Vice President - Finance - FMCG/Consumer/Manufacturing/Retail - CA

ABOUT THE CLIENT:

Jagdish Farsan (Jagdish Farshan Pvt Ltd) is one of Gujarat's most trusted food brands. Founded in Vadodara in 1938 and now led by the fourth generation of the founding family, the company has grown from 2 stores in 2014 to 27 company-operated stores across central Gujarat plus 2 overseas outlets, with a portfolio of 500+ products across namkeen, farsan, sweets, bakery and frozen snacks, backed by its own manufacturing and a growing export business.

The company is now building for its next phase: a 2.5 lakh sq ft manufacturing facility, expansion into new cities and channels (quick commerce, D2C, institutional, franchise), international markets, and a professional leadership team working alongside the promoters. This role is one of a small number of senior leadership hires being made to take Jagdish Farsan from a strong regional brand to a nationally respected, professionally managed FMCG and retail company.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

Location: Vadodara, Gujarat (on-site; relocation expected)

Reports to: MD & CEO

Level: Head of Department / leadership team

Experience: 12-18+ years; 5+ years leading finance & accounts

Qualification: Chartered Accountant (CA) - mandatory

Team: Accounts & Finance team (accounts, taxation, banking, MIS)

Industry fit: FMCG, Food & Beverage, Retail, Manufacturing, Consumer Products

Scope: Manufacturing, 27+ retail stores, exports, e-commerce, new factory project

WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS:

Finance at Jagdish Farsan is currently overseen directly by the MD & CEO with an accounts team underneath. As the company takes on institutional investors, a large factory project, new banking facilities and expansion into new channels, it needs a finance leader who can own the function end to end: accurate and timely books, strong controls, tax and statutory compliance, treasury, and the management and investor reporting that a professionally governed company requires.

This is a hands-on head-of-function role, not a controller-only role. The right person will be as comfortable finalising the monthly close as presenting to the board and investors, and will build the finance team and systems that let the company scale with confidence.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THE FIRST 12 MONTHS:

• Monthly books closed and management MIS issued within 10 working days of month-end, every month, with store-, product- and channel-level profitability visible.
• Statutory, internal and tax audits completed on time with no material observations; audit points from prior years closed.
• A compliance calendar in place covering GST, Income Tax, TDS, ROC and other filings - nothing missed, no avoidable notices or penalties.
• Investor and board reporting pack established (quarterly) and investor information requests handled accurately and on time.
• Annual operating and capex budget built with department heads; monthly variance reviews running.
• Banking facilities, working-capital limits and funding for the new factory structured and in place; cash-flow forecasting operating weekly.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Financial planning, MIS & business analysis:

• Prepare annual budgets, financial plans and periodic forecasts; monitor revenue, cost, profitability and cash flow against them.
• Build monthly MIS and dashboards for management - including store, channel and product profitability - and conduct variance analysis.
• Provide financial evaluation for new stores, products, channels, capex and expansion projects; identify cost-optimisation and margin opportunities.

Accounting & financial reporting:

• Ensure timely monthly, quarterly and annual closure and finalisation of accounts under applicable accounting standards.
• Review P&L, balance sheet, cash flow and reconciliations; ensure accuracy and integrity of financial records across entities and locations.
• Strengthen the ERP / accounting systems and processes for a multi-store, manufacturing and e-commerce business.

Investor & board reporting:

• Prepare financial information, presentations and reports for the board, investors and lenders.
• Coordinate financial information for investor due diligence, information rights and covenant reporting.
• Maintain confidentiality and accuracy of all externally communicated financial information.

Audit, controls & governance:

• Manage statutory, internal and tax audits; work with auditors and consultants and close observations promptly.
• Design and strengthen internal financial controls, approval matrices and documentation; minimise financial and operational risk.
• Uphold corporate governance and financial discipline across the organisation.

Taxation:

• Oversee direct and indirect tax - GST, Income Tax, TDS - ensuring accurate and timely compliance.
• Manage assessments, notices, reconciliations and tax planning within the law; coordinate with consultants and authorities.
• Keep management informed of tax and regulatory changes that affect the business.

Banking, treasury & working capital:

• Manage relationships with banks and financial institutions; structure and maintain facilities, limits and project funding.
• Forecast and manage cash flow, receivables, payables and inventory-linked working capital; ensure liquidity for operations and expansion.

Team leadership:

• Lead, structure and develop the Accounts & Finance team with clear responsibilities and KRAs.
• Build a disciplined, process-driven finance function and raise the capability of the department.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:

Must-haves:

• Qualified Chartered Accountant.
• 12-18+ years in accounts & finance, with 5+ years heading the function (CFO / GM / DGM / Finance Controller) for an operating company - not audit-only.
• Hands-on experience in a manufacturing and/or multi-location retail business with inventory, costing and multiple revenue channels.
• Strong working knowledge of GST, Income Tax, TDS and statutory audits; has personally managed audits and tax assessments.
• Experience preparing MIS / board packs and dealing with banks and lenders.
• Based in Vadodara or willing to relocate.

Strongly preferred:

• FMCG, food, dairy, snacks, retail or consumer-manufacturing background.
• Exposure to investor reporting, fundraising or due diligence (PE / VC / family office).
• Experience financing a greenfield plant or large capex project.
• Worked in a promoter-driven company that professionalised during their tenure.
• ERP implementation or upgrade experience (Tally, SAP B1, Oracle NetSuite, GoFrugal or similar).

WHO WILL DO WELL IN THIS ROLE:

Jagdish Farsan is promoter-led and moving fast. Leaders who do well here take ownership, learn quickly, build systems rather than depend on them, use data over opinion, and hold a high bar for themselves and their teams. They are comfortable working directly with the promoters, making decisions, and being accountable for outcomes.

• Commercially oriented - reads the business through the numbers and brings insight, not just reports.
• Confident with promoters, board members, investors, auditors and bankers alike.
• Detail-oriented on controls and compliance while keeping the broader business view.
• Capable of running the whole function independently and building the team underneath.

WORK ARRANGEMENT:

This is a full-time, on-site role based at the Vadodara office, five days a week, plus two Saturdays a month.