Finance Manager – Duties & Taxes

Finance Manager (Duties Taxes)

About the role

Job Description Job Title: Finance Manager – Duties & Taxes

Job Summary

The Finance Manager – Duties & Taxes leads the duty tax function (e.g., accounting for GST/VAT, customs, excise) with accountability for compliance, controls, reconciliations, and governance. The role manages a team, drives stakeholder alignment across business units and regions, and delivers process transition and continuous improvement using Quality Decision Making (QDM) and Six Sigma/Lean methodologies. Note: This is a functional role within record-to-report (RTR) and is not a taxation-specific role.

Key Responsibilities

• 1. Leadership & People Management

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing Duties & Taxes team

• (accountants/clerical associates).

• Set goals, conduct performance reviews, and develop capability through

• coaching and structured training.

• Establish clear RACI, workload balancing, and succession plans; foster a culture

• of ownership, accuracy, and continuous improvement.

• 2. Stakeholder Management & Governance

• Engage senior stakeholders (Finance Leadership, Ship-to-Collect, Clearance) to

• align on policies, transaction treatment, and risk appetite.

• Represent the function in SteerCo/PMO forums; present dashboards, issue logs,

• and remediation plans.

• Manage external relationships with consultants & auditors; ensure proactive

• communication on complex or ambiguous matters.

• 3. Compliance, Accounting & Controls

• Ensure timely and accurate reporting & accounting treatment of customs duties

• & taxes at clearance, and reconciliations of re-billing to external customers.

• Oversee GL integrity: provisions, accruals, true-ups, journal approvals, and

• Balance Sheet reconciliations.

• Maintain robust internal controls (segregation of duties, approvals, data quality

• checks) and audit readiness.

• 4. Process Transition (QDM / Six Sigma) & Continuous Improvement

• Lead transition of duties & taxes processes to new operating models (e.g., in

• sourcing).

• Apply QDM principles for decision quality; use Six Sigma/Lean (DMAIC, SIPOC,

• value stream mapping) to eliminate defects, reduce cycle time, and standardize

• SOPs.

• Define future-state process maps, SLAs/OLAs, control matrices, and automation

• opportunities (templates, validations, bots).

• Drive change management: knowledge transfer, training, hypercare, and

• stabilization with measurable outcomes.

• 5. Technology & Data

• Partner with IT on system design and configurations.

• Enhance data integrity via standardized templates, validations, and

• reconciliations; enable self-service analytics (Power BI/Excel).

• Implement exception monitoring and metric dashboards for proactive risk

• management.

• Required Skills & Qualifications

• Team/People Management: 5+ years leading finance teams; strong coaching,

• feedback, and performance management skills.

• Stakeholder Management: Ability to influence senior leaders and manage

• cross-functional decision-making and escalations.

• Process Excellence: Demonstrated QDM application and Six Sigma/Lean

• experience (DMAIC, Kaizen, root-cause analysis).

• Accounting: Solid understanding of accounting principles, GL controls, and

• reconciliations.

• Tools: ERP (SAP/Oracle/MS Dynamics), Advanced Excel (PivotTables, lookups,

• Power Query), and dashboarding (Power BI preferred).

• Attributes: Analytical rigor, structured problem-solving, clarity in

• communication, high attention to detail, and deadline discipline. Education/Experience:

• Bachelor’s/Master’s in Accounting/Finance.

• Professional qualification preferred (CA/CPA/ACCA or equivalent).

• 8–12 years in Finance roles, with at least 3–5 years in people leadership and

• process transition. Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in Shared Services/GBS or large-scale ERP module rollouts.

• Exposure to internal/external audits and remediation of control gaps.

• Certification in Lean/Six Sigma (Green Belt/Black Belt) and familiarity with QDM

• frameworks.

• KPIs & Performance Metrics

• Compliance Timeliness: % returns/payments on time; zero missed deadlines.

• Accuracy & Control: Error rate in postings; aged reconciling items; audit query

• closure time.

• Process EAiciency: Cycle-time reduction for filings/reconciliations; touchpoints

• automated; SLA adherence post-transition.

• Stakeholder Satisfaction: Feedback from Finance/Stakeholder leadership;

• SteerCo action item closure rates.

• Team Health: Attrition, internal mobility, training completion, and skill

• certification.

• Decision Quality: QDM usage in key decisions; documented decision logs with

• outcomes and benefits realized.

• Role Deliverables (First 90–180 Days)

• Function charter with governance model (SteerCo cadence, KPIs, risk register).

• Current vs. future-state process maps with SOPs, RACI, and control matrices.

• Transition plan (knowledge transfer schedule, SLAs, hypercare) with defined

• stabilization criteria.

• Dashboard pack (compliance, reconciliations, exceptions) and monthly

• leadership reporting.

• Continuous improvement pipeline with quantified benefits.

• Must-have skills

• Team ManagementQuality Decision MakingSix Sigma

• Good-to-have skills

• CoachingFeedbackPerformance Management