VP, Reinsurance Accounting Manager

Odyssey Reinsurance Company (OdysseyRe) is the global reinsurance arm of Odyssey Group, one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance and specialty insurance. OdysseyRe offers a broad range of property, casualty, and specialty reinsurance products, providing capital and risk management solutions for clients to efficiently manage economic risk through a network of branch and representative offices across North America, Latin America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa), AsiaPacific and London.

OdysseyRe is an equal opportunity employer with excellent benefits and a strong commitment to providing training and opportunities for our staff. We provide employees an innovative, enriching environment and take great pride in their career growth.

OdysseyRe is rated A+ (Superior) by AM Best and A+ (Strong) by Standard and Poor’s. Odyssey Group is a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, which is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol FFH.

Position:  VP, Reinsurance Accounting Manager

Position Summary

This position is responsible for managing the assumed reinsurance accounting department for US Reinsurance. This position manages and oversees the daily operations of the department, including the processing of assumed treaty accounts, specific retro accounts, the collections and application of cash, review and calculation of estimates, quarterly account analysis and reporting on premium variances.  This position ensures all department functions as related to treaty accounts and cash are performed as expected and according to department procedures.

Essential Duties

• Manage and oversee department functions relating to account processing, cash collections and settlements, estimates, and premium variance analysis.
• Monitor and analyze department workflow to develop more efficient processes and use of resources.

• Establish, implement, and enforce new procedures and features to enhance the workflow of the department.
• Review and approve all payment requests and obtain senior management approval.
• Assign projects and provide direction and support to staff on treaty accounting and system issues.
• Review, analyze and reconcile accounting data on complex transactions.
• Bring account issues to the attention of underwriting and senior management.
• Perform quarterly review and recalculation of system estimates. Arrange quarterly meetings with underwriters to present estimates and to review premium activity on specific accounts.  
• Prepare manual journal entries and analyze and report on premium variances for the quarter.

• Identify problems or enhancements with the reinsurance accounting assumed production system and perform user acceptance testing for system enhancements as requested by IT.

• Respond to inquiries from actuarial, underwriting, and claims departments.
• Prepare and distribute Reinsurance system close schedules and manage staff to ensure timely monthly, quarterly and year end closing process.
• Ensure adherence to Sarbox controls and provide Internal and External audit with support for Sarbox controls and other testing as requested.

• Manage the staff in the conduct of their jobs and ensure the staff adheres to company and department procedures.
• Work with direct reports to establish goals and objectives for each year and monitor and advise on their progress.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Solid reinsurance experience and outstanding knowledge reinsurance accounting, including the ability to interpret contracts, understand the intent of the contract as applicable to the calculation of premium, loss and commission adjustments.
• Ability to analyze data, resolve problems and make decisions.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to delegate and direct staff.
• Ability to discuss and resolve problems with others within the Accounting Department as well as other Departments, including underwriting and claims department.
• Good understanding of reinsurance accounting and processing systems.
• Proficient Microsoft Excel skills.

Education and Experience

• A Bachelor’s degree in finance/accounting or equivalent work experience.
• 10 years of previous experience in reinsurance accounting.  Extensive understanding of reinsurance accounting concepts or techniques.

Supervisory Responsibilities  

• This position has staff supervisory requirements.

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