Gas Accounting Manager

Southern Company • Naperville, IL

9h

About The Position

This position is responsible for managing a staff of 5 Accountants and 1
Accounting Supervisor, to ensure that revenue and accounts receivable for Nicor
Gas, Chattanooga Gas, and Virginia Natural Gas are recorded in accordance with
GAAP.  This requires a deep understanding of the billing and reporting systems,
and frequent communication with the Billing, Rates and Regulatory, and IT teams.

Requirements

• BS/BA in Accounting, or equivalent academic education
• 10 plus years of accounting experience
• 4 or more years of Accounting supervisory experience
• Ability to understand business system design and work with large data sets
• Ability to apply accounting concepts to determine appropriate treatment accounting
• Ability to work effectively across functions to accomplish objectives
• Ability to manage workload across the group to accommodate projects
• Strong analytical skills, including understanding of report and query design concepts

Nice To Haves

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) preferred
• Regulatory accounting experience a plus
• Public accounting experience a plus
• Experience with business systems implementation a plus

Responsibilities

• Manage the financial close process for Nicor Gas revenue accounting, including performance of SOX controls and preparation of information required for external reporting, to meet all monthly, quarterly, and annual deadlines.  Includes monthly analytical reviews of balance sheet items to explain changes over time, and research to determine the appropriate accounting under GAAP when new situations arise.
• Ensure accurate reporting of revenue and accounts receivable for Nicor Gas, Chattanooga Gas, and Virginia Natural Gas by designing and monitoring the daily revenue validation process and month end unbilled process.
• Manage the preparation of information required for regulatory reporting and initiatives, including rate case preparation and resulting data requests, to meet all deadlines. Work with the Rate Case team and outside counsel on data request responses to ensure that all aspects of a question are appropriately addressed.
• Serve as the Accounting Lead in any billing or revenue reporting system project, ensuring that the design will meet all financial and regulatory reporting requirements.  Work closely with IT to resolve any production issues that arise.
• Monitor customer refunds for Nicor Gas, Chattanooga Gas, and Virginia Natural Gas, and work with Accounts Payable, IT, Credit and Billing to resolve any issues in check generation.
• Manage the monthly preparation of payments to the State of Illinois for Energy Assistance assessments and to Illinois municipalities for municipal utility taxes, ensuring that payments are accurate and timely.
• Manage unclaimed property for all Gas entities, working with SCS and PwC to file escheatment returns and payments on time.  Work with various business units to ensure that reissued checks are processed in a timely manner.
• Work directly with internal and external auditors as required to respond to audit requests relating to accounts receivable or revenue.
• Develop processes or approve processes developed by staff members as required for revenue.
• Motivate and develop team members by coaching, training, and providing constructive feedback.

Benefits

• Southern Company invests in the well-being of its employees and their families through a comprehensive total rewards strategy that includes competitive base salary, annual incentive awards for eligible employees and health, welfare and retirement benefits designed to support physical, financial, and emotional/social well-being.
• This position may also be eligible for additional compensation, such as an incentive program, with the amount of any bonus/awards subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable incentive plan(s).
• A summary of the benefits offered for this position can be found here https://seo.nlx.org/southernco/pdf/SOCO-Benefits.pdf

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager