About Cognizant Corporate
Cognizant Corporate is a global community united by a shared purpose: to make a meaningful impact. We are committed to excellence and driven by outcomes that matter. Collaboration is at the heart of how we work, and our forward-thinking mindset fuels continuous learning, innovation, and growth.
At Cognizant, careers transcend titles. We empower our people to think strategically, inspire others, and lead with purpose – always guided by our core values. Join us in shaping future of business.
Role Purpose
- The Senior Manager – Budget Planning & Management (India & APAC) shall lead the endtoend planning cycle for India and APAC operations—owning annual operating plans (AOP), quarterly forecasts, headcount and delivery financials, and longrange planning.
- The role partners with regional business leaders, delivery/operations, HR, procurement, and corporate finance to drive forecast accuracy, cost discipline, and investment prioritization that enable revenue growth and margin expansion in fastevolving APAC markets.
Key Responsibilities
- Planning & Forecasting
- Own the annual budgeting process for India & APAC: revenue, COGS, opex (SG&A), capex, headcount, utilization, and productivity targets.
- Lead quarterly/monthly forecasts and rolling outlooks, incorporating pipeline, backlog, utilization trends, FX, pricing, and ramp plans.
- Build scenario models (best/base/worst) and sensitivities (FX, rate cards, attrition, bench, ramp, subcontracting mix, travel, inflation).
- Align budget/forecast assumptions with Sales, Delivery, HR (hiring plans), Procurement (vendor/lease/Cloud), and COE teams.
- Performance Management & Insights
- Run monthly performance reviews (MBR) with regional leadership: variance analysis (vs. budget/forecast/prior year), risks & opportunities, and corrective actions.
- Track and improve gross margin, contribution margin, SG&A leverage, and EBITDA across service lines and countries.
- Generate actionable insights on pricing, mix, utilization, pyramid, offshore/onshore ratio, bench, and subcontractor efficiency.
- Build uniteconomics and client/portfolio profitability views; support price/discount governance and deal reviews with Finance BP.
- Governance, Controls & Compliance
- Ensure adherence to corporate finance policies and Ind AS/IFRS reporting standards (in partnership with controllership).
- Oversee budget guardrails, approval workflows, and spend governance for opex, T&E, marketing, training, and capex.
- Coordinate with Tax/Legal on intercompany crosscharges, transfer pricing inputs, and statutory/regulatory reporting needs as required.
- Tools, Data & Process Excellence
- Lead adoption of planning tools (e.g., Anaplan, Oracle Hyperion, SAP BPC/SAC) and BI (Power BI/Tableau) for robust analytics.
- Build automated, selfservice dashboards; establish data quality standards, harmonized COA structures, and reporting taxonomies.
- Continuously improve the planning calendar, cutover timelines, approvals, and forecast reliability.
- Business Partnering & Strategic Projects
- Partner with APAC leadership on market entry/expansion, delivery center strategy, and capability investments.
- Support M&A evaluations (commercial/financial models), postmerger integration baselines, and synergy tracking.
- Own finance workstreams for large programs (e.g., vendor consolidation, Cloud cost optimization, real estate/lease planning, SG&A savings).
Key Interfaces
- General Counsel – India & APAC
- Global & Regional CRE Leadership
- Legal, Ethics & Compliance
- Finance & FP&A
- Procurement & Vendor Management
- Security, EHS, BCM, and Risk teams
Key Metrics / Success Indicators
- Forecast Accuracy: Revenue, GM, EBITDA (±3–5% by Q3/Q4).
- Budget Variance Closure: Timely identification and actioning of risks/opportunities; % of corrective actions delivered.
- Margin Improvement: Y/Y improvement in GM/EBITDA; service line mix and pricing quality.
- Utilization & Pyramid Health: Bench %, billable mix, subcontractor reliance, and offshore/onshore ratio versus targets.
- Cycle Time & Timeliness: AOP/forecast submissions on or before calendar milestones; timetoclose monthly reporting.
- Automation & Adoption: % of manual reports eliminated, dashboard utilization, planning system uptime and data integrity.
- Stakeholder Satisfaction: Leadership feedback scores; audit/compliance findings (zero highseverity).
Qualifications & Experience
- Education: CA / MBA (Finance) / CMA preferred; strong academic credentials.
- Experience: 10–14 years in FP&A/Regional Finance, with 5+ years leading budgeting/forecasting in IT services/technology consulting or similar multicountry operations.
- Regional Exposure: Demonstrated experience across India & APAC (e.g., Singapore, Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan).
- Technical Proficiency:
- Planning: Anaplan, Oracle Hyperion/EPBCS, SAP BPC/SAC, or equivalent
- Analytics/Reporting: Power BI, Tableau, Advanced Excel/Power Query, SQL (nice to have)
- ERP: SAP, Oracle, Workday, or similar
- Finance Knowledge: Strong grasp of Ind AS/IFRS, FX impact, transfer pricing basics, intercompany charging, and revenue/cost recognition for services.
Critical Skills & Competencies
- Strategic FP&A: Scenario modelling, driverbased planning, and longrange planning.
- Business Partnering: Influences senior stakeholders; communicates complex financials in simple, actionable terms.
- Problem Solving & Judgement: Balances prudence with growth; prioritizes highimpact levers.
- Execution Excellence: Programmanages across countries/time zones; meets planning calendars without compromise on quality.
- Data & Digital: Comfort with large data sets, automation, and visualization to drive decisions.
- People Leadership: Coaches and scales a highperforming, analytically strong FP&A team.
- Integrity & Compliance: Uncompromising on controls, ethics, and transparent reporting.
