Finance Manager - Duties & Taxes

Job Summary:

The Finance Manager - Duties & Taxes leads the duty tax function (e.g., accounting for GST/VAT, customs, excise) with accountability for compliance, controls, reconciliations, and governance. The role manages a team, drives stakeholder alignment across business units and regions, and delivers process transition and continuous improvement using Quality Decision Making (QDM) and Six Sigma/Lean methodologies.

Please note: this is not a taxation-related role but is a functional role managing a process within Record-to-Report (RTR).

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership & People Management

- Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing Duties & Taxes team (accountants / clerical associates).

- Set goals, conduct performance reviews, and develop capability through coaching and structured training.

- Establish clear RACI, workload balancing, and succession plans; foster a culture of ownership, accuracy, and continuous improvement.

Stakeholder Management & Governance

- Engage senior stakeholders (Finance Leadership, Ship-to-Collect, Clearance) to align on policies, transaction treatment, and risk appetite.

- Represent the function in SteerCo/PMO forums; present dashboards, issue logs, and remediation plans.

- Manage external relationships with consultants & auditors; ensure proactive communication on complex/ambiguous matters.

Compliance, Accounting & Controls

- Ensure timely and accurate reporting & accounting treatment of payment of customs duties & taxes paid at clearance and reconciliations of re-billing of these to external customers.

- Oversee GL integrity: provisions, accruals, true-ups, journal approvals, Balance Sheet reconciliations.

- Maintain robust internal controls (segregation of duties, evidence, approvals, data quality checks) and audit readiness.

Process Transition (QDM / Six Sigma) & Continuous Improvement

- Lead transition of duties & taxes processes to new operating models (e.g. in-sourcing).

- Apply QDM principles for decision quality; use Six Sigma/Lean (DMAIC, SIPOC, value stream mapping) to eliminate defects, reduce cycle time, and standardize SOPs.

- Define future-state process maps, SLAs/OLAs, control matrices, and automation opportunities (templates, validations, bots).

- Drive change management: KT (knowledge transfer), training, hypercare, and stabilization with measurable outcomes.

Technology & Data

- Partner with IT on system design / configurations.

- Enhance data integrity via standardized templates, data validations, and reconciliations; enable self-service analytics (Power BI/Excel).

- Implement exception monitoring and metric dashboards for proactive risk management.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

- Team / People Management: 5+ years leading finance teams; strong coaching, feedback, and performance management.

- Stakeholder Management: Influences senior leaders; manages cross-functional decision-making and escalations.

- Process Excellence: Demonstrated QDM application and Six Sigma/Lean experience (DMAIC, Kaizen, root-cause analysis).

- Accounting: Solid grasp of accounting principles, GL controls, and reconciliations.

- Tools: ERP (SAP / Oracle / MS Dynamics), Advanced Excel (PivotTables, lookups, Power Query), and dashboarding (Power BI preferred).

- Attributes: Analytical rigor, structured problem-solving, clarity in communication, high attention to detail, and deadline discipline.

Education & Experience:

- Bachelor's / Master's in Accounting / Finance. Professional qualification preferred (CA / CPA / ACCA or equivalent).

- 8-12 years in Finance roles with at least 3-5 years in people leadership and process transition.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience in Shared Services / GBS environments or large-scale ERP module rollouts.

- Exposure to internal / external audits and remediation of control gaps.

- Certification in Lean / Six Sigma (Green Belt / Black Belt) and familiarity with QDM frameworks.

KPIs & Performance Metrics:

- Compliance Timeliness: % returns/payments on time; zero missed deadlines.

- Accuracy & Control: Error rate in postings; aged reconciling items; audit queries closure time.

- Process Efficiency: Cycle-time reduction for filings/reconciliations; touchpoints automated; SLA adherence post-transition.

- Stakeholder Satisfaction: Feedback from Finance/Stakeholder leadership; SteerCo action item closure rates.

- Team Health: Attrition, internal mobility, training completion, and skill certification.

- Decision Quality: QDM usage in key decisions; documented decision logs with outcomes and benefits realized.

Role Deliverables (First 90-180 Days):

- Function charter with governance model (SteerCo cadence, KPIs, risk register).

- Current vs. future-state process maps with SOPs, RACI, and control matrices.

- Transition plan (KT schedule, SLAs, hypercare) with defined stabilization criteria.

- Dashboard pack (compliance, reconciliations, exceptions) and monthly leadership reporting.

- Continuous improvement pipeline with quantified benefits.