Ref#: W181713
Department: Finance
City: Bangalore
State/Province: Karnataka
Location: India
Company Description
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands.
At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.
Position Overview
The Senior Analyst Inventory will support EMEA Inventory Accounting within the Finance / Record-to-Report function, with a strong focus on SAP migration activities connected to inventory accounting, cost of sales, inventory valuation, reconciliations and reporting. The role will combine business-as-usual month-end responsibilities with project-based SAP migration support, including data validation, testing, reconciliation of migrated balances and support for cutover and stabilization activities.
The candidate will be responsible for performing accounting functions and analytical reviews for selected inventory areas, while partnering closely with Sales Audit, Costing, Tax, Internal Audit, IT and SAP project teams. Key responsibilities include validating inventory-related data flows, reviewing SAP postings and interfaces, supporting UAT and regression testing, investigating variances between legacy and SAP outputs, preparing journals and reconciliations, and ensuring that documentation supports SOX, internal audit and external audit requirements.
The role requires strong inventory accounting knowledge, hands-on SAP experience, advanced analytical skills and the ability to work with large data sets during migration, testing and close activities. The candidate will also contribute to process improvement, automation and standardization initiatives to support a stable post-migration operating model.
Timely and accurate completion of monthly, weekly and migration-related reconciliations with clear variance explanations.
Successful support of SAP migration activities, including test execution, defect follow-up, data validation and cutover readiness for inventory accounting areas.
Accurate, efficient and timely month-end close for inventory, cost of sales, valuation and related reporting areas.
Compliance with company policies, SOX controls, audit requirements and documented procedures.
Effective communication with inventory accounting, SAP project teams and business stakeholders, with proactive escalation of risks, defects and reconciliation breaks.
Inventory Accounting and Month-End Close
Perform detailed reconciliations between source systems, SAP and reporting outputs for inventory, sales, COGS and related balance sheet accounts.
Prepare, review and post journal entries, accruals and reclassifications related to inventory accounting month-end close activities.
Analyze inventory movements, EOH balances, GR/IR, sales, VAT, purchase price variance, freight, costing and margin-related variances.
Prepare monthly account analysis, balance sheet reconciliations and supporting schedules with clear explanations for open items and aged balances.
Support internal and external audits by providing reconciliations, evidence, walkthrough support and responses to audit queries.
SAP Migration and Project Support
Support SAP migration activities for inventory accounting, including master data review, mapping validation, opening balance checks and reconciliation of migrated inventory values.
Participate in UAT, regression testing and business validation for inventory accounting processes, interfaces, reports and SAP posting logic.
Validate SAP outputs for costing runs, inventory valuation, COGS, margin reporting, GR/IR, purchase price variance and period-end close activities.
Document test results, defects, reconciliation breaks and business sign-off evidence; follow up with SAP, IT and functional teams until closure.
Support cutover preparation, mock close, parallel run, post-go-live stabilization and knowledge transfer for migrated inventory accounting processes.
Reporting, Controls and Process Improvement
Prepare inventory reports, variance analysis, product margin reports, e-commerce reconciliations and management summaries as required.
Maintain and update SOPs, control documentation and process maps for both BAU and SAP migration-related activities.
Identify opportunities to improve reconciliation quality, reduce manual effort, strengthen controls and automate recurring reports using Excel, Power BI, Power Automate or similar tools.
Assist with ad-hoc analysis, special projects and business initiatives including new channels, new store openings, sourcing initiatives, inventory liquidation and process transitions
Minimum 3 years of experience in inventory accounting, RTR, finance operations, audit or accounting, preferably in retail, apparel, fashion, FMCG or a data-intensive industry.
Strong understanding of inventory accounting concepts including inventory valuation, COGS, GR/IR, EOH, purchase price variance, costing, margin and balance sheet reconciliations.
Hands-on SAP experience is mandatory; exposure to SAP migration, SAP testing, UAT, data validation, cutover or post-go-live stabilization is highly preferred.
Ability to validate large data sets, compare legacy and SAP outputs, investigate exceptions and clearly document reconciliation results.
Strong accounting background with good RTR knowledge and the ability to understand end-to-end process impact from source system to financial reporting.
Advanced Excel skills are preferred; experience with Power BI, Power Automate or other reporting / automation tools is an advantage.
Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, variance analysis capability and a structured approach to problem solving.
Ability to manage multiple deliverables, meet tight deadlines and work independently in a complex, matrixed and project-driven environment.
Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work effectively with finance, IT, SAP project teams and business stakeholders.
University degree in accounting, finance, business, economics or a related field.
