Merlin Brands - Finance Controller - CA

Finance Controller (8-18 yrs)

About Merlin Brands:

Merlin Brands is a fast-growing consumer brand house with a portfolio of leading D2C brands, including Rabitat and Headway. We are looking for an experienced finance leader who can build scalable financial processes, strengthen governance, and partner with the business to drive growth.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Financial Control & Reporting:

- Own the monthly financial close process and ensure books are closed within a T+10 to T+15 timeline.

- Prepare accurate MIS, financial statements, variance analysis, and management reports.

- Drive budgeting, forecasting, cash flow planning, and working capital management.

- Ensure robust financial controls, SOPs, and process governance across the organization.

2. Marketplace & D2C Finance:

- Manage end-to-end reconciliation of marketplace settlements across platforms such as Amazon, FirstCry, Quick Commerce, and other e-commerce marketplaces.

- Monitor receivables, deductions, claims, and payment reconciliations.

- Work closely with business teams to improve profitability and commercial finance processes.

3. ERP & Automation:

- Lead the end-to-end ERP implementation/migration (ERPNext, SAP B1, Odoo, NetSuite, Unicommerce, or similar).

- Own requirement gathering, vendor management, data migration, UAT, and go-live activities.

- Drive finance automation initiatives, including AP automation and workflow digitization.

- Reduce dependency on manual Excel-based processes through automation and technology adoption.

4. Compliance & Audit:

- Own the statutory compliance calendar covering GST, TDS, PF, ESI, ROC, and other regulatory filings.

- Ensure zero missed statutory deadlines and maintain audit-ready documentation throughout the year.

- Support GST assessments, reconciliations, notices, audits, and litigation matters.

- Coordinate statutory, internal, tax, and compliance audits.

5. Treasury & Business Finance:

- Manage banking relationships, cash flow, treasury operations, and working capital.

- Prepare CMA data, stock statements, and lender documentation.

- Support investor reporting, board MIS, and due diligence activities.

- Partner with business leaders on commercial decisions, profitability, and cost optimization.

6. Team Leadership:

- Lead and mentor the finance team while driving accountability and ownership.

- Ensure every direct report maintains a daily EOD tracker, conducts weekly reviews, and follows disciplined reporting practices.

- Build a high-performance culture with a focus on timely execution and zero escalation to leadership.

Must-Have Requirements:

- CA (Preferred) or CA-Inter or MBA Finance with 8+ years of post-qualification experience.

- Minimum 2 years of experience in a D2C, E-commerce, or Marketplace-led business.

- Hands-on experience with Amazon Payments, FirstCry Vendor Portal, Quick Commerce, or similar marketplace settlement reconciliations.

- Independently managed monthly financial closing within a structured T+10 to T+15 timeline.

- Experience managing a team of at least 3 members with structured review mechanisms.

- Led or played a core role in an ERP implementation or migration project.

- Strong working knowledge of Tally/Busy, Advanced Excel, and AI-enabled finance automation tools.