Senior Accountant - Payment Accounting

Job description
Company Intro

Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) is the world leader in online travel and related services, provided to customers and partners in over 220 countries and territories through six primary consumer-facing brands - Booking.com, KAYAK, Priceline, agoda.com, Rentalcars.com, and OpenTable. The mission of Booking Holdings is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

Job Summary

Booking Holdings is currently undergoing a Finance Transformation initiative that will drive effective finance support for business management; promote strong governance and control in the organization; and have a world-class finance organization in terms of execution and efficiency. As part of this initiative, the newly formed Global Business Services team will provide centralized operational accounting processes from our Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, India. This role will be responsible for overseeing the financial closure activities related to payment accounting, ensuring accurate and timely reporting of financial data, and maintaining robust controls over financial transactions. This role involves working closely with various stakeholders, including the Payments Accounting team, IT, and external partners, to ensure the integrity of financial data and compliance with accounting standards. This individual will serve as an integral member of a team responsible for the Payment accounting of Booking Holdings and our subsidiaries, to ensure accurate and timely preparation and review of journal entries and account reconciliations. The ideal candidate will thrive in an entrepreneurial setting and take ownership of his/her work. A successful candidate will possess the communication skills and business acumen necessary to interact with multiple teams across Booking Holdings and our subsidiaries.

Key Responsibilities
• Financial Close Activities:
• Perform monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close activities, including the preparation and review of journal entries, account reconciliations, and financial statements.
• Ensure accurate and timely recording of financial transactions related to payment accounting, including wallet credits, instant rewards, and other payment-related activities.
• Reconciliation and Reporting:
• Reconcile the closing wallet liability and unrealized incentives balance per SAP with the wallet database and other relevant systems.
• Prepare and review monthly reconciliation reports, including the reconciliation of the unrealized incentives position and wallet liability.
• Investigate and resolve any discrepancies identified during the reconciliation process.
• Controls and Compliance:
• Implement and maintain robust internal controls over financial transactions to ensure compliance with SOX and non-SOX requirements.
• Perform periodic accounting impact assessments and ensure the accuracy and completeness of financial data transfers between systems.
• Review and approve control activities performed by junior accountants and controllers.
• Process Improvement:
• Identify opportunities for process improvements and automation within the payment accounting function.
• Collaborate with IT and other stakeholders to implement system enhancements and streamline accounting processes.

Stakeholder Management:
• Work closely with the Payments Accounting team, IT, and external partners to

ensure the accuracy and integrity of financial data.
• Provide support and guidance to junior accountants and other team members.

Knowledge Skills & Abilities
• Familiarity with other systems such as Gustavson, Hadoop, MySQL, and MuleSoft is desirable
• Strong knowledge of SAP and other financial systems.
• Blackline for control performance and reconciliation evidence
• Strong knowledge of accounting principles and standards (e.g., IFRS, GAAP).
• Excel proficiency is must.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Attention to detail and ability to work under tight deadlines.

Pre-Employment Screening

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.