Sr. Accountant - Corporate Controller's Group

About Northern Trust

As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions.

Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide.

With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

This position is part of the Corporate Controller's Group and serves as a subject matter expert and key business partner for the accounting and governance of enterprise capital investments, with a particular focus on capitalized software and technology-related expenditures. The position is responsible for capital project governance, financial reporting, disclosures, audit support, and critical control activities related to the Corporation's technology investment portfolio. Working closely with senior leaders across Technology, Procurement, Finance, and the Corporate Controller's Group, the individual provides accounting leadership, risk management oversight, and decision support while driving operational excellence, process standardization, and continuous improvement initiatives.

This position offers broad visibility across the organization and exposure to senior leaders. The role reports to a Vice President in Chicago in the Corporate Controller’s Group. This is a hybrid role based in Chicago, with an expectation to be in the office 60% of the month.

Principal Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise financial accounting over capital expenditures, fixed assets, and capitalized software, ensuring compliance with U.S. GAAP, SOX, and internal policies.
• Oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of fixed assets and software investments, including project setup, capitalization, asset creation, depreciation/amortization, useful life assessment, abandonment review, and impairment considerations.
• Review and approve IT investment spending, procurement requisitions, capital project requests, and project funding changes to ensure accurate capital vs. expense classification and appropriate project/account coding.
• Evaluate vendor contracts, software agreements, and renewal activity to determine appropriate accounting treatment and assess financial impacts.
• Establish and maintain software asset records, including software shell asset setup, useful life assignment, and linkage to ServiceNow operational records and related project data.
• Perform Work In Process (WIP), project status, go-live, abandonment, and software write-off/acceleration reviews, including coordination with Technology, Project Management Office (PMO), Procurement, Business Unit Finance (BU Finance), and application owners.
• Prepare, review, and support recurring fixed asset, depreciation, amortization, capitalized software, board reporting, SEC reporting, and financial statement disclosure deliverables.
• Monitor and report project financial and status performance, including recurring analysis of amortization movements, software additions, dispositions, and one-time adjustments.
• Resolve operational fixed asset and project accounting issues, including invoice coding exceptions, project billing corrections, and other close-related matters.
• Serve as the primary accounting liaison across Technology, PMO, Procurement, BU Finance, SEC Reporting, Financial Reporting, and audit stakeholders.
• Support internal and external audit activities, including SOX walkthroughs, control certifications, testing support, remediation efforts, and documentation requests.
• Maintain and enhance SOX documentation, process narratives, risk and control matrices, procedures, and supporting evidence for key controls.
• Independently drive issue resolution and coordinate cross-functional efforts to meet reporting, close, audit, and stakeholder deadlines.
• Lead or actively participate in strategic initiatives, system enhancements, automation projects, workflow implementations, and control enhancement activities.
• Respond to stakeholder requests, inquiries, and action items in a timely, proactive, and professional manner.
• Identify process inefficiencies, recommend practical solutions, and drive implementation of sustainable improvements.
• Promote consistency, standardization, and operational excellence across global finance teams.

Required Skills

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant accounting experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting required.
• CPA preferred.
• Public accounting experience a plus.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP and financial reporting requirements.
• Experience with PeopleSoft GL, Hyperion Financial Management, Clarity PPM, and Trintech Certification is a plus.

Required Competencies

• Demonstrates initiative and sound judgment by anticipating stakeholder needs, identifying opportunities for improvement, and taking action with limited direction.
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to independently drive deliverables, resolve issues, and achieve results.
• Excellent planning, prioritization, and execution skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and competing priorities.

Working Model: Hybrid (#LI-Hybrid)

We have a balanced hybrid working model to ensure you get the flexibility you need, and the successful candidate will spend their time between working in the office and working from home.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa)

Salary Range:

Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension), health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability), paid time off, parental and caregiver leave, life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.

Work Authorization

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa).

Working with Us

As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to an inclusive workplace and assisting the communities we serve.

Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Northern Trust’s history and is an essential element of our culture. Employees around the world give their time and talent to work for the greater good of their communities.

Reasonable Accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at [email protected], or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.