Chief Financial Officer

Job Description: Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Reports To: Managing Director / CEO

Team Leadership: Heads of Finance, Accounts, Treasury, Taxation, Internal Audit, Corporate Secretarial, Costing, and Expense Monitoring functions.

Our Company:

We are a distinguished, mid-sized Indian pharmaceutical leader, financially robust with revenues of approximately 700 crores and a dedicated team of 1400+ professionals. Our products reach over 90 countries, supported by two European subsidiaries. We are currently undertaking significant capital-intensive projects, all while adhering to an unwavering, highly conservative financial strategy: zero external funding (debt, equity, or hybrid instruments) and absolute compliance with all applicable laws. Our growth is exclusively driven by internal accruals, underpinned by financial prudence and uncompromising integrity in financial reporting and management.

The Opportunity:

Strategic Financial Stewardship in a Debt-Free Environment

This is a unique opportunity for a seasoned CFO to be a pivotal strategic partner to our leadership team. You will be the ultimate guardian of our financial integrity, championing our internal accrual-based expansion model, and cultivating a world-class finance and secretarial function. This role demands a leader who is both operationally hands-on and strategically astute, with comprehensive oversight of financial strategy, meticulous compliance (including SEBI and stock exchange regulations), robust internal audits, treasury, accounting, taxation, corporate secretarial functions, cost management, and transparent financial reporting. The core challenge and reward lie in navigating growth and capital projects exclusively through internal resources while ensuring impeccable corporate governance.

Key Responsibilities:

Driving Financial Excellence & Disciplined Growth

Strategic Financial Planning & Capital Management:

• Spearhead long-term financial planning, ensuring all investments and capital projects are meticulously planned and funded solely from internal accruals.
• Develop, implement, and refine sophisticated financial models that integrate capex, working capital, and profit flows, guaranteeing sustainable growth under our strict no-debt policy.

Robust Internal Controls & Unwavering Compliance:

• Design, implement, and continuously enhance comprehensive internal control frameworks and audit systems, with a particular focus on manufacturing, R&D, and global operational integrity.
• Ensure absolute compliance with Indian and international (especially EU) accounting standards (Indian GAAP, IFRS), tax laws, and regulatory mandates.

Corporate Secretarial & Regulatory Governance:

• Lead the Corporate Secretarial function, ensuring full compliance with the Companies Act, SEBI regulations, Listing Agreement requirements (LODR), and other relevant corporate laws.
• Oversee all stock exchange filings, disclosures, and communications, ensuring timeliness, accuracy, and adherence to regulatory requirements.
• Advise the Board and senior management on corporate governance best practices and compliance matters.
• Manage board meetings, shareholder meetings, and related statutory records.

Accurate Accounting & Transparent Reporting:

• Lead timely and precise monthly, quarterly, and annual financial closings and reporting.
• Take full ownership of statutory audits, tax audits, transfer pricing documentation, and all regulatory filings, ensuring accuracy and adherence to deadlines.

Prudent Treasury & Cash Flow Management:

• Direct all treasury functions, emphasizing optimal liquidity, precise cash flow forecasting, strategic forex management, and judicious investment of surplus funds.
• Implement and monitor rigorous risk management protocols for forex, vendor, and customer exposures.

Proactive & Compliant Taxation Strategy:

Architect and execute proactive, fully compliant tax planning strategies (direct and indirect), with specialized attention to export incentives, international taxation, and transfer pricing.

Insightful Audit, Cost Management & Expense Control:

• Champion a high-performing internal audit function, conducting deep-dive reviews into plant operations, cost control mechanisms, and supply chain efficiencies.
• Lead the Costing and Expense Monitoring departments, establishing robust systems for cost ascertainment, analysis, control, and reporting across all business functions.
• Drive initiatives for cost optimization and efficiency improvements, particularly in manufacturing and supply chain; oversee cost audit processes and ensure compliance with relevant cost accounting standards.
• Oversee IT General Controls (ITGCs) related to financial systems, ERP integrity (e.g., SAP, Oracle), and data security for all financial information.

Collaborative Business Partnering & Team Development:

• Act as a key financial business partner to functional heads, aligning financial strategies with operational, R&D, HR, and commercial objectives.
• Mentor, develop, and inspire a high-caliber finance team, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement to meet global standards.

External Representation & Governance:

• Serve as the primary financial spokesperson with media, analysts, industry bodies, and banking partners (for operational relationships only, not for funding).
• Represent the company in relevant international forums and provide robust financial governance oversight for our EU subsidiaries.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

Essential Qualifications:

• Chartered Accountant (CA) designation is mandatory.
• Company Secretary (CS) qualification, in addition to CA, would be highly advantageous.
• Additional qualifications such as CPA, MBA (Finance), or CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) will be considered an advantage.

Depth of Experience:

• A minimum of 20 years of progressive experience in finance, with at least 10 years in a CFO or equivalent leadership capacity within a mid to large-sized pharmaceutical or manufacturing organization.
• Crucial experience in managing corporate secretarial functions for a listed entity, including direct responsibility for SEBI compliance, stock exchange filings, and board processes.
• Demonstrable track record of successfully managing significant capital projects funded exclusively through internal accruals.
• Proven expertise in designing and executing comprehensive internal audit programs, particularly within pharma supply chains, plant costing, GMP/GxP cost compliance, and export regulatory environments.
• Strong experience in heading costing and expense monitoring departments, including cost auditing, implementing cost control systems, and driving cost reduction initiatives.

Critical Skills & Knowledge:

• Mastery of Indian GAAP, IFRS, Companies Act, SEBI Regulations (including LODR, Insider Trading Regulations), Listing Agreement compliance, Cost Accounting Standards, GST, Transfer Pricing, FEMA, and other pertinent financial and corporate regulations.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with a polished media-facing presence.
• Unyielding ethical compass, decisive and independent judgment, and profound alignment with a conservative financial philosophy.

Personal Attributes & Mindset:

• Highly analytical, strategically minded, exceptionally risk-aware, detail-oriented, and possessing a structured approach to problem-solving.
• Unwavering commitment to financial discipline; innate ability to resist external funding pressures and champion self-reliant growth.
• Proven ability to thrive and lead effectively within a value-driven, policy-bound corporate culture.
• Integrity beyond reproach a non-negotiable attribute.

Preferred Additional Experience:

• Significant experience managing financial operations for global subsidiaries, with a strong preference for European market exposure.
• In-depth understanding of pharmaceutical industry-specific financial nuances, including R&D capitalization and costing, product lifecycle economics, regulatory costing (e.g., FDA/EMA submissions), and international tendering processes.