Group Controller - Finance & Investments

Education Operations and Management; Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,900,000; Full time

Job summary

Education Operations and Management invites an experienced finance professional to strengthen the Finance & Accounts function across a growing portfolio of educational institutions and projects. The role collaborates with the Promoter and coordinating with finance teams to build robust financial controls and timely management reporting.

The candidate will drive budgeting, audit, treasury and investment processes, ensuring proactive financial reviews and scalable systems across all entities.

Qualifications

• Chartered Accountant qualification strongly preferred.
• Strong financial accounting and financial statement knowledge.
• Experience in Financial Control, MIS and management reporting.
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting and financial planning.
• Experience managing cash flow, treasury and working capital.
• Experience coordinating multiple companies, business units or locations.

Responsibilities

• Establish a standard monthly MIS framework across group entities.
• Prepare concise management reports covering revenue, expenditure, profitability, cash, receivables, payables and commitments.
• Prepare entity-wise and consolidated management dashboards.
• Establish monthly financial closing and reporting timelines.
• Analyse actual performance against budgets and forecasts.
• Highlight variances and areas requiring management attention.
• Provide management with actionable financial insights beyond statements.
• Review and strengthen SOPs, approvals and maker-checker systems.
• Coordinate with statutory auditors, tax consultants and internal auditors.
• Lead budgeting across businesses and projects; monitor budget vs actuals.
• Develop project-level financial dashboards and cash-flow forecasts.
• Maintain treasury and cash flow visibility across entities.
• Advise on investment options and deployment of surplus funds.

Skills

Excel

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Education

Chartered Accountant

Tools

Tally/ERP

Job description

Role & responsibilities

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced finance professional to strengthen and professionalise the Finance & Accounts function across a growing portfolio of businesses, educational institutions and projects.

The role will work closely with the Promoter while coordinating with existing finance and accounts teams across different group entities.

This is not merely an accounting or compliance position.

The primary mandate is to build a strong financial control, management reporting, budgeting, audit, treasury and investment framework so that management receives accurate, timely and decision-oriented financial information across all entities.

The successful candidate should be capable of creating systems, reviewing existing processes, strengthening financial controls, coordinating different accounts teams and ensuring that important financial matters are proactively brought to management's attention.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Reporting & MIS

• Establish a standard monthly MIS framework across group entities.
• Prepare concise management reports covering revenue/income, expenditure, profitability/surplus, cash position, receivables, payables and financial commitments.
• Prepare entity-wise as well as consolidated management dashboards.
• Establish monthly financial closing and reporting timelines.
• Analyse actual performance against budgets and forecasts.
• Highlight significant variances, exceptions, cost overruns and areas requiring management attention.
• Provide management with actionable financial insights rather than only accounting statements.

Finance Systems & Controls

• Review existing Finance & Accounts processes across different entities.
• Design and implement appropriate SOPs, approval matrices and maker-checker systems.
• Strengthen systems for:
  
• Purchases
• Vendor payments
• Expense approvals
• Reimbursements
• Receivables
• Collections
• Capital expenditure
• Advances
• Project expenditure
• Inter-company transactions
• Bank payments
• Ensure proper documentation and adherence to defined processes.
• Reduce dependence on individuals by creating scalable and institutionalised financial systems.

Receivables & Payables

• Establish structured receivable and payable monitoring systems.
• Prepare ageing reports and identify overdue collections.
• Develop responsibility and escalation mechanisms for pending payments.
• Monitor vendor payment schedules and outstanding commitments.
• Ensure timely reconciliation of advances and outstanding amounts.

Audit & Financial Review

• Conduct periodic financial reviews across group entities.
• Strengthen internal controls and financial discipline.
• Review transactions, expenses and supporting documentation.
• Identify unusual expenditure, duplicate payments, control weaknesses or financial leakages.Ensure regular bank, vendor, customer and inter-company reconciliations.
• Coordinate with statutory auditors, internal auditors, tax consultants and other professional advisors.
• Track audit observations and ensure corrective action and closure.

Budgeting, Planning & Analysis

• Coordinate annual budgeting across businesses, institutions and projects.
• Establish department-wise and project-wise budgets.
• Monitor budget versus actual performance.
• Prepare rolling cash-flow forecasts.
• Analyse profitability, costs and financial performance.Support management in evaluating the financial implications of new projects and expansion opportunities.

