Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

Our aspiration as the Finance function at adidas is to be a reliable business partner for the Brand, GOPS, as well as markets and channels driving growth and value creation. As a central element within the Finance organization, Corporate Controlling drives financial steering and decision making through high-quality financial reporting, analysis and planning. The Corporate FP&A team covers all aspects of financial reporting to Management and Supervisory Board, leads the company’s financial forecasting and planning process, as well as the Free Cashflow (‘FCF’) forecast and monthly actual reporting.

The overall purpose of this position is to act as a financial consultant for the Corporate Controlling organization and drive all aspects of the company-wide financial reporting, controlling, planning and management of all Free Cashflow items, including a special focus on operating working capital (‘OWC’, accounts receivable, net inventory, accounts payables). The employee is responsible for the end-to-end indirect FCF process by preparing adequate reporting, analysis and recommendations considering the Operating Profit, other cash-relevant P&L elements and balance sheet changes. The aim is to provide transparency and insights to the Senior Leadership Team to drive both operational and strategic decision-making and influence the Cashflow across the organization and markets.

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsibility for the end-to-end indirect FCF process regarding monthly actual reporting and regular forecasting process, including the function as key point of contact for the company-wide indirect free cash flow process
• Drive best in class analytics, procedures and processes in relation to all FCF-relevant topics
• Support in the long-term simulations, scenario modelling and target setting activities regarding FCF and OWC items
• Main contact person and interface to other Corporate Finance teams with significant influence on the Company’s FCF, such as Corporate Tax, Corporate Treasury and Corporate Accounting, as well as the respective Market Finance teams
• Support in the ongoing improvement of the design and definition of the company-wide indirect Free Cash Flow structure and process
• Enable fact-based and efficient decision-making process by providing comprehensive and insightful financial analysis and simulations and derived balanced recommendations on all relevant FCF items (incl. OWC) to the Finance Senior Leadership/Executive Team
• Develop, run and further improve result-oriented communication packages to present derived results, insights and recommendations relating to FCF and OWC
• Development, implementation and ongoing improvement of cash flow-relevant KPIs (incl. OWC) and ongoing monitoring, reporting and management of those KPIs
• Act as interface to the Integrated Business Planning and Market Finance teams to align on Inventory KPI Targets, Reporting, & Forecasting
• Interface to FP&A planning team to align on OWC Targets, Reporting and Forecasting
• Monitoring target and forecast compliance in relation to FCF and OWC items and follow-up on any deviations with the markets and other responsible corporate functions
• Engage with markets, corporate functions and Corporate Finance teams to align on planning assumptions and to drive forecast accuracy and accountability
• Drive the creation of regular and ad-hoc presentations and analysis
• Leading medium-sized projects and taking an active role in bigger projects, including implementing the results and ensuring the sustainability of the results
• Drive continuous improvement in the area of own responsibility

Key Relationships:

• SVP Corporate Controlling and respective Senior Management/Leadership Team
• Vice President Corporate FP&A
• Corporate Finance Leadership Team, including Vice Presidents for Corporate Treasury, Corporate Tax and Corporate Accounting
• Other Corporate Controlling teams (e.g. Sales and Market Finance, HQ Finance)
• Finance and demand planning functions in Markets

Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent analytical mindset and skills and affinity for working with numbers, including managing large amounts of data from various sources
• Experience with the indirect cashflow method and the management and forecasting of different Cashflow items
• Corporate Finance experience and comprehensive expertise with analysis of financial data (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow metrics)
• Good knowledge of IFRS and accounting standards is a plus
• Experience with complex international companies in matrix organizations (preferably experience in the sporting goods industry) including a basic understanding of demand planning and sourcing processes
• Strong problem-solving skills and mindset including ability to draw to-the-point conclusions and recommendations
• Ability to work cross-functionally and independently within a global and changing environment, considering the complexity, interactions and dynamics within an international organization
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to mediate and drive consensus across cross-functional stakeholders and teams with differing objectives
• Comprehensive business understanding of processes, structures and IT systems, including an understanding of external business drivers
• Very good communication skills to appropriately serve and manage senior leadership team and cross-functional business leaders and stakeholders
• Comprehensive understanding of system landscape with strong PowerPoint, Excel skills and general MS office skills
• Good planning and organization skills, including project management skills
• Process-orientated and end-to-end mindset driven
• Fluent in English (written and spoken)

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications: 

• Advanced degree or qualification in Finance, Economics, Business Administration or Accounting
• Minimum of 6-8 years’ experience in Accounting / Controlling / Reporting within an international company
• Track record of outstanding performance in education and career