Manager, Projects and Policy

Job Summary

The Incumbent is responsible for preparing and supporting pension accounting, legal and personal injury reserves, corporate accounting and accounting policy and research areas within the Financial Reporting function. The incumbent processes and reviews accounting entries, supporting schedules, reconciliations, analyses, and white papers accurately and efficiently. The role documents, analyzes, and improves processes to ensure that appropriate accounting procedures are followed in alignment with regulatory standards.

• Perform accounting research, analysis and communication of accounting impacts associated to significant and complex transactions, and new accounting pronouncements issued by Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) as well as regulators such as Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) or Surface Transportation Board (STB) bodies in Canada and the U.S.
• Collaborate on special projects that have an accounting implication such as acquisitions and divestitures, and purchase and supply contracts
• Coordinate with stakeholders and implement new accounting pronouncements affecting CN, including changes to existing processes, accounting treatments, and disclosures
• Develop and maintain business and accounting models as well as templates to determine Accounting’s impact of complex accounting transactions

• Review and oversee, as part of a team, the preparation of annual financial statements for the Company’s various Canadian and U.S. pension benefit plans in accordance with their respective financial frameworks
• Ensure timely and accurate submission of regulatory filings of the above-noted Plans to the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) for Canadian plans and the Department of Labor (DOL) for U.S. plans by prescribed filing deadlines
• Audit plan-level activity to ensure that plans are being operated in compliance with regulations as well as to their respective plan documents
• Provide assistance to stakeholders to ensure operational and administrative defects observed within the Plans are corrected efficiently
• Oversee and mentor employees responsible for preparing annual financial statements
• Lead and coordinate the annual audit process for each plan with appropriate auditors

• Carry out CN Sponsored DB Pensions Accounting and other Post Employment Plans
• Process and supervise monthly journal entries pertaining to established beginning of year estimates provided by external actuaries and adjusted for updated assumptions
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and year-end close process for the plans
• Run the pension accounting projection model
• Assist in the preparation and review of pensions and other postretirement sections of the Company’s interim and annual financial statements, related footnote disclosures, and accompanying Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)
• Prepare reconciliations and documentation concerning Sarbanes‑Oxley’s (SOX) internal controls related to pension accounting and reporting
• Lead and coordinate with internal and external stakeholders the annual calendar and tasks pertaining to year-end annual re‑measurement
• Analyze the resulting actuarial valuations of each plan’s funded status for accounting purposes
• Research and document pension accounting implications associated with new and proposed significant transactions, including plan amendments and de‑risking
• Support Human Resources (HR) Pension, Treasury, and CN Investment Division concerning pension funding and accounting related issues
• Identify and implement process improvements in pension accounting, reporting, controls, and forecasting areas
• Communicate complex pension accounting impacts and issues with various levels of Management
• Support the Senior Manager, Projects and Policies in responding to queries from internal and external stakeholders

• Participate in leading the team and the FX Hedging process, including the review of setting up the U.S. dollar (USD) net asset position, the designation of…