Role Overview
The Financial Controller serves as a key financial and strategic partner to executive leadership and commercial teams. This role goes beyond traditional accounting and governance, driving profitable growth, optimizing commercial spend, and steering business decision-making across sales, marketing, and supply chain functions. The ideal candidate blends robust technical accounting and compliance oversight with strong commercial finance and business partnering capabilities.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial Finance & Business Partnering
- Partner closely with Sales, Marketing, and Country/General Managers to evaluate trade strategies, brand profitability, and customer margins.
- Analyze Trade Promotion Management (TPM/S&D) spend, driving return-on-investment (ROI) insights and optimizing pricing and promotional strategies.
- Lead Net Revenue Management (NRM) initiatives, evaluating price-pack architecture, discount structures, and product mix to maximize gross margins.
- Co-own the Demand Planning & S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) financial forecast with commercial and supply chain leadership.
Financial Planning, Analysis & Performance Management
- Lead the annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, and strategic 3-5 year financial planning cycles.
- Deliver actionable operational P&L variance analysis (Actuals vs. Budget/Forecast) to identify operational risks and growth opportunities.
- Drive SKU-level and customer-level profitability analysis to guide trade terms and rationalization efforts.
Financial Reporting, Governance & Internal Controls
- Oversee month-end, quarter-end, and year-end financial close processes ensuring timely, accurate reporting in accordance with local GAAP and IFRS/US GAAP.
- Ensure strict internal controls, compliance with statutory requirements, and audit readiness across commercial and supply chain operations.
- Manage working capital cycles, focusing on accounts receivable (credit terms, trade claims deduction management) and inventory valuation/obsolescence reserves.
Operational & Team Leadership
- Lead, mentor, and develop the finance team, fostering a high-performance culture aligned with business growth.
- Collaborate with Supply Chain and Operations teams to evaluate cost of goods sold (COGS), logistics expenses, and capital expenditure (CapEx) proposals.
Required Qualifications & Competencies
- Education & Professional Certifications: Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business Administration. Professional accounting designation (CPA, CMA, ACCA, or CIMA) preferred.
- Experience: 8-12+ years of progressive finance experience, with proven success in a Financial Controller, Commercial Finance Manager, or Finance Business Partner role within the FMCG / Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sector.
- Commercial Acumen: Deep understanding of trade spend optimization, gross-to-net revenue dynamics, category management, and distributor finance models.
- Technical Skills: Advanced proficiency in ERP systems (SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics) and BI/visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau). Strong financial modeling skills in Excel.
- Leadership & Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with a track record of translating complex financial data into strategic narratives for non-finance business partners.
