Sr Expert, Financial Planning

at  Canadian National Railway

At CN, everyday brings new and exciting challenges. You can expect an interesting environment where you’re part of making sure our business is running optimally and safely―helping keep the economy on track. We provide the kind of paid training and opportunities that long-term careers are built on and we recognize hard workers who strive to make a difference. You will be able to thrive in our close-knit, safety-focused culture working together as ONE TEAM. The careers we offer are meaningful because the work we do matters. Join us!
Job Summary
The Sr Expert, Financial Planning will work closely with the Vice-President, Financial Planning and Financial Planning Leadeship team to gather, synthesize, and complete presentations and other communication materials for the Operating Committee as well as execute on ad hoc analyses and special projects with a high degree of autonomy. The incumbent intervenes in files on behalf of the Vice-President, Financial Planning and escalates high-level topics, as needed. The position supports the C-suite and Executive leadership team with key financial insights and operational analytics, willidentifies and addresses deviations from the plan, enabling immediate action when needed and promotes behavioural change.
The incumbent handles urgent non-recurring projects with C-suite visibility as well as performs complex, non-recurring analyses supporting the C-suite including Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CFO as well as VP Financial Planning and the leadership team as required, proactively perform analyses on matters of importance to the aforementioned executive team, including conducting research and analysis to address specific business challenges and opportunities. The incumbent leads, collaborates with, guides, provides recommendations to, and makes decisions with the Financial Planning Leadership team.

Education/Certification/Designation

• Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce
• Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) or other professional Accounting Degree
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)*
• Any designation for these above would be considered as an asse

Technical Skills/Knowledge

• Continuously learn and investigate financial outlook evolution to the root cause
• Knowledge of finance, accounting, budgeting and cost control principles including Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and regulations
• Knowledge of rail transportation and logistics industry
• Knowledge of CN’s financial and accounting reporting system
• Knowledge of relevant systems such as Systems Applications and Products (SAP), Essbase and Business Warehouse (BW)
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
• Knowledge of Accounting, Auditing and Financial Planning concepts and processe

Board and Committees (Audit, Finance & Risk / Corporate Disclosure Committees)

• Oversee the Operating Board meetings’ agenda, presentations, organizational aspects and forward-looking agenda.
• Draft and manage highly confidential materials for Operating Committee, Board, and Committees with minimal guidance and high autonomy, while maintaining strict timelines.
• Collaborate with internal departments to oversee and finalise Financial Planning materials for the Operating Committee and Audit, Finance and Risk Committee and Corporate Disclosure Committee
• Review and finalization material prepared by other functions, as well as the storyboading, preparation and finalization of material to be prepared by the incumbent.
• Communicate the requirements for upcoming meetings with key material preparers across the organization (at the executive level), building a submission schedule, notifying presenters, ensuring they have the meeting invite and setting up Teams groups to call presenting groups into the Operating Committee in an efficient manner.
• Assist Financial Planning and other Finance Functions to in any other manner to facilitate and advance the material and insights required for the Operating Committee, Board and associated committees including the Audit, Finance, and Risk Committee

Advanceed/Complex Special Projects for Executive Consumption

• Identify causal operating behavior driving financial performance, break out the actionable items from unactionable constants to form recommendations, These are questions that pre-empt what the CEO or C-suite might ask, and anticipate both the question and formulate the solution proactively.
• Perform special, non-recurring, complex analyses supporting the C-suite including Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CFO as well as VP Financial Planning and the leadership team as required, proactively perform analyses on matters of importance to the aforementioned executive team, including conducting research and analysis to address specific business challenges and opportunities.
• Identify gaps and provide recommendations to strategically enhance financial performance and business opportunities including issuing financial solutions
• Collaborate with the FP&A team to develop financial models and analyses that inform strategic decision-making
• Contribute to long-term financial planning and budgeting processes, including identifying opportunities to streamline financial reporting and analysis processes and other improvements to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the FP&A function
• Handle special projects for the Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President Financial Planning, including reviewing complex and/or disparate files that do not fall under the purview of existing Financial Planning groups
• Debrief and bring important action items including recommendations to the Vice-President Financial Planning to make decisions in conjunction with the Financial Planning Leadership Team
• Provide visibility on controllable and actionable cost levers, trend analysis, and performance to enable CN leadership team in effective decision-making
• Review dashboards KPIs to ensure they are dynamic, appropriate, and that management actions result from analysis through translating management information into recommendations
• Identify opportunities to streamline financial reporting and analysis processes.
• Implement improvements to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the FP&A function
• Assisting Vice-President, Financial Plannning on the Financial Planning transformation initiative including process mapping, transformation deliverable identification and tracking, as well as oversight on key initiatives

