Key Responsibilities:

Strategic:

- 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 and audit processes.

- 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:

- Bachelor of Commerce or equivalent degree with specialization in Accounts or Finance.

- Chartered Accountant (CA) or equivalent professional accounting qualification - mandatory.

- Advanced MS Excel proficiency with demonstrated ability to build financial models, dashboards, and analytical tools.

Minimum Experience:

- 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 settlement 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 high-growth environment.

- 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.

Skills & Competencies:

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 and discrepancies.

- 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:

- 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.