AVP - Product Control - Investment Bank

The responsibility by Line PC Teams for completeness and accuracy of the books and records comprises of :

- P&L and B/S substantiation and reporting (including P&L explain / attribution, reconciliations, P&L commentaries, adherence to accounting principles, etc.).

- Monitoring trading activity for compliance with various related policies.

- Providing management with technical and operational analysis of the business unit.

- Regular interaction with FO business, Financial Control, Technical Accounting Group, PC Change Management, Technology and other infrastructure areas.

- Responsible for the line product control of a sub-set of an asset class, managing a line PC sub-team to fulfil responsibilities below:

Daily Responsibilities :

- Review daily P&L, P&L attribution, P&L commentary, flash to formal differences and manual adjustments

- Develop a sound understanding of risk positions through detailed discussion with traders and risk managers on risk positions so that an appropriate P&L model is deployed with focus on key risk items and market moves

- Perform insightful financial analysis to draw sound conclusions to present to senior stakeholders in onshore PC locations and Financial Control

- Ensure that the team's KPI and SLA are met.

- Attend to ad hoc queries from the traders and other infrastructure partners relating to trading revenue and balance sheet

- Foster a culture of performance improvement by serving as a lead for recommendations and be accountable for the delivery of qualitative and efficiency benefits from direct reports

Weekly / Monthly Responsibilities :

- Review key weekly & monthly MIS to senior management.

- Gain in-depth understanding of provisioning and price testing controls and processes, and perform detailed review of the working files.

- Engage in detailed discussion with traders, risk managers and Independent Valuation Control team on the results. Liaise with valuation expert on modelling appropriateness and other technical/booking issues.

- Perform detailed review of month end adjustments, and Balance Sheet substantiation

Controls :

- Ensure the maintenance of a strong internal control environment. Monitor control reports to ensure accuracy of data for P&L, validation and downstream processes.

- Raise the team's level of control awareness. Lead by example and engender a strong control culture.

- Ensure clean audit results from internal and external reviews. Ensure the completeness and accuracy of key stroke documentations for key PC processes, risk assessment and SOX documentation.

- Projects and Continuous Improvements

- Identify and drive process re-engineering and constantly challenge status quo for control improvement and process efficiency.

- Motivate and empower the team to deliver continuous improvements.

Management :

- Responsible for performance and development of the sub-team.

- Responsible for resource allocation within the sub-team and setting clear objectives for both business deliverables and personal development.

- Provide leadership and support/advice to the team. Focus on prioritisation and delivery.

- Drive team training.

Other :

- Ensure escalation of issues to management on timely basis.

- Proactive involvement in new business initiatives.

- Build close working relationship with Front-Office, Middle-Office, Operations and Risk departments and promote PC profile. Be viewed as a trusted business advisor.

Qualifications /education :

- Qualified accountant / CIMA

- CFA / Masters in Finance / Financial Engineering would be an advantage

Working experience :

- 5-7 years of product control experience in a top tier investment bank

- Articleship in mid to large sized firms

- Audit exposure in large financial institutions / banks preferred

Technical knowledge / skills :

- Good knowledge of financial product and markets of the relevant asset class and ability to learn

- Good understanding of end-to-end processes of an IB and associated controls

- Excellent communication and presentation skills in both formal and informal settings & ability to interact with the region and UK / US as part of a global team (written and verbal)

- Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritise

Candidate Profile :

- Strong control awareness

- Confident and assertive manner

- Ability to work independently with a spectrum of people from junior finance staff to front office business heads.

- Proactive and change focused with problem solving ability.

- Mature and able to negotiate through difficult situations

- Ability to drive the team's agenda in large forums spread across various locations.

- Good influencing and negotiation skills and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

- Displays enthusiasm, initiative and diligence.

- Opportunity to be groomed to be future leaders, where there will be expended remit for future growth.

- Works well in a team with high standards for team work

Language :

Ability to speak /write English fluently