Head of EMEA GDSC and Legal Entity Client Service recruitment

Morgan Stanley has earned a worldwide reputation for the excellence of its advice and execution in financial markets. With over 1,300 offices in 42 countries, the firm is truly global- and a market leader in the U.S, Europe and Asia as well as in Emerging Markets.  We provide institutions and individuals with almost every kind of financial product and service across all the world’s major markets.

In 2000 the Institutional Securities division established an operations team in Glasgow with just 6 employees.  Since then our office has grown to over 1000 employees across 6 divisions: Operations, PWM, Finance, Fund Services, Information Technology and Risk Management.  Our offices are located in Glasgow’s city centre in the heart of the International Financial Services District.

We have built a world class reputation for quality and service and the talent and passion of our people has been critical to our success.  We can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career – a place for people to learn, to achieve and to grow.  Together we share a common set of values rooted in integrity, excellence and a strong team ethic.

Due to our growing business, we have a demand for career minded people to join our teams.   Our opportunities offer unrivalled scope for progression and training within a fast paced, meritocratic and constantly changing environment.

The Glasgow Finance Division helps senior management and its individual business units manage the firm’s risk by implementing financial controls over our business activities. The division is crucial to safeguarding the firm’s franchise, reporting on current performance, and evaluating business opportunities.
 

The Role:
An opportunity exists to join the leadership team of the International Accounting Standards and Control group (“IASC”).

IASC is an independent accounting advice and review function supporting Europe and Asia, and forms a significant component of the Global Accounting Reporting and Control Group (GARC) team which is part of the Global Finance Division.

The role available is on a full-time basis based in the Glasgow office.

The successful candidate will be responsible for leading the Global Disclosure Standards and Control team and the Legal Entity Client Service team within IASC.  The role will report to the Head of IASC based in London and the Head of the Morgan Stanley Glasgow office.

The Finance Division helps senior management and the business units manage the firm’s risk by implementing financial controls over the business activities. The division is crucial to safeguarding the firm’s franchise, reporting on current performance, and evaluating business opportunities.

IASC is an independent accounting policy team supporting business in Europe and Asia on technical accounting, reporting and control matters under US GAAP, IFRS and UK GAAP.  IASC is divided into four teams which support the various activities of the firm as follows:
 

All teams within IASC work closely alongside each other on a day to day basis.  In addition, IASC work very closely with a variety of stakeholders within the Finance Division and across the firm on a global basis, for example, product control, valuation risk, legal entity control, tax, legal, market risk and credit risk.  Maintenance of strong relationships with the external auditors, other external advisors, the standard setters and industry bodies is also key to the success of the team.

IASC also works closely with the New York based Accounting Policy, Client Service and Global Disclosure and Control teams which are also part of GARC globally.

Business Client Service
The Business Client Service Team support the business units (Institutional Securities, Asset Management and Wealth Management) to determine the appropriate accounting treatment of proposed transactions under US GAAP and local GAAP.  They are also responsible for the accounting assessment of any corporate firm level transactions and restructures.

Accounting Policy

The Accounting Policy team are responsible for the development of the firm’s accounting policies under IFRS and UK GAAP.  This includes :

The Legal Entity Client Service  team provide a wide range of technical accounting support and advice to the legal entity controllers globally on IFRS and UK GAAP matters, including:
 

Global Disclosure and Control
The Global Disclosure and Control team (“GDSC”) are responsible for the preparation of a number of significant disclosures under US GAAP, IFRS and UK GAAP published in Morgan Stanley’s 10K/10Q, regulatory filings to the Federal Reserve and Financial Services Authority and local statutory accounts.

The key areas of disclosure include: derivatives, fair value measurement, consolidation of special purposes entity, collateral and certain financial instrument risk disclosures

The GDSC team consists of six members of staff; three located in London office and three in Glasgow.

Skills Required
• Qualified accountant with extensive reporting and general financial control experience
• Proven leadership ability in resolving issues and implementing initiatives
• In-depth technical knowledge of US GAAP, IFRS and UK GAAP accounting regulations or in-depth knowledge of  IFRS and UK GAAP and a willingness to develop knowledge of US GAAP
• Practical experience of application of GAAP within a financial services environment
• Evidence of working closely with other Finance functions and an ability to develop good working relationships both locally and in other locations
• Proven ability to initiate and enhance the control framework for Finance functions
• Excellent organisational skills to achieve deliverables and objectives efficiently and maintain a high standard of client service.
• Strong communication skills
• Direct line management experience.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to fair treatment, regardless of background