Lead Financial Analyst - Engineering Research \u0026 Development

The North America ER&D Lead Financial Analyst is a key business partner to the global engineering organization, supporting related party transactions, financial reporting, and inter-regional funding activities across North America and global affiliates.

This role supports North America coordination of intercompany (related party) transactions, working closely with Engineering, Finance, Tax, and Legal teams to help ensure alignment with IFRS, tax, and governmental requirements.

The position contributes to Statement of Work (SOW) controlling and SOW Library processes (global system) while supporting accurate forecasting, actuals analysis, contract execution, and funding alignment across regions. The role partners with Engineering Operations, Program Teams, and Global Controlling to enable efficient financial processes and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support related party transaction activities across global regions (South America, Enlarged Europe, Asia Pacific), ensuring accuracy and compliance

• Contribute to SOW controlling and SOW Library processes, including contract tracking and consistency across regions

• Support financial reporting processes, including actuals, forecasts, budget tracking, and variance analysis

• Collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering, Finance, Tax, Legal, Purchasing, and Treasury to maintain alignment on intercompany activities

• Assist with intercompany funding processes, including project tracking, purchase requisition coordination, and gap identification

• Support SOW and Service Agreement (SA) requisitions, including validation of invoices, and commitments

• Partner with program teams on inter-regional product development activities, including tracking milestones, deliverables, and associated costs

• Perform variance and gap analysis between planned and actual costs to support financial decision-making

• Utilize SAP reporting and queries to analyze program spending and support reporting deliverables

• Support preparation of monthly North America forecast reporting, including actuals, FX impacts, and spend drivers

• Assist with accrual reconciliation activities in coordination with global controlling teams

• Participate in process improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency and standardization of intercompany workflows

• Support timely contract execution, invoice validation, and intercompany settlement activities

• Contribute to ER&D special projects and global finance initiatives as needed

Performance Expectations & Deliverables:

• Deliver accurate and timely financial reporting, forecasting, and intercompany support

• Maintain consistency in SOW processes and documentation across regions

• Provide clear analysis and insights for operational and finance stakeholders

• Support cross-functional coordination to enable efficient contract execution and funding alignment

• Identify and escalate issues related to funding, contracts, or financial discrepancies

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance or Accounting

• Minimum 8 years of Finance or Accounting experience

• Minimum 2 years of budgeting and forecasting experience

• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups)

• Strong organizational and project management skills

• Strong communication and collaboration skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA and/or CPA

• Experience with SAP or similar financial systems

• Experience supporting intercompany or related party processes

• Automotive industry experience preferred