Regional Chief Financial Officer — Export Manufacturing Platform

The mandate

A German export-manufacturing platform has been separated into a distinct regional reporting perimeter after several acquisitions and channel partnerships. Its factories generate accounting profit, but working capital and cash forecasting vary materially by country and programme. Contract milestones do not consistently match procurement commitments, inventory ownership becomes unclear at overseas integrators and currency hedges sometimes reflect sales forecasts rather than executable exposure. The board is creating a Regional Chief Financial Officer role with authority to establish one finance model.

The scope covers approximately 1,775 employees and material partners, two principal production locations and a network of distributors, sales entities and installation partners. Finance responsibility includes control, planning, treasury interfaces, tax, project accounting, commercial finance, inventory governance and investment appraisal. The CFO reports to the Group Chief Executive and relevant board committee while maintaining a functional relationship with group finance.

Working capital must be understood contract by contract. Customer advances can make a programme look cash-positive while non-cancellable supplier exposure accumulates behind it. Conversely, conservative revenue treatment can obscure operational completion without changing the cash risk. The CFO will create a contract-to-cash view that links purchase commitments, engineering milestones, inventory, billing evidence, retention, warranty and final acceptance.

Export inventory needs ownership and condition evidence wherever it sits. Equipment may be held at ports, distributors, customer sites or third-party warehouses awaiting installation. The finance leader will reconcile legal title, physical custody, insurance, ageing and recoverability. Goods cannot be treated as delivered merely because they left a factory, nor assumed unsaleable merely because customer access changed.

Currency risk includes tender, order, procurement and collection horizons. A simple hedge against booked revenue may leave bid exposure open and over-hedge delayed projects. The CFO will define exposure recognition, hedge authority and effectiveness reporting with treasury. Pricing decisions should distinguish transaction currency, local inflation, freight and financing rather than bury them in a single margin variance.

The regional structure also needs compliant transfer pricing, permanent-establishment assessment and distributor governance. Commercial urgency must not create informal services or installation arrangements that leave tax and legal obligations unexamined. The new CFO will partner with advisers while building enough internal capability to own decisions.

This is an urgent new position because the board will not approve the next investment and distribution expansion until regional cash and risk are visible. Existing controllers are capable within their entities but none has cross-platform mandate. The incoming leader can design the organisation and nominate key appointments.

What you will own

• Create regional finance governance spanning factories, export entities, distributors and project partners.
• Link order margin, purchase commitment, inventory, milestones, cash and warranty at programme level.
• Establish thirteen-week liquidity and rolling currency forecasts with clear scenario assumptions.
• Govern inventory title, location, condition, ageing and provisions outside factory walls.
• Strengthen bid approval, contract accounting, revenue evidence and commercial delegation.
• Oversee regional control, tax, transfer pricing, audit and statutory obligations.
• Reassess capital and channel investments using cash, downside and execution capacity.
• Build controllers and commercial-finance leaders who challenge constructively.

The first 12 months

In the first 75 days, reconcile the largest contracts from tender through collection, map export inventory physically and legally and test hedge positions against current schedules. Produce a cash-at-risk view for the board and correct any control or accounting issue immediately. Confirm which local finance leaders can operate in the regional model.

By month six, deploy common contract review, cash forecasting, inventory attestation and bid approval. Resolve priority retentions and ageing disputes with commercial leaders, rephase supplier commitments and establish channel profitability after freight, credit, service and tax. Complete the finance organisation and succession map.

At twelve months, release at least €70 million of working capital, reduce overdue receivables by 35%, cut unidentified offsite inventory to zero and keep rolling cash forecasts within 6% for four consecutive months. Every material currency position should reconcile to approved exposure, and no significant audit issue, tax deadline or revenue adjustment should arise from the new regional perimeter.

What the board will measure

• Cash and exposure visible at contract, country and platform level.
• Inventory supported by title, location, condition and recovery evidence.
• Currency decisions tied to executable commercial and procurement flows.
• Investment and channel choices reflecting downside and cash consumption.
• Strong local control without a slow central bureaucracy.
• Credible finance succession and constructive operational challenge.

The person

You bring 22–28 years in industrial finance, including leadership of a German or European export manufacturer. You have managed long-cycle contract accounting, inventory, treasury, tax and commercial decisions across borders. Experience limited to reporting, audit or domestic consumer operations will not be sufficient.

A relevant prior remit should exceed €750 million revenue, involve at least 1,200 employees and partners and include multiple legal entities. You can evidence cash release that did not depend on supplier stretching, a currency framework that addressed timing uncertainty and an export-inventory reconciliation. German and English fluency are expected; additional market exposure is valuable.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is €340,000–460,000 plus annual incentive and long-term incentive linked to cash, control, forecast quality and platform value. This permanent onsite Munich role reports to the Group Chief Executive and relevant board committee. A notice period of up to six months can be accommodated subject to an agreed start and transition plan.

Confidentiality

The client, legal entities, contracts, cash positions, distributors and investments are confidential. Detailed materials follow candidate qualification, conflicts review and signed confidentiality. The composite description protects identity and must not be used to solicit information from industry contacts.