Finance Lead, JP Originals

Job Description

The Amazon Prime Video team is shaping the future of digital video entertainment. The Original Content group focuses on ensuring we invest in the most promising original content for our customers and invent and implement policies and procedures to protect the investment of Amazon in original content. We are seeking to fill a key Finance role to be a key business partner with Amazon's Japan Digital Video team to manage the original content production in Japan.

This position involves many ad hoc projects, and therefore a successful candidate will have the ability to tackle multiple projects and efficiently execute deliverables. The right individual will have exceptional Finance skills and strong understanding of Finance & Accounting principles, solid leadership skills and firm business judgment capable of driving an organization to the right results.

He or she will have operated successfully in a fast-paced, global, results-oriented environment, and have the ability to influence the decisions of senior business leaders through effective verbal and written communication, logical reasoning, and the presentation of alternatives. The successful candidate must be able to think and act both strategically and tactically. Strong oral and written communication skills are crucial, as well as ability to think clearly, analyze quantitatively, problem-solve, scope technical requirements and prioritize.

The team needs a self-starter, who is able to work effectively autonomously and drive projects with the team and cross-functionally with other teams including Development, Production & Operations, Legal and Business Affairs, Finance and Accounting. The candidate will need to able to collaborate with business partners both in the India as well as abroad and must display strong initiative for anticipating and meeting the business demands of senior-level business managers. The ideal candidate will understand the television and original production business and be able to liaise between the Amazon business teams and local producers.

Key responsibilities:

Finance Strategy
• Lead and support strategic value-added analyses around Original content, developing key insights around core business metrics. Monitor and analyze key predictors, identify trends and present actionable insights to the leadership team
• Analyze TV Series production agreements, co-production agreements, distribution agreements, and other relevant deals. Support deal negotiations during development and production as a business finance partner
• Compiling thoughtful post-mortem analyses to determine areas for optimization and improvement
• Monitoring and helping the original content team manage the upcoming slate for Original productions
Financial Planning & Analysis
• Manage planning and forecasting of Original content budget for JP and liaison with other stakeholders to provide the right transparency and insights
• Ownership of key metrics to support budgeting and forecasting process, as well as monitoring and forecasting for the original television content business
• Partner with Accounting and Production teams to track efficiency of production spend and assist with month-end accruals and forecasting
• Create and analyze financial data and reports, providing key variance explanation, and highlight areas of risk and opportunity to the WW business/finance leadership
• Interface with a wide variety of stakeholders for planning and reporting (Accounting, business, marketing, Amazon studios)
• Partnering with the business to scope and implement studio production finance and accounting solutions

Production Finance
• Monitoring on-going productions and maintaining strong controllership (payments, cash-flows, variance analysis, cost reporting), via regular interactions with auditors, producers and production team. Review production budgets, cost reports, trial balances and petty cash reconciliations prepared by show accountants/ 3P Auditors on a regular basis
• Serve as main point of contact between multiple original television productions and Amazon Studios finance team. Partner with other members of the Prime Video JP team and third party local production services companies
• Hire talented production accounting teams/ 3P Audit firms with the skill set to provide the highest level of production accounting/cost monitoring support on shows that are both ambitious and complex
• Collaborate with Line Producers, Production Managers, Production Accounting Staff and the Amazon Production team to prepare all financial reports, ensure proper reconciliation of accounts, and ensure production's cash flow and payment needs are met
• Work closely and collaboratively with Amazon Studios' teams including Legal, Tax, Business Affairs, Production, Finance and Accounting
• Manage production incentive workflow and ensure receipt of tax credits or cash. Manage cash flow and funding processes
• Develop/improve financial reporting processes, controls, and policies. Create and drive innovative solutions that will enable the finance org to maintain effective controllership in a high growth business

This role will be based in Tokyo, Japan

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Mathematics or a similar field
• 10-15 years of experience in a highly analytical environment in which complex modelling and analysis is performed
• Knowledge of the entertainment and production business
• Experience in working with/managing multiple senior level stakeholders
• Must be very detail-oriented and meticulous in the follow through of documentation, processes and procedures
• High aptitude and enthusiasm for complex strategic problem solving utilizing financial modeling and analysis, including great Excel skills
• Strong capabilities for developing and presenting analyses and insights to senior management
• Must speak Japanese and English and have understanding of Japanese culture; Entertainment & Media experience is a plus

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Proficiency in financial software and systems including Excel, SQL and COGNOS. Knowledge of Access, database, and data mining is desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple competing priorities simultaneously and drive projects to completion.
• Ability to build and manage models for business forecasting, variance analysis, and problem solving
• MBA from top school and/or Professional accounting qualifications
• Knowledge of backend reporting (residuals and participations) desirable
• Experience supporting new business launch
• Excellent written and oral communication

Amazon is an Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action Employer – Minority / Female / Disability / Veteran / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rjpq1r-18-116-85-72-42 in your application.