Accountant

Job title: Joint Venture Accounting Advisor/Accountant

Location: Houston, TX - 77079

Duration: 06 Months (Strong possibility of extension or conversion to a permanent)

Primary Focus

• Advisor, Joint Venture Accounting is responsible for preparing the general financial aspects of matters impacting our joint venture arrangements.
• The Joint Venture group is the primary point of contact acting to ensure the optimization of the financial performance of our joint venture activities and to proactively and retroactively respond to the needs of both our internal and external stakeholders.
• They are responsible for keeping accurate accounting and budgeting records, facilitating proper cash management procedures, maintaining positive business relationships with partners, and leveraging knowledge and experience to assist other departments as various requests or issues arise.

Specific Accountabilities

• Prepare and review monthly financial statements and support schedules to be provided to internal management and partners
• Prepare, review, and approve monthly journal entries including joint venture billings
• Perform research and analysis for ad hoc questions or requests from partners
• Interact with other groups inside the company (including Business Development, Treasury, and Reporting)
• Prepare annual budgets for internal management and individual joint ventures
• Prepare and coordinate cash calls and cash distributions with partners
• Prepare and review quarterly and annual FERC Form 3 and Form 2 reports
• Prepare and review account reconciliations and monthly actual variance analysis
• Coordinate and interact with internal and external auditors on quarterly and year-end audits
• Ensure compliance with SOX controls and related reporting requirements
• Provide guidance to analysts as needed
• Special projects as required

Product

• The Advisor, Joint Venture Accounting interacts with all levels of management throughout the organization in order to develop and maintain processes to ensure optimization of joint venture performance (including optimization of cost recovery) and compliance with financial terms of applicable agreements.
• Expected to generate actionable recommendations to senior leaders, auditors and joint venture financial managers to resolve issues as they are identified.

Contacts

Internal Stakeholders:

• Business Development – Interactions include assisting in partnership negotiations, managing partner relationships, creating and understanding operating and construction budgets and supporting Management Committee operations.
• Regulatory – Interactions include assisting during rate proceedings and other filings, ensuring accounting policies are in-line with and support regulatory requirements.
• Legal – Interactions include assisting during partnership negotiations and on any issues that may arise later (i.e. closing out potential findings from partnership audits)
• Economic Evaluation – Interactions include ensuring their economic models are updated appropriately to result in representational IRRs.
• Treasury – Interactions include assisting during financing transactions, with annual ratings agency presentations for the partnerships and with cash management matters.
• Tax – Interactions include discussing income and property tax impacts on potential transactions, partnership negotiations, and accounting policies.
• Other accounting functions (Financial Reporting, FP&A) – Including CAO, Operations Accounting Controller, and direct reports. Interactions include ensuring financial reporting disclosures are accurate and fairly presented, assisting in research and documentation on technical accounting matters, and helping FP&A group create, maintain, and understand annual operating budgets.
• Investor Relations – Interactions include explaining operational and financial results, organizational structures and similar matters.
• External Stakeholders:
• Accounting point of contact for our partnerships – Interactions include assisting with their accounting policies, review of monthly operating results, forecasting future results for their internal reporting purposes and dealing with joint venture audits.
• Independent auditors and audit staff from joint venture partners – facilitating auditor access, responding to questions, supporting company positions.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Bachelor degree required in Accounting
• 4+ years or equivalent of related experience
• Ability to communicate effectively with all levels in the organization
• Excellent organization, planning, and analytical skills
• CPA preferred, but not required