Director, Corporate Controller - General Mills

Overview

As the Corporate Controller for General Mills, you will have the opportunity to lead a dynamic Corporate Controllership team, encompassing external financial reporting, consolidations, accounting policy, corporate accounting, and strategic initiatives accounting and reporting. This role provides the opportunity for business partnership with various internal and external teams with high visibility to organizational leadership. Primary responsibilities include maintaining accurate external financial statements in compliance with US GAAP and SEC requirements, monitoring the FASB and SEC for changing accounting and regulatory rules, evolving a comprehensive set of processes and controls designed to mitigate risk, enhancing the accuracy of the company’s reported financial results, and leading the organization’s accounting policy strategy to ensure adherence to GAAP requirements. You will significantly contribute to and enable the enterprise’s Accelerate strategy to drive shareholder value through enterprise-wide, high priority initiatives. This role reports to the Assistant Chief Accountant as part of the Corporate and North America Global Accounting Organization (GAO).

Respsonsibilities

• Strategic/Organizational Leadership
  • Oversee the external financial reporting, accounting policy, corporate accounting, and strategic initiatives accounting teams.
  • Oversee the quarterly preparation of the SEC forms 10-K and 10-Q.
  • Involvement in significant enterprise initiatives, including M&A transactions and other initiatives in support of our Accelerate strategy to drive shareholder value.
  • Develop enriching career paths for the Corporate Controllership team. Build deep functional and technical excellence within the team on accounting and controls competencies and ensure balance between business needs and the GAO’s long-range plan.
  • Collaborate across functions and communicate with leadership to drive the accuracy of financial results, functional excellence, and development of accounting and controls capabilities throughout the organization.
  • Advise regional controller teams and management in assessing impacts of changing business activities to accounting process, reporting process and controls, and provide adequate solutions to meet the business need.
  • Lead the organization in embedding strong controls, and partner with global internal audit teams in identifying and mitigating control risks.
  • Communicate and champion accounting and control policies and policy changes across organization.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally in Finance on topics critical to company strategy and results. Primary business partners include Tax, M&A, Investor Relations, Corporate P&A, HR-Benefits, Global Financial Systems, Global Impact, and Treasury teams.
  • Lead the accounting policy team that monitors external environment for new guidance, leads implementation of new guidance as applicable, advises GAO on complex policy questions, and is accountable for proper US GAAP accounting.
  • Contribute significantly to the company’s ESG reporting compliance process, including representing the Corporate GAO in cross-functional working teams and leading the incorporation of ESG requirements into future SEC filings.
  • Develop sustainable solutions for all identified control gaps.
  • Own day to day relationship with external auditor.
  • Other duties as assigned
• Operational Leadership
  • Lead the corporate controllership team in the ongoing optimization of our global operating model. Ensure the right work is performed at the right place to support the model. Identify where work can be automated, standardized, and centralized.
  • Actively lead GAO governance with global accounting peers and represent the corporate functions to the GAO. Effectively prioritize resources and action plans in collaboration with global accounting operations, solutions and shared services organizations.
  • Oversee outsourced functions’ results and processes and proactively identify new opportunities to streamline accounting processes and strengthen financial controls.
  • Collaborate with other GMI functions to improve the processes that interact with accounting; increase results through strong relationships.
  • Provide adequate support to other functions based on agreed project plans.
  • Coordinate with external auditor to ensure efficient audit within our reporting timelines.
  • Oversee annual intangible impairment testing.
  • Provide oversight to all material organizational transactions, e.g. M&A, restructuring, impairments, etc.
• Reporting
  • Lead the month-end, quarter-end and year-end financial close cycles, including the consolidation and reporting of all accounting related results necessary for external reporting.
  • Partner with GAO teams internationally and in markets to ensure seamless close cycles.
  • Partner with SEC counsel (Legal), IR, Corporate P&A to ensure consistent, compliant quarterly external communications and regulatory reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree
• At least 15 years experience in SEC external financial reporting
• At least 5 years experience in a leadership position
• CPA
• US GAAP and SEC compliance expert
• Strategic, innovative leadership – able to leverage ideas from key stakeholders to create and implement winning solutions
• Ability to develop and coach technical talent