ACCA Careers
Legal Entity Officer (LEO) - Vice President
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Legal Entity Officer (LEO) - Vice President
Legal Entity Officer - VP Level Position
Location: [Specify if required - If global, mention regional]
At Morgan Stanley, we’re seeking a dynamic and influential Legal Entity Officer (LEO) to oversee a portfolio of legal entities while serving as a trusted adviser to senior stakeholders. This is a senior VP-level role within our Legal Entity Control (LEC) team, offering broad exposure across Morgan Stanley’s investment management business unit, driving both strategic and operational excellence in financial reporting, risk management, and cross-functional engagement.
About the Role
The Legal Entity Officer is a strategic partner to the business, combining financial expertise, leadership, and tangible business impact to:
- Own legal entities with full accountability and influence.
- Partner closely with senior stakeholders to shape reporting, risk management, and strategic business outcomes.
- Lead transformation through automation, AI, and control efficiency.
The position sits within the Corporate Controllers, Reporting & Accounting job family, responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of Morgan Stanley’s financial controls, consolidated statements, and capital/liquidity reporting.
As an employee of Morgan Stanley, you’ll collaborate globally as a trusted financial partner, leveraging cutting-edge technology and analytical rigor to support financial decisions.
Our commitment to growth extends to progressive career mobility, ensuring high performers can explore new challenges without borders.
Key Responsibilities
Business Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement
- Build trustworthy relationships with senior stakeholders internally (e.g., Product Control, Treasury, Business Units, Tax) and externally (e.g., auditors).
- Proactively advise on legal entity initiatives, delivering insightful analysis, challenge existing frameworks, and propose actionable solutions.
- Collaborate as an equal business partner, fostering cultural alignment.
Financial Ownership & Senior Reporting
- Ensure high-quality financial reporting across your legal entity portfolio:
- Monthly and year-end financial statements.
- Management accounts with timely variance analysis.
- Deliver actionable financial insights to senior leadership, helping drive data-led decision-making.
Risk & Control
- Champion transformation through automation, technological adoption (AI/ML), and efficiency initiatives to enhance controls, process flow, and value addition.
- Proactively mitigate risks (tax, transfer pricing, policy discrepancies) at all levels:
- Clearly document and escalate emerging issues.
- Align legal entity structures with regulatory frameworks and Firm guidelines.
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Leadership & Team Development
- Actively contribute to the direction and evolution of LEC as part of the management team.
- Lead, mentor, and coach a local team, with clear focus on delegation, empowerment, and capability building.
Key Requirements
Technical & Professional Expertise
- A qualified accountant in Scotland (Scotland-specific certification preferred):
- CA, ACCA, or CIMA qualifications.
- Advanced technical accounting knowledge, especially pertaining to:
- Investment management, including legal entity consolidations.
- Comprehensive reporting standards (e.g., IFRS, ASC).
- Strong proficiency in financial systems (e.g., Hyperion, Oracle, ERP modules) and automated controls (e.g., AI invalidation checks).
Leadership & Engagement
- Proven track record as a collaborative leader: Experience building high-performing teams and managing stakeholders at a senior level.
- Courage to challenge, openly advise on best practices, and navigate ambiguous trade-offs.
Technical Proficiency
- Hands-on experience in financial reporting and control:
- Complex environments with multiple entities.
- SAS proficiency (e.g., SAS Model Manager, Base, Data Studio).
- An eye for detail, coupled with analytical scarcity and commercial intuition.
Why Join Morgan Stanley?
Morgan Stanley prides itself on being a visionary in global financial services, consistently evolving to serve clients and communities across 70+ countries since 1935. Our strength lies in the talent of our 80,000 employees, unified by a set of five core values:
Putting clients first – Align opportunities with their peak aspirations. Doing the right thing – Integrity as our foundation. Leading with exceptional ideas – Innovation as both our rational and ethos. Commitment to diversity and inclusion – Champions of multi-perspective problem-solving. Giving back – Sustainable communities through financial and pro- bono support.
Our culture celebrates ambition within fairness: you’ll find a workplace that listens, adapts, and aggregates ambitious visions, supplying meticulous employee growth in all dimensions (career, skills, personal goals).
Unique Benefits & Perks
- Flexibility by design: We believe the best work happens when boundaries are fluid, fostering autonomy in official in-office, hybrid, and remote schedules—with prior dialogue.
- Attractive industry-leading employee benefits, covering family, wellness, and financial protection.
- No stagnation: Proven path for career mobility, enabling you to grow with Morgan Stanley.
- Supportive and modernized infrastructure: Enhance work-life balance through programs tailored for every life stage.
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Dividend of Our Shared Values
- Flexible work arrangements: From wellness meal subsidies to localized office support, your voice shapes your setting—self-direction checked with balance.
- An environment that celebrates diversity and welcomes critical thinking: You’re a critical player in reinforcing leadership from a multitude of narratives.
- Opportunities to drive change: Support your ideas, scale them, and grow into leadership roles.
About Morgan Stanley
Established in 1935, we are a global leader in financial services. By connecting ambitious individuals, organizations, and capital markets, we orient towards enabling prosperous futures. Our businesses build infrastructures across societies through:
- Securities Trading & Sales – Harnessing markets for firms and investors worldwide.
- Investment Management – Key events in transitioning assets.
- Wealth Management – Personalized investment perspectives for clients globally.
While we stand on a century-old foundation, our passion remains innovation in service. We are tyrannically client-centric, building strategies tailored to bespoke visions and risk tolerances.
Additional Information
Certified Persons Regulatory Requirements
Based on the role’s classification, certain qualifications may be stipulated by regulations or internal benchmarks. Consult with HR during recruitment for clarity on regimen requirements.
Flexible Work Policy
Morgan Stanley is an advocate for empowering employees to define productive and fulfilling work styles, introducing schedules autonomy with no rigid stipulations. Work arrangements will be tailored per location, retaining Morgan Stanley’s approval process and progressive evaluations.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Morgan Stanley’s diversity is revered: an orientation to meritocratic inclusive growth, welcoming experiences and ideas from varying demographics. Currently, our workforce spans:
- Employees from over 100 nations.
- Proactively committing to representation across gender, age, religions, and physical abilities for equitable dialogues and contributions. We celebrate individuality and aspire towards a workplace where headcount doesn’t dictate your value.
For more information—or to apply—please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us(global-offices) (OR locate the apply button to begin your journey!)
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