The CFO & Head – Finance & Accounts will serve as both a strategic business partner and a hands-on operational leader in a pharmaceutical manufacturing startup. This role is accountable for building, governing, and scaling the entire finance function—from ground-up process setup to strategic financial leadership.

The incumbent will ensure financial discipline, statutory compliance, and robust internal controls while enabling business growth, operational efficiency, and investor confidence.

Role Objective

Build a compliant, audit-ready, and scalable finance organization.
Act as a strategic advisor to leadership on growth, investments, and risk.
Ensure strong financial governance while actively managing day-to-day finance operations.

Key Responsibilities

A. Strategic Responsibilities (Leadership & Business Partnering)

1. Financial Strategy & Business Planning

Define and drive financial strategy aligned with company vision and scale-up plans.
Lead long-term business planning including capacity expansion, product portfolio, and market entry strategies.
Evaluate capital investments (plant, machinery) with ROI-based decision frameworks.
Provide financial insights on pricing strategy and export business.

2. Investor & Fund Management

Manage banking relationships, working capital funding, and treasury strategy.
Optimize capital structure and cost of funds.
Lead fundraising (equity/debt), including investor presentations, valuation, and due diligence in case it is required.

3. Risk Management & Governance

Identify financial, operational, and regulatory risks (especially pharma compliance risks).
Establish governance frameworks aligned with board and investor expectations.
Drive financial transparency and ethical financial practices.

B. Tactical / Operational Responsibilities (Execution & Control)

1. Finance & Accounts Operations (Hands-on)

Oversee end-to-end accounting: GL, AP, AR, payroll, fixed assets.
Ensure timely monthly, quarterly, and annual financial closures.
Maintain books as per applicable accounting standards.
Personally review key entries, reconciliations, and critical financial reports.

2. Statutory Compliance & Audit Management

Ensure 100% compliance with:
Companies Act
Income Tax (TDS, advance tax, returns)
GST (returns, reconciliations, audits)
EOU compliance
Cost audit (if applicable)
Lead statutory, internal, and tax audits with zero major observations.
Maintain compliance calendar and proactively manage deadlines.

3. Costing & Pharma-Specific Financial Control

Implement product-wise costing (BOM-based costing, batch costing).
Monitor manufacturing costs including RM, PM, labor, overheads.
Analyze variances (standard vs actual) and drive cost optimization.

4. Budgeting, MIS & Performance Monitoring

Develop annual operating plan (AOP) and rolling forecasts.
Design MIS dashboards covering:
Plant performance
Product profitability
Working capital metrics
Track actual vs budget and drive accountability across functions.

5. Cash Flow & Working Capital Management

Closely monitor cash flows, receivables, and payables.
Optimize inventory levels in coordination with supply chain.
Ensure liquidity for operations, regulatory payments, and capex.

6. Internal Controls & SOP Implementation

Design and implement SOPs for all finance processes:
Procure-to-pay
Order-to-cash
Record-to-report
Establish maker-checker controls and approval hierarchies.
Ensure audit trails and documentation aligned with pharma compliance expectations.

C. Cross-Functional & Regulatory Interface

Partner with QA, Regulatory Affairs, and Manufacturing teams to ensure financial alignment with GMP and regulatory expectations.
Support regulatory submissions involving financial data (where applicable).
Work with procurement and supply chain on vendor contracts and cost control.

Key Deliverables

Set up fully functional finance & accounts process.
Implement ERP with defined processes and controls.
Establish complete statutory compliance system with zero delays.
Develop SOP manual for finance function.
Create cost accounting and product profitability framework.
Deliver audit-ready financial statements.

Qualifications & Experience

Chartered Accountant (CA) (preferred) or MBA Finance.
12–18 years of experience with at least 5+ years in pharma manufacturing.
Experience in startup / greenfield setup highly preferred.
Strong exposure to plant accounting and regulatory compliance.

Key Skills & Competencies

Strategic

Financial planning & analysis (FP&A)
Business partnering & decision support

Technical

Accounting standards
GST, Income Tax, Companies Act
EOU/SEZ
Costing in pharmaceutical manufacturing

Operational

Hands-on accounting expertise
ERP implementation & process design
Strong audit and compliance management

Leadership

Team building from scratch
High ownership and execution mindset
Ability to work in ambiguity and scale operations

Startup-Specific Expectations

Willingness to operate at both boardroom and ground level
Ability to build processes with limited resources
Strong ownership, speed, and problem-solving mindset
Capability to scale finance function in line with business growth

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: ₹70,000.00 - ₹150,000.00 per month

Benefits:

Health insurance
Leave encashment
Provident Fund

Application Question(s):

Are you willing to work for 6 days in a week?

Education:

Master's (Required)

Experience:

Finance department: 10 years (Required)

Language:

English (Required)

Willingness to travel:

100% (Required)

Work Location: In person

Ritsa

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