About Company: Sign3 Labs builds an AI-native fraud and
customer intelligence platform for Indian Financial Services. We are a
venture-backed company working with major banks, NBFCs, small finance banks,
enterprises and FinTechs across India.
We are past product-market fit on our core
offering and are scaling commercially. Headcount is small but expanding across
engineering, data science, GTM and operations.
Controllership and close
- Monthly close in ≤ 7 working days. Revenue
recognition (SaaS + usage-based), deferred revenue, accrued revenue, vendor
accruals, payroll, reimbursements, capitalisation policy.
- Books and books of record. Own the chart
of accounts, ledgers and the accounting tool (currently Zoho/Tally — your call
on whether we migrate). Keep a clean, audit-ready trail.
- Statutory compliance. GST, TDS, PF/ESIC,
PT, advance tax, ROC filings, transfer pricing if/when applicable. No
surprises, no late fees.
- Audits. Statutory, tax and internal
audits end-to-end. Client-led financial due-diligence and vendor assessments
from banks are a normal part of the job and should be handled calmly.
- Monthly MIS and board pack. Revenue
bridge, cohort-level ARR, gross margin, burn, runway, cash conversion, KPI
dashboard. Turns around in ≤ 5 working days after close.
- Rolling 18-month plan. Own the model. Own
the sensitivities. Founders should be able to ask “what if we hire six more
engineers and delay the next round by a quarter?” and get an answer the same
afternoon.
- Unit economics. CAC, payback, LTV/CAC,
contribution margin by client segment. The number everyone quotes should be the
one you computed.
- Pricing and deal desk. Sit with the sales
team on large bank and FinTech deals. Model the commercial, pressure-test MSA
terms (payment cycles, LD clauses, pass-through costs), flag anything that
quietly damages gross margin.
- Data room. Keep it live and pristine —
cap table, financials, KPIs, contracts, compliance, policies. Diligence should
take days, not weeks.
- Monthly investor update. Draft the
numbers section; partner with founders on commentary.
- Cap table and ESOP. Cap-table hygiene,
pool management, grant letters, exercise/vesting tracking, 409A-equivalent
valuation exercises and related-party disclosures.
- Expense and procurement controls. Approval
matrix, corporate-card policy, vendor onboarding and KYC. Controls that a bank
auditor would nod at without slowing the business down.
- Treasury. Cash and liquidity across
operating and FD accounts, FX for overseas spend, basic hedging where it
matters.
- Payroll and vendor payments. On time,
every cycle.
- Qualified Chartered Accountant with 4–6
years of post-qualification experience, ideally a mix of Big-4 / tier-1 audit
and an in-house role at a venture-backed startup.
- Strong SaaS or FinTech accounting background. Revenue recognition under Ind AS 115 for SaaS and usage-based contracts is
second nature.
- Real fundraising exposure. You have
worked through at least one equity round on the company side — data room, DD,
SHA/SSA schedules, closing mechanics.
- Strong Excel and financial modelling. You
can build a clean three-statement model and a cohort/ARR waterfall from
scratch.
- Accounting stack fluency. Tally, Zoho
Books or QuickBooks at the very least; bonus if you have run a migration or an
ERP evaluation.
- Clear writing and composure. You can say
“no” to a founder with a number, and walk an investor through a miss without
flinching.
- Experience working with a B2B company whose
customers are banks or NBFCs — you understand their procurement, vendor risk
and payment cycles.
- Exposure to vendor/data-privacy compliance
frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, DPDP Act readiness) from the finance side.
- Experience with Carta / equity-management tools
and ESOP administration.
- A view on what a finance function should look like at 50 people vs 200
people, and how to hire towards it.
- Competitive cash compensation and a meaningful
ESOP grant with a clear vesting schedule.
- Health insurance for you and your family.
- The chance to build a finance function from the
ground up at a company that is already revenue-generating — not from zero, but
from something worth shaping.
Skills Required
- Qualified Chartered Accountant with 4-6 years post-qualification experience (Big-4 / tier-1 audit and in-house startup experience preferred)
- Strong SaaS or FinTech accounting background, including revenue recognition for SaaS and usage-based contracts (Ind AS 115)
- Real fundraising exposure; experience working through at least one equity round (data room, DD, SHA/SSA schedules, closing mechanics)
- Strong Excel and financial modelling; ability to build three-statement models and cohort/ARR waterfalls
- Accounting stack fluency (Tally, Zoho Books or QuickBooks); experience running migrations or ERP evaluations is a plus
- Statutory compliance knowledge: GST, TDS, PF/ESIC, PT, advance tax, ROC filings, transfer pricing awareness
- End-to-end audits experience: statutory, tax, internal; handling client-led financial due-diligence and vendor assessments
- Controllership experience: month-end close in ≤7 working days, chart of accounts ownership, audit-ready books
- FP&A experience: monthly MIS/board packs, rolling 18-month planning, scenario/sensitivity modelling and KPI dashboards
- Treasury and cash management experience including liquidity across accounts and basic FX/hedging
- Expense, procurement and vendor controls experience, including approval matrix, corporate-card policy and vendor KYC
- Experience with payroll and vendor payments to ensure timely cycles
- Experience working with banks/NBFC customers, procurement and vendor risk (strong plus)
- Exposure to vendor/data-privacy compliance frameworks from finance side (SOC 2, ISO 27001, DPDP Act readiness)
- Experience with Carta or equity-management tools and ESOP administration
- Strategic viewpoint on scaling finance function and hiring for growth-stage companies
What We Do
Cedar is a global strategy consulting, research, and analytics firm with a 35-year track record and clients across multiple industry sectors. Since 1985, its teams have assisted clients in strategy, process innovation, strategic human capital, and business technology, with a strong focus on the Financial Services sector. As a full-suite management consulting firm, Cedar assists clients from strategy formulation to execution and implementation.








