Finance Controller

Job Title: Finance Controller

Location: Gurgaon, India

Job type: Full time

Reports To: Country Head

Role Overview

This is a key role in driving the future success of the Companys brand in India. As Finance Controller, you will lead the finance function end-to-end, building a high-performance culture that does the basics brilliantly while adding real value to your business partners through expense management, compelling storytelling, and data-led commercial decision-making.

Beyond this core finance mandate, we are looking for someone excited to stretch into a broader leadership opportunity. This is a chance to build cross-functional leadership experience as you help scale and strengthen Company’s India's Shared Services organization, with a clear path to take on full leadership of this function in the future.

Key Responsibilities

1. Financial Reporting, Transaction Processing & Control Governance

• Own the monthly close process, reporting to Group under US GAAP within 3 days of month-end.
• All balance sheet accounts reconciled and clean.
• All income statement accounts analyzed and explained.
• Present monthly results and financial & non-financial KPIs to the US Headquarters.
• Oversee credit control, working to minimize past dues and DSO.
• Build and maintain a strong internal control environment.

1. Compliance, Taxations & Audit

• Stay on top of local financial and regulatory compliance, keeping a close eye on the environment to ensure we remain compliant.
• Maintain strong internal controls, including safeguarding of assets and compliance with external regulations and internal policies/delegation of authority.
• Own direct and indirect tax reporting and compliance, ensuring payments are accurate and on time.
• Serve as the key point of contact for internal audits, building close, cooperative working relationships.

1. Working Capital and Cash flow management

• Establish and monitor dealer credit limits, security deposits, bank guarantees, and other credit risk mitigation mechanisms.
• Develop practical risk assessment frameworks for dealers where audited financial statements may be unavailable or limited.
• Work to minimize overdue receivables and improve Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
• Partner with Sales leadership to balance growth opportunities with prudent credit risk management.
• Support effective cash flow planning and liquidity management.
• Regularly review dealer payment performance, overdue trends, credit utilization, market reputation, and business viability to determine ongoing credit eligibility.
• Recommend corrective actions including revised credit terms, collateral requirements, exposure reduction, or suspension of credit facilities when appropriate.
• Drive improvements in dealer collections, aging performance, and overall working capital efficiency.

1. Commercial Finance & Business Partnering

• Support the India Country Manager in shaping strategy and long-range business plans.
• Own the budgeting and monthly reforecasting process, delivering high accuracy with fully explained results and on-time deadlines.
• Analyze sales and gross margin, identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Monitor and build awareness of expenses, leading efforts to manage these down when needed.
• As part of the global senior finance group, liaise with functional leaders at US Headquarters.
• Provide financial guidance to support growth of Company’s's dealer network, inventory turns and working capital productivity.
• Support development & evaluation of dealer programs, rebate schemes, promotional campaigns, dealer margin structures, and sales compensation programs.
• Support development of pricing strategies, gross margin optimization initiatives, and product portfolio decisions.
• Translate financial analysis into actionable recommendations that support market expansion and profitable growth.

1. Shared Service Business (25% role / focus)

• Play a role in shaping and executing Company’s India Shared Services strategy, in line with business objectives and global priorities.
• Support Company’s India’s Shared Services Business / Teams to help deliver high-quality, cost-effective, customer-centric services across supported functions to global Company’s subsidiaries & businesses
• Help set and track service delivery standards, SLAs, KPIs, and customer satisfaction metrics.
• Support compliance with the Income Tax Act, particularly Transfer Pricing provisions
• Experience supporting a nationwide dealer/distributor/retailer network operating under wholesale or channel sales models.
• Key Points
• Import and distribution of consumer products, sporting goods, automotive products, lifestyle brands, electronics, industrial products, or similar multi-channel wholesale businesses.
• End-to-end finance support for businesses involving imports, customs clearance, warehousing, inventory management, dealer/distributor networks, and last-mile logistics.
• Strong understanding of import duties, customs assessments, landed cost calculations, tariff structures, and inventory capitalization principles.
• Experience in accurate accounting, valuation, and reporting of inventory in accordance with applicable accounting standards and company policies - purchase price variances (PPV), inventory variances, cycle count adjustments, and warehouse reconciliation differences
• Expertise in building product pricing / product MSRP - landed cost calculations including freight, duties, customs charges, and other import-related costs, local taxes, dealer margin, etc.
• Experience evaluating dealer profitability, market development opportunities, channel expansion, product mix optimization, and revenue growth initiatives.

Required Skills and Qualifications –

• 12-14 years of overall experience, with 6-8 years of experience in an import-based, wholesale distribution, retail, consumer products, sporting goods, automotive aftermarket, FMCG, electronics, industrial distribution, or similar channel-driven business model.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting; CA, CWA, or CPA qualification.
• Advanced spreadsheet skills able to turn large amounts of data into simple, workable processes with built-in sense checks.
• Familiarity with JD Edwards or similar ERP systems, with a proven ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Brings a flexible, positive attitude and energy to the team.
• Strong financial qualifications and demonstrable knowledge of the regulatory environment in India.
• Comfortable diving into the details to solve complex issues, while still seeing the bigger picture.
• Able to provide clear, fact-based analysis to support a recommended course of action.
• A natural leader and team player who holds the team to high standards.
• Combines empathy with assertiveness and strong influencing skills.
• Excellent attention to detail; tenacious and methodical.
• Committed to continuous improvement - always looking for a better way of doing things