Role Summary:
The Financial Controller will lead the finance and accounting function, ensuring robust financial controls and accurate reporting, while acting as a strategic finance partner to operations, sales, and leadership for the business. The role will oversee end-to-end finance, from costing and working capital to budgeting, compliance, and strategic decision support.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Financial reporting and closing
- Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with Ind AS and company policies.
- Lead the month-end and year-end closing process, including review of ledgers, provisions, reconciliations, and consolidation of plant and corporate accounts.
- Prepare and present MIS, profitability analysis, and management dashboards for leadership review.
2. Budgeting, forecasting and analysis
- Lead annual budgeting and periodic forecasting for the company, covering sales, production, CAPEX, and overheads.
- Analyse variances vs. budget and prior periods, identifying drivers and recommending corrective actions to improve profitability and cash flow.
- Provide financial modelling and scenario analysis to support strategic decisions, new products lines and capacity expansions.
3. Costing and finance
- Oversee cost accounting for the overall operations, including raw materials, processing, utilities, labour, and overhead allocation.
- Review SKU / batch-level costing, yield and loss analysis, and manufacturing variances; work closely with operations to increase efficiency and improve margins.
- Monitor inventory valuation for raw materials, WIP and finished goods; ensure accurate stock accounting, reconciliations, and periodic physical verification.
4. Controls, compliance and audits
- Design, implement, and monitor strong internal controls over purchasing, production, inventory, credit, and payments.
- Ensure timely and accurate compliance with all statutory requirements (GST, TDS, income tax, company law filings, etc.), coordinating with advisors as required.
- Lead internal and external audits, manage audit queries, and drive closure of control gaps and process improvements.
5. Treasury and working capital
- Support CFO in cash-flow planning, banking relationships, and utilisation of working capital facilities (CC/OD, LC, BG, etc.).
- Monitor receivables, payables, and inventory to optimise working capital and minimise financing costs.
6. Leadership and strategy
- Lead and mentor the finance and accounts team; build capabilities, allocate responsibilities, and ensure a high standard of performance and ethics.
- Act as key finance business partner to management, sales, procurement, and operations, challenging assumptions and driving data-backed decisions.
Qualifications and Experience:
- Chartered Accountant (CA) with 810 years of post-qualification experience, including significant exposure to manufacturing; dairy/FMCG/processing experience preferred.
- Proven track record in financial reporting, budgeting, cost accounting, and managing audits and compliance.
- Strong hands-on experience with ERP/accounting systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Business Central or similar) and advanced Excel / financial modelling skills.
Skills and Attributes:
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills with high attention to detail.
- Demonstrated ability to build and enforce processes and controls while partnering effectively with operations and commercial teams.
- Excellent communication and leadership skills; ability to influence senior stakeholders and manage a team.
- High integrity, ownership mindset, and comfort working in a fast-paced and growing manufacturing environment.
