demonstrates professional skepticism and comfort with questioning how certain processes are being performed to facilitate making improvements.
• Thinks critically and takes independent initiative to research inherent risks, emerging guidance, and issues relevant to processes and controls, and proposes solutions or enhancements as appropriate.
• Utilizes understanding of various corporate units to ensure operations, services, and systems have proper controls in place.
• Ability to meet strict deadlines, manage multiple projects and to work under pressure during peak periods.
• Knowledge of GHG accounting requirements (preferred).
• Experience with Northern Trust’s BWise System a plus.
• Experience in financial service industry a plus.
• Certified Public Accountant or Certified Internal Auditor a plus.

Required Competencies

• Self-starter with an ability to self-motivate and to work independently.
• Strong planning and organizational skills.
• Attention to detail and solid documentation techniques.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to complete activities and projects with minimal supervision.
• Ability to meet strict deadlines by multi-tasking and prioritizing various assigned deliverables.
• Flexible approach towards changing work methods, deadlines, and variable workloads.

Working with Us:

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve! Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We’d love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world’s most admired and sustainable companies! Build your career with us.

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com.

We hope you’re excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.

For further information, and to apply, please visit our website via the “Apply” button below.