MassMutual Hiring for Reinsurance Accountant – Mastery (Hybrid) Job at Boston, MA Full Time

*We are hiring for either our Boston, MA or Springfield, MA office locations in a Hybrid setting where you will be onsite approx. 2 days per week.*

The Opportunity

As a Reinsurance Accountant, you will have impact through your contribution to oversight of the reinsurance accounting execution and controls for monthly and quarter-end closes. You will also have the ability to lead various initiative work focusing on increasing efficiency and adding value, while continuing to develop your project management skills, hone your skills in reinsurance accounting and related financial impacts.

Overall responsibility for reinsurance accounting and reporting supporting financial statements, and regulatory filings for MassMutual; including related controls. Responsible for the accounting, settlements, cash processing oversight and business analysis with a focus on STAT and GAAP basis for reinsurance transactions. In this role, as well as all roles within MassMutual, you will demonstrate accountability, agility, a dedication to be inclusive, strong business acumen, and will show courage, even in the most difficult situations. Effective communication skills will be key to successful relationship-building and articulating the reasoning and bases for your recommendations and conclusions. You will demonstrate an inquisitive approach, asking probing questions to identify issues with specificity.

What success looks like.

• Successfully implement and perform tasks related to reinsurance transactions and accounting
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of the team’s processes, analysis capabilities, and controls
• Contribute to our successful transition to new technology solutions to automate and improve our processes
• Ability to successfully manage multiple priorities, communicate and collaborate effectively, and deliver on your commitments
• Key competencies for success include Accountability, Business Acumen, Agility, and Communication

The Team

As a Reinsurance Accountant in the Controllers Organization of Corporate Finance you will join us as we continue our progress towards becoming the best in class financial stewards for MassMutual. This position is a key contributor on the team that manages and executes reinsurance accounting and analysis, including oversight of financial reporting outcomes of all MassMutual reinsurance treaties. This position resides within the Controllers Organization of Corporate Finance which aspires to be best in class financial stewards for MassMutual. This is an opportunity for an experienced accounting professional who thrives in a highly dynamic and agile environment to collaborate across teams seeking solid execution and improving outcomes.

The Reinsurance Accounting and Controllership team is a high-profile team in the Controller’s organization comprised of talented accounting professionals who possess diverse ranges of experiences and backgrounds. Overall responsibility for our team is month end and quarterly close and oversight of general ledger in order to support reinsurance impacts to financial statements and regulatory filings. Our team has a high business acumen and is driven to provide timely and accurate financial information to our customers. We pride ourselves on working with agility and being a reliable source of information in the organization. We strive to continuously improve and achieve results by actively listening, seeking, understanding and creating solutions as a unified team. The team continues to grow due to the growing number of projects and initiatives that we are part of.

