Vice President, Financial Governance — Lubricants Channels

The mandate

A lubricants producer is broadening its distributor network and industrial customer mix. Rebates, stock claims and credit accommodations have evolved locally, leaving the central accounts team to reconcile arrangements whose commercial approval is sometimes unclear. The vice president will own financial governance across these channels, ensuring that reported performance and account exposure reflect enforceable terms rather than informal assurances or unsupported estimates.

Employment is open-ended. The first two years concentrate on a controlled rebate architecture, distributor exposure visibility and a reliable process for resolving claims. Twenty-six accounting, credit and commercial-control staff form the direct perimeter. The leader will be based onsite in Mumbai, with regional reviews that examine documentary practice at distributor interfaces and build capability among the finance managers who support sales operations.

The vice president can set control standards, suspend unsupported rebate settlements and approve documented claim resolutions within a ₹20 lakh delegation. Commercial appointment of distributors, material credit-limit exceptions and changes to product warranties require designated executive approval. The objective is not to substitute finance for sales management; it is to prevent agreements from becoming financial obligations without an identifiable approval, a valid calculation and evidence that the conditions were met.

Success means fewer unresolved channel balances, transparent exposure and financial statements whose rebate estimates can be defended independently. Product chemistry, technical claims assessment and tax disputes remain outside the role. Where technical evidence affects a commercial claim, the vice president must ensure the appropriate specialist conclusion is obtained and preserved, rather than deciding a product-quality matter by reference to the desired quarter-end profit outcome.

What you will own

• Establish a distributor terms register that reconciles signed agreements to rebate calculations, credit approvals and settlement instructions, identifying undocumented promises before they enter accruals or customer account adjustments.
• Determine financial evidence standards for stock and product claims, separating quantity verification, technical assessment and commercial settlement so each conclusion has an accountable qualified owner.
• Govern channel exposure reviews using receivables, unsettled claims and contingent concessions together, requiring decisions on deteriorating accounts rather than presenting only an ageing report after limits have already been exceeded.
• Design rebate estimation controls that distinguish earned obligations from conditional targets, documenting judgement where sell-through information is incomplete and preventing unsupported releases used to improve reported margin.
• Present material governance exceptions to the CFO and audit committee with root causes, corrective decisions and residual risk, giving directors enough evidence to judge whether repeated weaknesses are genuinely being removed.
• Build a commercial-control leadership bench that can investigate account differences, challenge unapproved terms and collaborate with sales without turning finance scrutiny into either personal conflict or automatic endorsement.

Candidate qualifications

• Bring 22–28 years in finance with senior accounting, commercial-finance or control leadership in lubricants, FMCG, medical products or comparable distributor-led businesses. Show an example where you repaired the relationship between signed terms and actual settlements. Evidence must identify your decision contribution and the control change, not merely the number of accounts reviewed or audits supported.
• Demonstrate reliable judgement in rebate accruals, customer claims, inventory-related exposure and credit governance. You should be able to explain when an obligation is earned, what evidence supports its measurement and how subsequent settlement differences are investigated. A recognised finance or accounting qualification is desirable; demonstrable technical competence and the ability to obtain specialist advice appropriately are essential.
• Have led finance teams across accounting and commercial interfaces, including contentious situations where sales commitments exceeded approved terms. Describe how you preserved a workable customer relationship while refusing unsupported accounting or payment treatment. The selection discussion will examine whether your controls changed behaviour at the source rather than adding a retrospective reconciliation burden to junior staff.
• Understand executive escalation and audit committee communication, including how to distinguish an isolated error from a recurring governance weakness. You must be able to delegate routine decisions, protect sensitive commercial information and maintain independent review over material settlements. Regional engagement is required to understand how terms are agreed and evidenced, not merely to circulate central policies by email.

Application

Applications for this mandate are received in one way only: through the India Board Terminal's application process. It is automated end to end. Your Executive Passport travels to the mandate holder in its confidential form, your answers to the three questions below are read before anything else in your file, and every stage that follows is recorded on your applications page.

There is no address to write to and no intermediary to call. The mandate holder reads what the Terminal delivers and nothing else, which is what keeps the process the same for every applicant and keeps your name out of it until you release it. Applications close on 10 October 2026. Mandate reference CVU-PER-2026-IND-099.