Head of Finance

Smart Moves Talent Crafters Pvt. Ltd.; Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Smart Moves Talent Crafters Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai is looking for a Finance Leader to oversee financial strategies and lead a finance team supporting the airline business vertical. This role involves compliance with regulatory requirements like GST and TDS, and ensuring accuracy in financial processes.

The ideal candidate should have a Bachelor's degree in Commerce, a Chartered Accountant certification, and over 10 years of experience in financial roles, especially in B2B travel or airline finance.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in finance roles, with 6 years in leadership.
• Minimum 5 years in B2B travel finance or high-volume financial environments.
• Experience managing full-cycle accounting and reconciliation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement financial strategies for airline business.
• Manage complete payables processes to airlines and GDS partners.
• Achieve accurate monthly P&L closure with no errors.

Skills

Financial leadership

Negotiation skills

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Advanced MS Excel

Education

Bachelor of Commerce

Chartered Accountant (CA)

Tools

ERP systems (Oracle, SAP)

Business intelligence tools

Job description

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement comprehensive financial strategies for the airline business vertical aligned with company growth targets and profitability objectives.
• Negotiate payment terms with airline partners and GDS providers to optimize working capital and improve margins while maintaining strong relationships.
• Work with the Managing Director to set financial targets, forecast airline business performance, and identify strategic growth opportunities within the airline ticketing segment.
• Build and mentor a high‑performing finance team capable of managing increasing transaction volumes, implementing automation, and maintaining accuracy at scale.

Operational

• Manage complete payables processes including invoice receipt, verification, approval workflows, and timely payment to airlines and GDS partners while maintaining compliance.
• Oversee receivables management—ensuring accurate invoicing to travel agents, follow‑up on outstanding payments, and minimizing Days Sales Outstanding while maintaining agent relationships.
• Execute full account reconciliation including GST reconciliation, TDS reconciliation, agent settlement statements, and airline commission verification on a monthly basis.
• Maintain internally audited monthly Profit & Loss statements for the airline business reflecting accurate revenue, cost of goods sold, commissions, and operating expenses.
• Implement and monitor monthly financial close procedures ensuring accuracy and timeliness across all transaction types and agent segments.
• Coordinate with travel agents and airline partners to resolve billing disputes, settlement discrepancies, and payment issues systematically and fairly.

Performance

• Achieve monthly P&L closure with 100% accuracy and zero material errors across all airline‑related transactions within agreed timelines.
• Reduce Days Sales Outstanding for travel agent receivables by optimizing invoicing, payment terms, and collection processes while maintaining agent satisfaction.
• Minimize payment processing errors and disputes to below 0.5% of transaction volume, maintaining seamless relationships with airline and GDS partners.
• Identify and implement monthly cost optimization opportunities within the airline business resulting in measurable margin improvement.
• Ensure 100% compliance with GST filing, TDS submission, and other regulatory requirements with zero penalties or compliance issues.
• Generate monthly financial insights and variance analysis that inform business decisions and enable proactive management of airline business performance.

Key Performance Indicators

• Monthly P&L Accuracy: 100% accuracy in airline business monthly financial statements with zero material errors identified by internal or external auditors, measured through monthly close.
• Days Sales Outstanding: Reduce average DSO for travel agent receivables from current baseline to a target of 30 days through improved billing and collection practices while maintaining agent relationships.
• Reconciliation Timeliness: Achieve full month‑end reconciliation (GST, TDS, agent settlements, and airline commissions) within 5 business days of month‑end with 100% accuracy.
• Dispute & Error Rate: Maintain payment processing errors and billing disputes below 0.5% of total airline transaction volume, tracked through incident reporting and resolution systems.
• Working Capital Efficiency: Improve the cash conversion cycle through optimized payables to airlines and GST input credit management while maintaining compliance, measured as days of cash‑flow improvement.
• Regulatory Compliance Score: Achieve 100% compliance across GST filing, TDS submission, and airline reporting requirements with zero penalties, assessed through a compliance audit checklist.
• Finance Team Productivity: Deliver monthly close and reporting processes with the current team structure while reducing overtime and rework, measured through time tracking and process metrics.

Required Qualifications

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor of Commerce or equivalent degree with specialization in Accounts or Finance Head — Airlines.
• Chartered Accountant (CA) or equivalent professional accounting qualification — mandatory.
• Advanced MS Excel proficiency with demonstrated ability to build financial models, dashboards, and analytical tools.
• 10+ years of experience in finance roles, with a minimum of 6 years in a leadership or supervisory capacity managing finance teams.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in B2B travel industry finance, airline industry finance, or similar high‑volume transaction‑based financial environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing full‑cycle accounting including payables, receivables, reconciliation, and financial reporting in the travel or airline sector.

Travel Industry Specific Experience

• Working knowledge of airline ticketing accounting practices, commission structures, and related processes.
• Experience with GST reconciliation and TDS compliance specific to travel and airline distribution.
• Experience managing travel agent billing, collection processes, and agent settlement statements.

Technical Skills Required

• Complete proficiency in travel finance systems and GDS accounting interfaces.
• Ability to work with airline settlement reports, commission structures, and complex reconciliation processes.
• Proficiency in standard ERP systems used in travel companies such as Oracle, SAP, or similar platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with travel technology platforms and airline booking systems such as Amadeus, Galileo, or other GDS networks.
• Previous experience scaling finance operations within a B2B travel distribution model or similar.
• Experience implementing financial process automation, robotic process automation (RPA), or system integration projects.
• Knowledge of international airline accounting practices and multi‑currency settlement processes.
• Prior experience working with internal audit teams and implementing financial controls frameworks.

Technical Skills

• GST and TDS compliance and reconciliation in travel and airline contexts.
• Airline settlement processes, commission calculations, and financial accounting for airline ticketing.
• Account reconciliation across multiple transaction types, payment methods, and agent segments.
• Financial statement preparation and P&L analysis specific to airline distribution.
• Travel finance systems, ERP platforms, and accounting software used in B2B travel environments.
• GDS accounting interfaces and airline partner reporting system integrations.

Business Skills

• Financial leadership and team management with the ability to mentor and develop finance professionals.
• Stakeholder management across airlines, GDS providers, travel agents, and internal business teams.
• Negotiation skills for managing airline payment terms, commission structures, and supplier agreements.
• Strategic thinking around working capital optimization, margin improvement, and financial planning.
• Problem‑solving and analytical thinking to identify and resolve complex financial issues.
• Communication skills to present financial analysis, variance reports, and recommendations to senior management and non‑finance stakeholders.

Software & Tools

• Advanced Microsoft Excel including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and financial modeling.
• ERP systems such as Oracle or SAP.
• Travel finance and accounting platforms specific to B2B travel distribution.
• Business intelligence tools for financial reporting and dashboard creation.
• Airline settlement and reporting systems.

Systems & Tools Used

• ERP platforms used within for financial transactions and reporting.
• Airline settlement and financial reporting systems for major airline partners.
• Global Distribution System accounting interfaces and reconciliation platforms.
• Travel agency billing and receivables management systems.
• GST and TDS compliance and filing software.
• Bank reconciliation and cash management platforms.
• Financial analysis and dashboarding tools.

Interested candidates can share resume on [e-mail]