Deputy / Manager - Finance & Accounts

KatalAiser; Chennai District; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

KatalAiser in India seeks a Manager - Finance & Accounts to ensure accuracy and timely finalisation of books and financial statements. The role leads monthly, quarterly and annual closures, coordinates statutory audits, and provides variance analyses to management.

The ideal candidate is a Chartered Accountant with about 5 years post-qualification experience in financial accounting, audit coordination, and reporting, with preference for exposure to multi-branch operations.

Qualifications

• Qualified Chartered Accountant (CA).
• Around 5 years of post-qualification experience in financial accounting, statutory audit coordination, financial reporting, MIS review and closing/finalisation.
• Experience in automobile dealership, retail, trading, distribution, manufacturing or multi-branch business is preferred.
• Strong practical knowledge of Accounting Standards as applicable, Companies Act financial reporting requirements, audit documentation and financial controls.
• Experience independently handling statutory audit and financial statement finalisation will be strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive the monthly, quarterly and annual financial closing process within agreed timelines.
• Review the trial balance and books for completeness, accuracy and proper classification before finalisation.
• Review key accounting areas including revenue recognition, provisions, accruals, depreciation, employee costs, interest, inventories and controls.
• Ensure financial statements are prepared in accordance with applicable standards and company policies.
• Lead statutory audit coordination from planning to final sign-off and ensure timely submission of schedules and notes.
• Review audit queries with evidence and ensure timely closure of observations.
• Perform MIS review and variance analysis comparing actuals to budgets.

Skills

Balance

Financial statements

Finance

Management

Balance sheet

Ledger

Accounting

Education

Chartered Accountant (CA)

Tools

FAMS software

Job description

Role Purpose

The Manager - Finance & Accounts will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy, completeness, integrity and timely finalization of the company’s books of accounts and financial statements. The role will independently review the general ledger and trial balance, lead monthly, quarterly and annual financial closure, coordinate with the statutory auditors through completion of the audit, and ensure that audit schedules, reconciliations and financial statements are audit-ready. The role will also work closely with the Business Finance / MIS team to review management reporting, analyse financial performance, identify emerging issues and unusual movements, and provide meaningful variance explanations and corrective actions to management.

Role Purpose

The Manager - Finance & Accounts will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy, completeness, integrity and timely finalization of the company’s books of accounts and financial statements. The role will independently review the general ledger and trial balance, lead monthly, quarterly and annual financial closure, coordinate with the statutory auditors through completion of the audit, and ensure that audit schedules, reconciliations and financial statements are audit-ready. The role will also work closely with the Business Finance / MIS team to review management reporting, analyse financial performance, identify emerging issues and unusual movements, and provide meaningful variance explanations and corrective actions to management.

Key Responsibilities

• Financial Closing, Accuracy & Finalisation
  

Own and drive the monthly, quarterly and annual financial closing process and ensure closure within agreed timelines.
Review the trial balance and books of accounts for completeness, accuracy, proper classification and period cut-off before financial finalisation.
Review key accounting areas including revenue recognition, provisions, accruals, prepaid expenses, depreciation, employee costs, interest, incentives, claims, inventory valuation.
Ensure all material balance sheet and P&L accounts are supported by reconciliations, schedules and appropriate documentation.
Review inter-company, inter-branch, customer, vendor, bank and control account reconciliations and ensure timely clearance of old / unreconciled items.
Ensure financial statements are prepared in accordance with applicable standards, Companies Act requirements and established company accounting policies.
Identify accounting errors, unusual entries, missed provisions, duplicate / incorrect postings and potential financial misstatements before closure.
Maintain a structured month-end and year-end closing checklist with ownership and closure status.

• General Ledger Scrutiny Books Review
  

Perform detailed scrutiny of the general ledger and trial balance on a monthly basis, focusing on high-value, unusual, manual and exceptional transactions.
Review expense ledgers, income ledgers, provisions, suspense accounts, clearing accounts and control accounts for abnormal trends, incorrect classification or unsupported balances.
Analyse ledger movements against prior month, prior year, business plan
Review journal vouchers and material manual entries for appropriate approval, supporting documentation, accounting treatment and audit trail in FAMS software.
Ensure ageing of open items is periodically reviewed and long-pending balances are resolved or appropriately
provided for.
Drive corrective entries and process improvements arising from ledger scrutiny.

• Statutory Audit Ownership & Auditor Coordination
  

Lead and coordinate the statutory audit from audit planning through final sign-off and completion of the audited financial statements.
Act as the primary finance coordinator for statutory auditors and ensure timely submission of audit schedules, ledgers, reconciliations, confirmations, explanations and supporting documents.
Prepare and review audit schedules, financial statement notes, balance sheet schedules and other information required for audit completion.
Coordinate audit requirements with business finance, tax, payroll, treasury, operations and other internal stakeholders.
Review audit queries and observations, provide clear explanations with evidence, and ensure timely closure without unnecessary open points.
Track pending audit items through a structured tracker and *escalate* delays or potential qualification / reporting issues to senior management in advance.
Ensure previous-year audit observations, internal control comments are addressed and do not recur.
Coordinate, where applicable, with tax auditors, internal auditors, stock auditors, consultants and other assurance providers.

• MIS Review, Business Finance Coordination & Variance Analysis
  

Work closely with the Business Finance team and review monthly MIS and present with management.
Validate that MIS is consistent with the underlying books of accounts and investigate differences between management reporting and financial accounting.
Review revenue, gross profit, contribution, operating expenses, PBT, working capital and key balance sheet movements.
Perform budget vs actual, current period vs previous period and year-on-year variance analysis and identify the underlying business or accounting drivers.
Identify potential financial issues, margin deterioration, abnormal expenses, revenue leakage, unprovided costs,unusual credits / debits and emerging balance sheet risks.

Qualification & Experience

Qualified Chartered Accountant (CA).
Around 5 years of post-qualification experience in financial accounting, statutory audit coordination, financial reporting, MIS review and closing / finalisation.
Experience in automobile dealership, retail, trading, distribution, manufacturing or multi-branch business is preferred.
Strong practical knowledge of Accounting Standards as applicable, Companies Act financial reporting requirements, audit documentation and financial controls.
Experience independently handling statutory audit and financial statement finalisation will be strongly preferred.
Skills: balance,financial statements,finance,management,balance sheet,ledger,accounting