Board Adviser, Investor Financial Communication and Forecast Credibility

The mandate

Directors of an international business-services platform want greater confidence that the financial story told to capital providers is supported by the same evidence used to run the business. Forecasts, valuation comparisons and explanations of funding need have accumulated different definitions across presentations. The adviser will test that substance and identify claims whose apparent strength depends on excluded costs, changing assumptions or a measure that investors could reasonably interpret differently from management.

The engagement starts on 26 October 2026 for eight months with five days reserved monthly. One quarterly board financial-communication review falls within that allocation. Draft papers supplied with their supporting records receive written challenge within five business days; evidence gaps that block review are notified within two. Extraordinary announcement support, additional attendance or accelerated turnaround needs a separate capacity agreement. The retainer does not create round-the-clock access or unlimited responsibility for every investor enquiry.

The adviser has no line authority over investor-information staff and accepts no executive responsibility for forecasts, external disclosure or capital-provider commitments. Management prepares forecasts, authorised executives approve external information and qualified advisers determine legal disclosure obligations. The adviser neither acts as spokesperson nor promises a fundraising outcome. Advice should make clear where an apparently conservative narrative is unsupported and where an adverse result can be explained accurately without minimising its consequence. Financial credibility requires consistent definitions and acknowledgement of uncertainty, not merely language that reassures an audience.

The finance committee chair assesses the remaining investor-communication decisions when the term ends. Renewal needs a newly written board-approved engagement lasting no more than twelve months, with preparation capacity and the retainer negotiated again rather than carried forward automatically. Concurrent non-competing work is possible if the reserved preparation time is protected. Relationships with investors considering a transaction, sell-side research providers or competing issuers require disclosure and may create unacceptable conflicts. No placement commissions or transaction-contingent fees are permitted. The appointment also excludes legal opinion, securities promotion and directing investor relations employees; its contribution is independent financial challenge delivered through the board's authorised review process.

What you will own

• Challenge the bridge between audited performance and investor measures, identifying exclusions, definition changes or timing differences that could make an apparently favourable comparison misleading without a fuller explanation.
• Test forecast statements against approved assumptions and funding evidence, showing directors which milestones are supported, which remain conditional and which depend on capital not yet committed by any provider.
• Examine valuation comparisons for consistent business scope, capital structure and earnings treatment, questioning selective peer choices or adjustments that make the proposed narrative look stronger than the underlying financial evidence.
• Shape a financial question-and-answer evidence file for management, helping authorised spokespersons understand the source and limitations of important figures without approving their statements or attending as an independent investor representative.
• Advise on explanations of adverse variances and capital requirements, distinguishing a candid account of changed conditions from a narrative that shifts responsibility or hides recurring operating weaknesses behind exceptional terminology.
• Review the consistency of financial claims across board papers, analyst materials and investor drafts, identifying differences for the CFO to resolve before the authorised disclosure process determines what may be released.

Candidate qualifications

• Bring a finance career of at least 28 years with CFO or senior leadership experience and substantive interaction with investors, analysts or financial media. Describe a financial claim you changed because its evidence did not support the proposed wording or implied conclusion. The requirement is personal judgement over financial substance, not only attendance at investor meetings or management of a communications calendar.
• Demonstrate financial modelling and valuation competence grounded in accounts, cash and capital structure. Explain how you tested a forecast or peer comparison whose apparent credibility depended on selective adjustments. Your evidence should show the definitions examined, the consequence for investor understanding and the source records used, rather than relying on market enthusiasm as proof that the analysis was sound.
• Have worked constructively with boards, finance teams and qualified disclosure advisers while respecting their different authorities. Relevant finance education or equivalent substantial executive competence is essential. You must identify questions needing legal or securities expertise and avoid offering those opinions yourself. Experience dealing with difficult external questions should include a case where an uncomfortable financial limitation was communicated accurately rather than disguised.
• Maintain independence from transaction counterparties and protect confidential financial information. Disclose capital-provider relationships, research interests and concurrent issuer work before access to papers. The appointment requires dependable preparation and written challenge within the stated response period. Advisory influence must remain separate from executive approval, employee direction and personal representation of either management or investors in a contemplated financing transaction.

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 14 October 2026. Mandate reference CVU-ADV-2026-IND-223.