Project Financial Control

Establish structured financial reporting for major projects, including:

• Approved project budget
• Actual expenditure
• Purchase orders and committed expenditure
• Payments completed
• Payments pending
• Vendor advances
• Cost-to-complete
• Budget variances
• Upcoming cash-flow requirements

Provide management with clear project-wise financial dashboards.

Treasury & Cash Flow Management

• Maintain visibility of cash and bank balances across entities.
• Prepare short-, medium- and long-term cash-flow forecasts.
• Monitor working capital requirements.
• Plan upcoming financial commitments.
• Coordinate with banks and financial institutions.
• Optimise utilisation of available funds while maintaining appropriate operational liquidity.

Investment Planning & Management

• Develop a structured framework for management of surplus funds across group entities.
• Identify short-, medium- and long-term investible surplus after considering operating requirements and future commitments.
• Evaluate appropriate investment options based on:
  
• Capital protection
• Liquidity
• Return
• Tax efficiency
• Investment duration
• Evaluate suitable instruments including fixed deposits, debt products, mutual funds, government securities and other approved financial products.
• Coordinate with banks, wealth managers, investment advisors and financial institutions.
• Compare investment proposals objectively across institutions.
• Maintain a consolidated investment register.
• Monitor investment performance, maturity dates, yields and liquidity.
• Prepare periodic Treasury & Investment Reports for management.
• Recommend appropriate deployment of surplus funds for management approval.

The investment philosophy should prioritise:

Capital Protection Liquidity Appropriate Returns

Material investment decisions will remain subject to management/promoter approval.

Accounts Team Coordination

• Work closely with existing accounting teams across the different entities.
• Strengthen financial reporting quality and timelines.
• Establish clear responsibilities and accountability.
• Review the quality and accuracy of reports produced by different accounts teams.
• Train and guide teams in improving processes, documentation and financial discipline.
• Identify gaps in systems, manpower or capability.
• Create a culture of proactive reporting rather than reporting only when information is requested.

Compliance & Statutory Coordination

Working with existing teams, Chartered Accountants, consultants and auditors:

• Monitor GST, TDS, income tax and other financial compliances.
• Maintain a group-level compliance calendar.
• Ensure statutory payments and filings are completed within prescribed timelines.
• Coordinate statutory, internal and tax audits.
• Ensure audit and compliance matters are followed through to closure.

Management Reporting

An important responsibility will be to create a concise monthly Promoter Finance Dashboard giving management a clear picture of:

• Revenue / Income
• Expenses
• Profitability / Surplus
• Cash position
• Receivables
• Payables
• Overdue collections
• Budget versus actual
• Project expenditure
• Major financial commitments
• Treasury position
• Investments and returns
• Key financial risks and exceptions
• Matters requiring management approval or intervention

The objective is to create a system where management receives timely financial information and exceptions proactively rather than having to seek information from different teams.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate should have:

• Approximately 1218 years of relevant experience.
• Chartered Accountant qualification strongly preferred.
• Strong financial accounting and financial statement knowledge.
• Experience in Financial Control, MIS and management reporting.
• Strong experience in budgeting, forecasting and financial planning.
• Experience managing cash flow, treasury and working capital.
• Exposure to investment of corporate surplus funds would be advantageous.
• Experience in audit and internal financial controls.
• Experience coordinating multiple companies, business units or locations.
• Strong understanding of accounts payable, accounts receivable and reconciliations.
• Understanding of GST, TDS, taxation and statutory compliance.
• Strong Excel and analytical skills.
• Familiarity with Tally/ERP/accounting platforms.
• Ability to work with and strengthen existing Finance & Accounts teams.
• High levels of integrity, confidentiality and attention to detail.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to work directly with senior management/promoters.

Experience in a promoter-led group, diversified business group, family office, education, manufacturing, real estate, hospitality or other multi-entity environment would be particularly relevant.

Preferred candidate profile

We are looking for someone who combines financial discipline with a practical and commercial mindset.

The candidate should be able to independently ask:

• Are our financial reports accurate and timely?
• Where are the financial risks?
• Which receivables require intervention?
• Are projects operating within their approved budgets?
• Are financial processes and approvals being followed?
• Are there expenses or transactions requiring deeper review?
• What cash requirements are coming up?
• How much surplus is genuinely available for investment?
• Are available funds being deployed efficiently?
• What financial information should management know without having to ask?

The objective is to build a structured, scalable and reliable finance function that supports the continued growth of the organisations.

Perks and benefits