Business Title: Assistant Finance Manager – Financial Reporting
Location: Mumbai HO, India
Business Unit / Function Finance – Financial Reporting
Reports to Finance Manager / Senior Finance Manager – Financial Reporting
Job Purpose: The Assistant Finance Manager – Financial Reporting is part of a centralised finance team responsible for high‑quality preparation of financial statements, governance over end‑to‑end financial processes, and robust balance sheet management. The role ensures accuracy, timeliness, and compliance of financial reporting while driving process discipline and supporting continuous improvement across the finance control environment. This role manages a small team and works extensively with SAP and related reporting tools, with some use of Power BI for insights and analytics.
Key Accountabilities:
Lead the preparation, review, and submission of periodic financial statements in line with Unilever policies, local GAAP / IFRS, and internal timelines.
Hold governance over core financial processes (e.g., closing, reconciliations, provisions, accruals, intercompany, fixed assets) to ensure accuracy, completeness, and control.
Own and drive balance sheet hygiene, including regular balance sheet reviews, ageing analysis, and timely resolution of open items.
Coordinate month‑end, quarter‑end, and year‑end close activities, ensuring adherence to timelines and quality standards.
Review and sign‑off key account reconciliations, ensuring issues are identified, escalated, and resolved promptly.
Use SAP extensively for posting, reporting, analysis, and controls, ensuring data integrity and consistency across systems.
Leverage Power BI (where applicable) to create or enhance dashboards and reports that provide insight into financial performance, balance sheet health, and process KPIs.
Partner with other finance teams (e.g., Controllership, FP&A, Tax, Treasury, Business Partnering) and relevant business stakeholders to resolve issues and land improvements.
Support internal and external audits by preparing audit schedules, responding to queries, and ensuring remediation of audit observations.
Identify opportunities for simplification, standardisation, and automation in financial reporting and control processes, and drive agreed improvements.
Lead, coach, and develop a small team of finance professionals, ensuring clarity of goals, strong performance, and learning opportunities.
Key Interfaces
Central Finance / Controllership teams
FP&A / Performance Management
Finance Business Partnering teams
Shared Services / Global Operations (if applicable)
Internal and external auditors
Tax, Treasury, and other specialist finance teams
Critical Experience & Qualifications
Professional qualification
preferred (e.g., CA / CMA / ACCA / MBA in Finance) or equivalent finance qualification.
Strong experience in financial reporting, controllership, or related finance roles, ideally in a large or multinational organisation.
Hands‑on experience with SAP (FI/CO or equivalent modules) in a financial reporting or controlling environment.
Exposure to reporting/visualisation tools such as Power BI is an advantage.
Experience of managing or coaching team members is preferred.
Key Skills & Competencies
Strong technical understanding of accounting principles and financial reporting (local GAAP and/or IFRS).
High attention to detail with a strong control and governance mindset.
Proficiency in SAP for financial postings, reconciliations, and reporting.
Ability to work with and interpret large data sets; familiarity with Power BI or similar tools is a plus.
Strong problem‑solving skills and ability to drive issue resolution across multiple stakeholders.
Good communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a centralised / virtual team environment.
Ability to plan and prioritise under tight month‑end and year‑end timelines.
People leadership potential with willingness to coach and develop team members.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Timeliness and accuracy of financial statement submissions.
Quality of balance sheet (ageing, open items, provisions, and reconciliations).
Number and severity of audit observations and timely closure of actions.
Effectiveness of process governance (on‑time close, adherence to controls, KPI performance).
Stakeholder and audit feedback.
Team engagement and performance.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life! This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.
Note: "All official offers from Unilever are issued only via our Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Offers from individuals or unofficial sources may be fraudulent—please verify before proceeding."
Skills Required
- Strong experience in financial reporting, controllership, or related finance roles (large/multinational organisations)
- Hands-on experience with SAP (FI/CO or equivalent modules) for postings, reconciliations and reporting
- Technical understanding of accounting principles and financial reporting (local GAAP and/or IFRS)
- Experience managing or coaching team members
- Professional qualification such as CA, CMA, ACCA or MBA in Finance (or equivalent)
- Familiarity with reporting/visualisation tools (Power BI or similar)
- High attention to detail with strong control and governance mindset
- Ability to work with and interpret large data sets and produce insights
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to drive issue resolution across stakeholders
- Good communication, collaboration, and ability to prioritise under tight month‑end/year‑end timelines
Unilever Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Unilever and has not been reviewed or approved by Unilever.
-
Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, spanning medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and occupational health support alongside a 24/7 employee assistance program. Wellbeing offerings such as health checks, resilience tools, and counseling support the perceived depth of health-related benefits.
-
Retirement Support — Retirement support includes a 401(k) match that reaches up to 5% of base salary, strengthening the overall value of the package. Share and savings options are also referenced as part of longer-term financial support beyond salary.
-
Flexible Benefits — Benefits customization is enabled through tools such as a “My Reward” system and a “Benefits Envelope” that allows employees to personalize selections. Flexible working approaches are also associated with improved overall satisfaction, reinforcing perceived choice and adaptability in the total rewards offering.
Unilever Insights
What We Do
Be part of the world’s most successful, purpose-led business. Work with brands that are well-loved around the world, that improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We promote innovation, big and small, to make our business win and grow; and we believe in business as a force for good. Unleash your curiosity, challenge ideas and disrupt processes; use your energy to make this happen. Our brilliant business leaders and colleagues provide mentorship and inspiration, so you can be at your best. Our portfolio ranges from nutritionally balanced foods to indulgent ice creams, affordable soaps, luxurious shampoos and everyday household care products. We produce world-leading brands including Lipton, Knorr, Dove, Axe, Hellmann’s and Omo, alongside trusted local names and innovative-forward thinking brands like Ben & Jerry’s, The Dollar Shave Club and Dermalogica. Every individual here can bring their purpose to life through their work. Join us and you’ll be surrounded by inspiring leaders and supportive peers. Among them, you’ll channel your purpose, bring fresh ideas to the table, and simply be you. As you work to make a real impact on the business and the world, we’ll work to help you become a better you.
