Finance Manager (Duties Taxes)

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and develop a high-performing Duties & Taxes team comprising finance professionals and accounting associates.
• Establish clear individual and team objectives, performance expectations, and measurable delivery targets.
• Conduct performance reviews, provide constructive feedback, and implement structured coaching and training programs.
• Define roles, responsibilities, workload allocation, and succession plans to ensure operational continuity.
• Foster a culture of accountability, accuracy, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Identify skill gaps and develop team capabilities through cross-training and knowledge-sharing initiatives.

• Collaborate with senior finance leaders and cross-functional stakeholders, including Ship-to-Collect and Clearance teams, to align on accounting policies, transaction treatment, and risk management.
• Lead discussions on complex accounting issues, operational challenges, and process-related escalations.
• Represent the function in Steering Committee (SteerCo) and Project Management Office (PMO) forums.
• Present performance dashboards, risk assessments, issue logs, and remediation plans to leadership.
• Manage relationships with external consultants and auditors, ensuring timely communication and resolution of complex matters.
• Establish governance mechanisms, escalation procedures, and accountability frameworks across the function.

• Ensure timely and accurate accounting and reporting of customs duties and taxes incurred during clearance.
• Oversee customer re-billing processes and reconciliations to ensure accurate recovery of applicable duties and taxes.
• Maintain General Ledger (GL) integrity through provisions, accruals, true-ups, journal approvals, and Balance Sheet reconciliations.
• Monitor accounting accuracy, investigate discrepancies, and ensure timely resolution of outstanding reconciling items.
• Implement and maintain robust internal controls, including segregation of duties, approval workflows, and data validation checks.
• Ensure audit readiness and coordinate the resolution of internal and external audit findings.
• Strengthen compliance monitoring and ensure adherence to applicable financial policies, reporting requirements, and deadlines.

• Lead the transition of Duties & Taxes processes to new operating models, including in-sourcing and shared-services arrangements where applicable.
• Apply Quality Decision Making (QDM) principles to improve decision quality, risk assessment, and operational outcomes.
• Use Six Sigma and Lean methodologies, including DMAIC, Kaizen, SIPOC, value stream mapping, and root-cause analysis, to identify inefficiencies and eliminate recurring errors.
• Develop future-state process maps, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Responsibility Assignment Matrices (RACI), service-level agreements (SLAs), and control matrices.
• Identify opportunities to standardize processes, reduce manual interventions, improve turnaround times, and automate repetitive activities.
• Lead knowledge transfer, team training, change management, hypercare, and post-transition stabilization.
• Define measurable transition outcomes and continuously monitor process performance against agreed targets.

• Partner with IT and relevant business teams to support system design, ERP configurations, and process enhancements.
• Improve data integrity through standardized templates, validation mechanisms, and automated reconciliation processes.
• Develop management dashboards and reporting solutions using Microsoft Excel and Power BI.
• Establish exception-monitoring mechanisms to identify compliance risks, posting errors, reconciliation gaps, and process bottlenecks.
• Use data-driven insights to support operational planning, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related discipline.
• Professional qualification such as CA, CPA, ACCA, or an equivalent certification is preferred.
• 8–12 years of experience in finance, accounting, or related operations.
• At least 3–5 years of experience in people management, with responsibility for team performance, coaching, and development.
• Strong experience in Team Management, including performance reviews, feedback, capability building, and workload planning.
• Practical experience with Six Sigma/Lean methodologies, process optimization, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, General Ledger controls, reconciliations, provisions, accruals, and Balance Sheet integrity.
• Experience managing finance processes, internal controls, governance, and audit readiness.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and coordinate cross-functional decisions.
• Proficiency in ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, lookups, and Power Query.
• Familiarity with Power BI or similar reporting and dashboarding tools.
• Strong analytical thinking, structured problem-solving, attention to detail, and deadline management.

Good-to-Have Skills

• Experience in shared services, Global Business Services (GBS), or large-scale finance operations.
• Exposure to ERP implementations, process transitions, and operating-model transformations.
• Experience with internal and external audits, control-gap remediation, and compliance governance.
• Lean or Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt certification.
• Familiarity with Quality Decision Making (QDM) frameworks and documented decision-management practices.
• Strong coaching, feedback, and performance management capabilities.
• Experience developing SOPs, process maps, control matrices, and transition plans.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Compliance Timeliness: Percentage of returns and payments completed within deadlines, with no missed critical deadlines.
• Accounting Accuracy: Error rates in financial postings, quality of reconciliations, and reduction in aged outstanding items.
• Control Effectiveness: Audit findings, control exceptions, and turnaround time for remediation.
• Process Efficiency: Reduction in cycle times, manual touchpoints, and reconciliation effort.
• Transition Success: Achievement of transition milestones, knowledge-transfer completion, SLA adherence, and post-transition stabilization.
• Stakeholder Satisfaction: Feedback from finance leadership and cross-functional partners, along with closure rates for governance action items.
• Team Performance: Training completion, employee development, retention, and internal mobility.
• Decision Quality: Consistent application of QDM principles, documented decisions, and measurable business outcomes.

Expected Deliverables: First 90–180 Days

• Establish a functional charter covering governance, roles and responsibilities, reporting cadence, KPIs, and risk management.
• Document current-state and future-state processes, including SOPs, RACI matrices, and control frameworks.
• Develop a structured transition plan covering knowledge transfer, training, SLAs, hypercare, and stabilization criteria.
• Implement a management dashboard covering compliance, reconciliations, exceptions, and process performance.
• Present regular performance and risk updates to finance leadership.
• Build a continuous improvement roadmap with prioritized initiatives, measurable targets, and quantified benefits.