Working Conditions
The role is performed at the office and environment with a regular work week from Monday to Friday. The role may require being available outside these hours in certain circumstances. Due to the nature of the role, the incumbent must be able to meet tight deadlines, handle pressure, and stress and manage multiple concurrent deliverables to the standards expected for Board and C-suite consumption.
Requirements
Experience

Financial and Accounting

• Minimum 10 years of experience in financial or accounting roles

o Experience dealing C-suite and senior leadership
o Demonstrated ability for superior analysis, insights, practical/actionable recommendations with proven track record of savings/benefit realization
o Experience with Board material creation with high degree of autonomy, advanced financial, business and processanalysis on an ad hoc basis requiring rapid turnaround for C-suite consumption
o Experience building financial data models to extract, condense and analyse various financial items
o Demonstrated excellence in advanced analytical experience relating to CN
o Demonstrated aptitude for conversing with C-suite and executives in a suscinct and informative mannner including ability to manage difficult conversations with political astuteness and diplomacy

Education/Certification/Designation

• Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce
• Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) or other professional Accounting Degree
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)*
• Any designation for these above would be considered as an asset

Competencies

• Collaborate with others. Shares timely information within and across functions to get things done effectively
• Solves problems, applies analytical thinking and finds a win for CN. Makes informed and timely decisions to get things done with good, clear and concise rationale. Applies analytical thinking to make recommendations in a concise, summarized format for executive consumption that support sustainable performance and support CN’s strategic agenda
• Political acumen and adapting to the audience. Demonstrates strong ability to adjust verbal and written communication and presentation to the various audiences. Inspires others with impactful communications and adapts to the audience
• Engage with stakeholders. Influences by translating expertise into practical business outcomes
• Ability to self-review and ensure thorough accuracy of final product without sacrificing speed of execution and delivery
• Use judgement in making decisions. Ability to challenge people across the organization in terms of provided variance explanations, causal relationships, and scale of impact
• Time management and deals with pressure and change by staying calm to quickly adapt to changes
• Fluently bilingual both written and verbal (English, French)*
• Any skills/attributes for these above would be considered as an asset

Technical Skills/Knowledge

• Continuously learn and investigate financial outlook evolution to the root cause
• Knowledge of finance, accounting, budgeting and cost control principles including Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and regulations
• Knowledge of rail transportation and logistics industry
• Knowledge of CN’s financial and accounting reporting system
• Knowledge of relevant systems such as Systems Applications and Products (SAP), Essbase and Business Warehouse (BW)
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
• Knowledge of Accounting, Auditing and Financial Planning concepts and processes

About CN
CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canada’s Eastern and Western coasts with the Southern tip of the U.S. through a 19,500 mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship. At CN, we work as ONE TEAM, focused on safety, sustainability and our customers, providing operational and supply chain excellence to deliver results.
At CN, we are dedicated to building North America’s safest, most inclusive and sustainable railroad, which includes reflecting the communities in which we operate. Research shows that candidates from underrepresented groups often don’t apply unless they feel they fit the job posting at 100%. Even if you don’t see yourself in every job requirement listed in a posting, we still encourage you to apply. If you require an accommodation for the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials, accessible meeting rooms or other accommodations), please reach out to our team at cnrecruitment@cn.ca.
As an equal employment opportunity employer, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law. We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only candidates under consideration will be contacted. Please monitor your email on a regular basis, as communication is primarily made through email.