Chief Financial Officer - Freight Forwarding

Objective / Purpose of the Job:

The CFO will lead the overall financial strategy, governance, controls, and performance management of the organisation.

The role will partner closely with the Managing Director and business leadership to drive profitable growth, strengthen cash flows, optimise working capital, manage financial risks, and ensure robust financial controls and statutory compliance.

The position requires strong understanding of the freight forwarding business model, including customer credit, vendor and carrier payments, shipment-level profitability, foreign currency exposure, overseas remittances, freight accruals, and working-capital cycles.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Financial Strategy & Business Partnering:

• Develop and execute the company's financial strategy in alignment with business objectives.
• Partner with the MD/CEO and leadership team on business planning, expansion, investments, and strategic decisions.
• Provide financial insights on revenue, margins, customer profitability, branch performance, and business growth.
• Evaluate new business opportunities, commercial proposals, investments, and strategic initiatives from a financial perspective.
• Establish financial KPIs and performance dashboards for management review.

2. Financial Planning, Budgeting & MIS:

• Lead the annual budgeting and forecasting process.
• Prepare monthly management reports covering revenue, gross profit, EBITDA, cash flow, working capital, and variance analysis.

3. Freight Forwarding Finance & Commercial Control:

• Monitor shipment-level and customer-level profitability.
• Ensure accurate recognition of freight revenue, vendor costs, accruals, provisions, and other shipment-related expenses.
• Review profitability of key trade lanes, services, customers, and contracts.

4. Working Capital & Cash Flow Management:

• Own the company's working-capital strategy.
• Drive improvement in DSO, DPO, cash conversion cycle, and collections.
• Establish and monitor customer credit limits and payment terms.
• Strengthen receivables management and reduce overdue/outstanding balances.

Credit Control & Receivables:

• Develop and enforce customer credit policies.
• Review customer creditworthiness and approve/recommend credit limits as per delegation of authority.
• Monitor ageing and high-risk accounts.

5. Banking & Treasury:

• Manage relationships with banks and financial institutions.
• Oversee working-capital facilities, guarantees, letters of credit, forex transactions, and other banking arrangements.
• Monitor daily cash positions and liquidity.

6. Statutory, Tax & Regulatory Compliance:

• Ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards, tax laws, GST, TDS, corporate regulations, and other statutory requirements.
• Oversee direct and indirect tax planning and compliance.
• Coordinate with statutory auditors, tax consultants, internal auditors, and regulatory authorities.