Transformation SME - Controllership & Specialist Finance (C&SF)

Service Line: IBM Consulting - Finance Transformation

Specialisation: Controllership | Tax | Treasury | Internal Controls

Role Purpose:

The C&SF Transformation SME is a senior subject matter expert responsible for designing, shaping, and driving enterprise scale finance transformations across controllership and specialist finance domains. The role partners with CFO organisations, Global Business Services (GBS), and Centers of Excellence (CoEs) to re architect operating models, strengthen governance and controls, and enable scalable, compliant, and audit ready finance functions.

This role acts as a bridge between business, finance policy, risk, and technology, ensuring that statutory, regulatory, and control requirements are embedded by design into global finance transformation programs.

Key Responsibilities

1. Transformation Design & Strategy

- Lead end to end design of C&SF processes across Tax, Treasury, Internal Controls, Internal Audit, and Compliance.

- Define future state Target Operating Models (TOMs), including retained vs GBS vs CoE scope.

- Shape golden process flows, policy frameworks, and global standards for specialist finance towers.

- Ensure transformation design aligns to CFO objectives: faster close, reduced risk, improved transparency, and regulatory confidence.

2. Domain Leadership (Specialist Finance)

Provide deep SME leadership across one or more of the following:

Tax:

- Global tax operating models, jurisdictional compliance, tax CoEs

- Audit readiness, evidence management, and risk mitigation

- Integration of tax requirements into RTR, S2P, O2C, and data flows

Treasury:

- Cash & liquidity management, intercompany funding, FX exposure

- Treasury controls, policy governance, and bank integration models

Internal Controls & Compliance:

- Design and embed ICFR / SOX equivalent controls into global processes

- Control rationalisation, automation, and continuous control monitoring

- Regulatory and statutory compliance by design

Internal Audit:

- Audit ready process and documentation standards

- Alignment of finance operations with internal audit and risk frameworks

- Support for management action plans and remediation governance

3. GBS, CoE & Service Delivery Enablement

- Define C&SF service catalogues, SLAs, KPIs, and governance models.

- Support transition to GBS and CoE delivery models, including knowledge transfer and stabilisation.

- Act as senior escalation point for design gaps, compliance risks, and audit concerns.

4. Technology & Automation Enablement

- Partner with technology teams to embed controls, compliance, and audit logic into ERP and digital workflows (e.g., SAP centric landscapes).

- Support adoption of automation, analytics, and AI enabled controls to reduce manual risk.

- Ensure traceability, evidence, and auditability are built into solutions

5. Stakeholder & Governance Leadership

- Act as trusted advisor to CFOs, Financial Controllers, Tax Heads, Risk & Audit leaders.

- Lead design governance forums, design authority boards, and senior stakeholder reviews.

Provide clear, defensible recommendations on risk, compliance, and transformation trade offs.

Required Experience & Skills:

- 12-20+ years of experience in Controllership / Specialist Finance / Risk / Audit / Compliance.

- Proven experience in large scale finance transformations, ideally involving GBS / CoE models.

- Strong understanding of regulatory, statutory, and control frameworks across geographies.

- Ability to translate policy and compliance requirements into scalable operating models.

- Executive level communication and stakeholder management skills.

- Experience working with global, matrixed teams and complex governance environments.

Preferred Background:

- Prior experience in consulting or transformation leadership roles.

- Exposure to SAP led finance landscapes and digital finance programs.

- Experience working with or alongside Big 4, internal audit, or risk functions.