About FWD Group

FWD Group is a pan-Asian life and health insurance business with more than 12 million customers across 10 markets, including some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world. The company was established in 2013 and is focused on changing the way people feel about insurance. FWD’s customer-led and digitally enabled approach aims to deliver innovative propositions, easy-to-understand products and a simpler insurance experience.

For more information, please visit www.fwd.com

FWD Technology and Innovation Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., known as FWD TIM, was established in late 2019. Strategically located in Kuala Lumpur, FWD TIM serves as a pivotal shared service location within FWD Group, providing services to multiple markets across the Group. FWD TIM houses a diverse and talented workforce focused on essential business and technology services such as information security, cloud operations, IT solutions delivery, digital and data, actuarial, finance, investments, and customer service, among many others. FWD TIM is dedicated to drive and deliver operational excellence and efficiency, foster innovation and ensure regulatory compliance across all business functions as well as maintain a competitive edge in the market.

PURPOSE

Accountable for the provision and delivery of accounting and reporting related business processes for the investment accounting function of FWD Group.
Provides leadership for day-to-day Group Investment Accounting activities and key initiatives.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand accounting requirements and translate them into pragmatic deliverables.

Design optimal solutions for new requirements from Local BUs and align existing Clearwater setups by submitting require change requests to meet investment reporting requirements.

Implement controls to maintain accurate investment accounting data in Clearwater, covering credit ratings, pricing, price leveling, securities setup, and trade details.

Eliminate manual workarounds within Clearwater by collaborating with Local BUs, and vendor
Develop financial investment reports from Clearwater for data analysis and control checks.
Responsible for the quarterly ECL production results, review and investigate any abnormal results recommending to management required actions to support accurate ECL results.
Obtain sign-off for Local BU CFOs or equivalent on quarterly ECL results.
Develop as required pricing controls and procedures to ensure the accurate valuation of the investment portfolio.
Maintain adequate audit records for all investment accounting related activities.
Review and approve reconciliation of various investment accounting reconciliations including Clearwater-Oracle reconciliation, HFM FX revaluation reconciliation, and ECL 3-way reconciliation.
Support consistent group-wide financial and management reporting of investments.
Lead and drive quarter-end closing activities, addressing Local BUs’ issues, and ensure timely completion of closing activities.
Manage projects related to investment accounting and financial reporting.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Monthly & Quarterly investment reporting close completed within group defined SLAs time horizons.
Group-wide Investment Accounting support completed to agreed SLAs.
Able to prioritize tasks and demonstrate ability to work with details.
Support other team members for completion of ad-hoc requests, special projects, and other duties as needed.

EXTERNAL & INTERNAL CONTACTS

Internal:

Group Investment Accounting Team.
Local BU Investment Accounting Teams
Group and Local Investment Teams.
Group and Local Finance Teams.
Group Accounting Policy Team.
Group Tax Team.

External:

Clearwater Analytics.
Bloomberg.
3rd Party Vendors.
3rd Party Asset Managers.
Auditors.

DECISION MAKING

Recommend appropriate solutions to resolve investment accounting issues.

QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE

University degree in Accounting/Business/Finance or related fields.
7+ years of working experience in investment accounting or a fund accounting role, preferably in the insurance industry.
Pursuing an internationally recognized professional accountancy qualification (ACCA, CPA etc) is required.

KNOWLEDGE & TECHNICAL SKILLS

Business Knowledge

Solid knowledge of investment products including both accounting and investment characteristics.
Knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Understanding of IFRS9 requirements, ECL, SPPI is required.
Knowledge of internal control frameworks.
Experience in translating accounting requirements into system needs.
Knowledge of Investment accounting and reporting fundamentals is required preferably within a life insurance company.
Knowledge of securities: fixed income, equities, private equity, private credit, structured products and derivatives is required.

Technical Skills

Strong analytical and Excel skills.
Investment Accounting Systems (FAM, Portia, Clearwater, etc) is an asset.
Knowledge in Bloomberg, Reuters or any market data providers.
Oracle Accounting Software.
Knowledge of Power BI & Alteryx is preferred.
Knowledge in Robotic Processing Automation and Artificial Intelligence tools in the market.

Management Skills

Clarity in communication and being an active listener.
Provide constructive feedback and build a high performing team.
Being empathic with a desire to help others.

COMPETENCIES

Able to work independently or as part of a team.
Excellent interpersonal skills.
Good command of both spoken and written English.
Understanding inter-dependencies and inter-connections of systems; seeing the big picture rather than the parts.
Being flexible and adaptable for change.
Ability to work under pressure and in a rapidly changing environment.
Learning from mistakes and desire to improve.