| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Finance and Accounts |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Vice President Finance |
| Direct reports | Finance Manager, Accounts Manager, FP&A Manager |
| Experience | 10+ years in finance with 4 years in a leadership role |
AVP Finance job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: AVP Finance
Department: Finance and Accounts
Reports to: Vice President Finance
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
An AVP Finance leads finance for a business unit or the corporate centre, one level below the VP Finance or CFO. They own the unit's accounting, MIS, budgeting and controls, sign off the monthly numbers and partner with business heads on margins, pricing and capital spend. A good AVP keeps the books clean, closes on time, protects cash and flags risk early. They turn strategy into finance plans and grow the managers who report to them.
Key responsibilities
- Own the monthly and quarterly close for the business unit and present results to leadership with clear variance commentary.
- Review budgets, rolling forecasts and the annual operating plan, and challenge assumptions with department heads before sign off.
- Approve large payments, capital expenditure proposals and vendor contracts within the delegated authority matrix.
- Strengthen internal controls, maintain the risk register and close findings raised by internal and statutory auditors.
- Partner with sales and operations on pricing, product margins, working capital and cost reduction targets.
- Oversee GST, TDS, income tax and companies act compliance handled by the managers below and review the filings.
- Manage cash flow, bank facilities and fund use for the unit, and escalate any shortfall to the VP early.
- Build finance managers, set their goals and review team performance each quarter.
- Support fundraising, lender due diligence and board packs with accurate schedules and analysis.
- Drive automation of reconciliations, reporting and payment workflows to shorten the close cycle.
Requirements
- Chartered Accountant (CA) or MBA in Finance
- Strong knowledge of Indian accounting standards and tax
- CMA or CFA is an advantage
- 10+ years in finance with 4 years in a leadership role
KRAs and KPIs for a AVP Finance
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Timely close | Unit books closed and results submitted by the 5th working day every month |
| Forecast accuracy | Actual revenue and operating profit within 5 percent of the latest forecast each quarter |
| Controls and audit | All audit findings closed within the agreed timeline with no repeat observations |
| Working capital | Receivable and inventory days held within the annual target for the unit |
| Compliance | GST, TDS and income tax filings done by due dates with zero penalty or interest |
| Team growth | Every direct report has current goals and a completed quarterly review |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: SAP FICO, Oracle Financials, Advanced Excel, Power BI, Tally Prime.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Vice President Finance, General Manager Finance, Chief Financial Officer
Interview questions for a AVP Finance
- How do you shorten a monthly close without weakening controls?
- Walk me through how you build an annual operating plan for a business unit.
- A business head disputes an allocated cost that hurts their margin. How do you resolve it?
- How do you decide whether to fund capex from internal accruals or borrowing?
- Describe a control weakness you found and how you fixed it.
- How do you develop finance managers who are ready for the next level?
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What does an AVP Finance do?
An AVP Finance leads finance for a business unit or the corporate centre. They own the close, MIS, budgeting and controls, approve payments and capex within their authority, and partner with business heads on margins and cash. They report to the VP Finance or CFO and manage the finance managers under them.
What is the difference between an AVP Finance and a Finance Manager?
A Finance Manager runs day to day finance operations for a unit: the close, filings, reconciliations and the team. An AVP Finance sits above one or more managers, owns the numbers for the whole unit, sets the operating plan, approves larger spend and partners with the business on strategy and capital decisions.
What qualifications does an AVP Finance need?
Most AVP Finance roles ask for a Chartered Accountant qualification or an MBA in Finance, with 10 or more years of experience and several years leading teams. Strong command of Indian accounting standards, tax, controls and business partnering matters more than any single certificate. A CMA or CFA is an advantage.