The Impact

• Ensures the accurate, timely completion of monthly, quarterly and annual accounting close cycles for complex reinsurance accounting by effectively planning, monitoring, and problem solving
• Designs and improves the analysis on trends and results, use strong business acumen and communication skills collaborating with peers and other departments to draft commentary which enables readers to quickly understand the reinsurance financial results and drivers
• Effectively collaborates with Treasury, Investment Accounting, Insurance Accounting, Strategic Business Partner, Reporting and Corporate Actuarial teams and builds key relationships to maintain expertise in insurance product accounting and related financial impacts
• Exhibit strong leadership presence and communications skills in presenting results to various levels of management. This will require thought leadership and entail developing sound accounting practices, efficient processes, and robust control documentation to effectively deliver timely and insightful results.
• Adds value to the enterprise through close collaboration and partnership with other MassMutual business units and corporate functions to ensure the accurate, timely and efficient submission of data and analysis required to meet reporting requirements
• Develops, documents, and assures adherence to an internal control framework that ensures accurate and timely financial reporting. Makes recommendations to continuously improve the overall control environment. Monitors the control execution of reinsurance accounting, including accounting performed by vendors. Ensures policies and procedures are adhered to
• Lead the accounting policy research and implementation for new reinsurance deals or reinsurance related transactions ensuring accuracy and compliance with accounting regulations. This includes the monitoring and governance, oversight, process change and transaction controls, including those executed by vendors that provide accounting services to the Company
• Drives accountability by collaborating with accounting policy and other areas within the Controllers Organization on the evaluation of new GAAP and statutory accounting guidance impacts on reinsurance
• Provides sound financial advice to business units or other departments, anticipating the financial statement impact of changes in the business environment and making recommendations to ensure appropriate processes are implemented and maintained
• Understands how data flows through the financial systems to the accounting function, planning appropriately for changes and prioritizing and implementing enhancements
• Plays a key role in creating a collaborative and inclusive culture by working closely with outsourced vendors and other areas within the Controllers Organization to build trust through increasing understanding of and respecting differences
• Uses professional insight to identify, initiate and/or lead initiatives and continuous improvement activities that increase efficiency and add value. Leads problem solving to improve quality, reduce close cycle times, improve team collaboration, including collaboration with vendors, and improve customer satisfaction
• Effectively collaborates with internal and external auditors and provide complete and accurate source document information, including control execution documentation and support
• Demonstrates the technical and leadership competencies and passion for continuous improvement

Our ideal candidate has strong business acumen and technical skills. They are familiar with a variety of insurance products, their features, transactional activity, business process rules and reinsurance accounting practices. You’ll use your skills to help us perform the ongoing settlements and cash processing of these agreements, financial analysis and regulatory reporting, design and develop treaty implementation for complex agreements, build and monitor control processes, help us manage our dataflows, optimize processes, and support our overall objectives.

The Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• CPA with a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in public accounting or large sophisticated corporate environment providing reinsurance or insurance accounting, general ledger processing and month end close related matters
• In-depth knowledge and experience of US GAAP accounting
• Experience in best-in-class control execution/documentation
• Experience in using accounting data and information to analyze and articulate financial results
• Ability to perform independent research and serve as a key resource for resolution of unique or complex business problems
• Experience in effectively coach and develop core level accountants and external consultants

The Ideal Qualifications

• Masters or MBA or equivalent
• NAIC statutory accounting is highly desired
• Strong multi-tasking skills, ability to adapt to change and manage competing priorities
• Ability to handle complex long-term focused projects and take ownership to drive them through completion
• Experience working in a Finance transformational setting; driving continuous improvements and efficiencies beyond own scope of responsibility
• Lead the collaboration efforts between Reinsurance Accounting and other internal or external stakeholders to achieve results and improve satisfaction
• Experience working with reinsurance accounting and ERP tools (SAP, Cadency, Power BI, Alteryx etc.)
• Experience working in a Lean Six Sigma environment with strong root cause problem solving experience
• Intellectual curiosity to continue learning and adding breadth and depth to understanding

What to Expect as Part of MassMutual and the Team

• Regular meetings with the Corporate Finance Team
• Focused one-on-one meetings with your manager
• Access to mentorship opportunities
• Networking opportunities including access to Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, African American, women, LGBTQ, 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

About MassMutual

We’ve been around since 1851. During our history, we’ve helped millions of people find financial freedom, offer financial protection, and plan for the future.

Today, we continue to develop meaningful relationships with our customers by building their trust, being knowledge problem solvers and always prioritizing their needs. MassMutual is guided by a single purpose: We help people secure their future and protect the ones they love. As a company owned by our policyowners, we are defined by mutuality and our vision to put customers first. It’s more than our company structure – it’s our way of life.

MassMutual was recognized as an Ethisphere 2020 World’s Most Ethical Company, a Top Place to Work in 2020 according to The Boston Globe and named among America’s Best Employers for Diversity according to Forbes 2020.

MassMutual is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply. Note: Veterans are welcome to apply, regardless of their discharge status.

#LI-NH1