Finance Controller

Job Summary

The Finance Controller will be responsible for leading group-wide financial control, consolidation, reporting, tax compliance, internal controls, treasury support, and finance governance across a diversified multi-entity organization.

This role ensures the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of financial information across all business units, including statutory reporting, management reporting, consolidated financial statements, and internal control compliance. The Finance Controller will work closely with senior leadership, external auditors, regulatory stakeholders, and international business partners to maintain strong financial discipline, reporting quality, and governance standards.

This is a senior finance leadership role suited for a highly experienced finance professional with strong technical accounting expertise, multi-entity consolidation experience, and the ability to manage complex financial operations across different business models.

Key Responsibilities

Group Financial Consolidation & Reporting

• Own and manage the monthly, quarterly, and annual financial consolidation of all group entities.
• Ensure accurate intercompany eliminations, minority interest accounting, foreign currency translation, and consolidated financial reporting.
• Prepare monthly group management accounts, including profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement, key financial ratios, variance analysis, and management commentary.
• Prepare annual audited consolidated financial statements in compliance with PFRS/IFRS.
• Coordinate with external auditors to support timely completion of statutory audits and secure clean audit outcomes.
• Prepare and submit statutory financial disclosures and regulatory reports, including annual reports, quarterly reports, and other required filings for listed or regulated entities.
• Build and maintain a financial reporting calendar to ensure all statutory, regulatory, management, and partner reporting deadlines are met.

Management, Board, and Partner Reporting

• Prepare and deliver financial reporting packages required by senior leadership, the Board, shareholders, and business partners.
• Ensure financial reports are accurate, timely, complete, and aligned with required formats, accounting frameworks, and reporting standards.
• Prepare financial statements, KPI dashboards, budget vs. actual analysis, variance reports, and financial risk summaries.
• Support senior leadership in preparing financial materials for Board meetings, shareholder presentations, investor communications, and strategic discussions.
• Coordinate with relevant finance teams on joint venture, partner, or international reporting requirements.

Entity-Level Financial Accounting & Control

• Oversee financial accounting operations across all entities, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, fixed assets, inventory accounting, and bank reconciliations.
• Manage the month-end and year-end closing processes across multiple entities.
• Establish and monitor a standardized close calendar to ensure timely and accurate completion of financial close activities.
• Review and approve significant journal entries, provisions, accruals, reconciliations, and accounting estimates.
• Ensure all books and records are maintained accurately and in compliance with PFRS/IFRS.
• Manage complex accounting areas such as inventory accounting, excise tax-related accounting, manufacturing cost accounting, lease accounting under PFRS 16, pre-opening capitalization, and intercompany transactions.
• Ensure accuracy of intercompany billings, transfer pricing documentation, and intercompany balance reconciliations.

Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

• Design, implement, document, and test internal controls over financial reporting using the COSO framework or equivalent standards.
• Maintain a group-wide controls matrix covering key financial controls, control owners, procedures, and testing schedules.
• Lead internal control testing activities, including walkthroughs, control effectiveness testing, deficiency identification, and remediation tracking.
• Coordinate with Internal Audit on finance-related control findings and ensure audit recommendations are addressed within agreed timelines.
• Promote a strong culture of financial integrity, accountability, accuracy, and compliance across the finance organization.

Tax Compliance & Planning

• Oversee tax compliance obligations across all entities, including corporate income tax, VAT, excise tax, withholding taxes, documentary stamp tax, and local business tax.
• Ensure all tax filings, payments, remittances, and alphalist submissions are completed accurately and on time.
• Manage tax compliance for complex or highly regulated transactions, including excise tax, import-related documentation, and reconciliations.
• Handle BIR tax audits and investigations, including preparation of responses to Letters of Authority, coordination with tax counsel, and management of disputed assessments.
• Identify legitimate tax planning opportunities, including transfer pricing optimization, tax incentives, group relief, and timing of capital expenditures, while ensuring full compliance with applicable laws.
• Monitor tax regulations, BIR issuances, and legislative changes, and advise senior leadership on potential financial and compliance impacts.

Treasury & Working Capital Support

• Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly cash flow forecasts across all entities.
• Monitor group cash position, liquidity requirements, and funding needs.
• Support the management of banking relationships, bank accounts, authorized signatories, credit facilities, and bank reporting requirements.
• Oversee accounts receivable management, including credit policies, aging reports, collections, bad debt provisioning, and DSO monitoring.
• Manage accounts payable processes to ensure suppliers and contractors are paid accurately and on time in accordance with agreed terms.
• Monitor working capital performance, including inventory days, DSO, and DPO, and recommend opportunities to improve cash conversion.
• Support foreign currency management for import-denominated or foreign currency transactions.

Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Planning

• Lead the annual budget preparation process for the Finance function and coordinate with entity-level finance teams.
• Prepare and maintain rolling forecasts covering revenue, costs, cash flow, and key financial assumptions.
• Develop and maintain financial models for business planning, investment appraisal, scenario analysis, and strategic decision-making.
• Monitor budget vs. actual performance and investigate significant variances.
• Support business unit leaders in identifying root causes of variances and developing corrective action plans.

External Audit Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for external auditors.
• Manage the annual audit timeline, information requests, audit schedules, and resolution of accounting issues.
• Prepare and review audit support schedules, working papers, and documentation requirements.
• Track and resolve audit findings, management letter points, and audit recommendations.
• Coordinate statutory audits across multiple entities to ensure timely and organized audit completion.
• Support audit committee or senior leadership discussions involving significant accounting judgments, estimates, and financial reporting quality.

Finance Systems & Process Improvement

• Oversee SAP FICO or equivalent ERP configuration and finance master data management.
• Ensure the chart of accounts, cost center hierarchy, profit center structure, and reporting dimensions are properly maintained.
• Drive continuous improvement across the finance function by reducing close cycle time, automating manual processes, improving data quality, and strengthening reporting capabilities.
• Lead or support ERP upgrades, finance system improvements, consolidation tools, and new finance module implementations.
• Build or support real-time reporting dashboards for senior leadership and business unit heads.

Finance Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, manage, and develop the group finance team, including entity accountants, consolidation specialists, tax specialists, AP/AR teams, and financial reporting analysts.
• Define team structure, roles, competency requirements, and development paths.
• Build a pipeline of future finance leaders through coaching, mentoring, and professional development.
• Support team members in pursuing relevant certifications such as CPA, CMA, CFA, CIA, or other professional qualifications.
• Foster a finance team culture built on accuracy, accountability, confidentiality, continuous improvement, and strong business partnership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accountancy, Finance, or a related field.
• CPA license is required.
• Minimum of 12 to 18 years of progressive finance and accounting experience.
• At least 5 to 8 years of experience in a senior financial control, Finance Controller, Group Controller, or equivalent leadership role.
• Strong experience in a conglomerate, holding company, multi-entity organization, listed company, regulated business, or complex corporate environment.
• Deep expertise in group financial consolidation under PFRS/IFRS, including intercompany eliminations, minority interest accounting, foreign currency translation, and acquisition accounting.
• Strong technical knowledge of PFRS/IFRS, including PFRS 15, PFRS 16, PFRS 9, PFRS 10, PAS 36, and other relevant accounting standards.
• Experience preparing or overseeing statutory reports, SEC filings, annual reports, quarterly reports, and listed company disclosures.
• Comprehensive knowledge of Philippine tax compliance, including corporate income tax, VAT, withholding taxes, excise tax, documentary stamp tax, and local business tax.
• Experience handling BIR tax audits, Letters of Authority, tax assessments, and coordination with tax counsel.
• Proven experience designing, implementing, and testing internal controls over financial reporting using COSO, SOX-equivalent, or similar control frameworks.
• Experience managing financial reporting requirements for international shareholders, joint venture partners, or regional/global finance stakeholders.
• Proficiency in SAP FICO or equivalent ERP systems.
• Working knowledge of treasury management, cash flow forecasting, banking relationships, working capital optimization, and foreign exchange management.
• Strong leadership experience managing finance teams across multiple entities or business units.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present financial information to senior leadership, Board-level stakeholders, auditors, and external partners.
• High level of integrity, confidentiality, accuracy, accountability, and sound professional judgment.

Nice-to-Have

• MBA, Master's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field.
• CMA, CFA, CIA, or equivalent international finance qualification.
• Experience with consolidation and financial reporting tools such as HFM, Hyperion, or equivalent platforms.
• Experience in finance transformation, ERP implementation, process automation, or financial systems improvement.
• Background in manufacturing cost accounting, inventory valuation, regulated industry reporting, or import-intensive business environments.
• Experience building financial dashboards, management reporting tools, and self-service reporting processes.
• Strong change management, stakeholder management, and business partnering capabilities.
• Strategic financial thinking with the ability to support executive decision-making through accurate analysis and reporting.

Compensation

Competitive compensation package, commensurate with experience and qualifications. Performance incentives may be included and aligned with reporting timeliness, audit outcomes, internal control effectiveness, and overall finance leadership performance.