Head of Finance

Responsibilities

Strategic

• Develop and implement comprehensive financial strategies for the airline business vertical aligned with company growth targets and profitability objectives.

• Negotiate payment terms with airline partners and GDS providers to optimize working capital and improve margins while maintaining strong relationships.

• Work with the Managing Director to set financial targets, forecast airline business performance,

and identify strategic growth opportunities within the airline ticketing segment.

• Build and mentor a high-performing finance team capable of managing increasing transaction

volumes, implementing automation, and maintaining accuracy at scale.

Operational

• Manage complete payables processes including invoice receipt, verification, approval workflows,

and timely payment to airlines and GDS partners while maintaining compliance.

• Oversee receivables management — ensuring accurate invoicing to travel agents, follow-up on

outstanding payments, and minimizing Days Sales Outstanding while maintaining agent

relationships.

• Execute full account reconciliation including GST reconciliation, TDS reconciliation, agent

settlement statements, and airline commission verification on a monthly basis.

• Maintain internally audited monthly Profit & Loss statements for the airline business reflecting

accurate revenue, cost of goods sold, commissions, and operating expenses.

• Implement and monitor monthly financial close procedures ensuring accuracy and timeliness

across all transaction types and agent segments.

• Coordinate with travel agents and airline partners to resolve billing disputes, settlement

discrepancies, and payment issues systematically and fairly.

Performance

• Achieve monthly P&L closure with 100% accuracy and zero material errors across all airline-related transactions within agreed timelines.

• Reduce Days Sales Outstanding for travel agent receivables by optimizing invoicing, payment

terms, and collection processes while maintaining agent satisfaction.

• Minimize payment processing errors and disputes to below 0.5% of transaction volume,

maintaining seamless relationships with airline and GDS partners.

• Identify and implement monthly cost optimization opportunities within the airline business

resulting in measurable margin improvement.

• Ensure 100% compliance with GST filing, TDS submission, and other regulatory requirements with

zero penalties or compliance issues.

• Generate monthly financial insights and variance analysis that inform business decisions and

enable proactive management of airline business performance.

Key Performance Indicators

• Monthly P&L Accuracy: 100% accuracy in airline business monthly financial statements with zero

material errors identified by internal or external auditors, measured through monthly close and

audit processes.

• Days Sales Outstanding: Reduce average DSO for travel agent receivables from current baseline to a target of 30 days through improved billing and collection practices while maintaining agent

relationships.

• Reconciliation Timeliness: Achieve full month-end reconciliation (GST, TDS, agent settlements, and airline commissions) within 5 business days of month-end with 100% accuracy.

• Dispute & Error Rate: Maintain payment processing errors and billing disputes below 0.5% of total airline transaction volume, tracked through incident reporting and resolution systems.

• Working Capital Efficiency: Improve the cash conversion cycle through optimized payables to

airlines and GST input credit management while maintaining compliance, measured as days of

cash-flow improvement.

• Regulatory Compliance Score: Achieve 100% compliance across GST filing, TDS submission, and

airline reporting requirements with zero penalties, assessed through a compliance audit checklist.

• Finance Team Productivity: Deliver monthly close and reporting processes with the current team

structure while reducing overtime and rework, measured through time tracking and process

metrics.

Required Qualifications

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor of Commerce or equivalent degree with specialization in Accounts or Finance Head — Airlines

• Chartered Accountant (CA) or equivalent professional accounting qualification — mandatory.

• Advanced MS Excel proficiency with demonstrated ability to build financial models, dashboards,

and analytical tools.

Minimum Experience

• 10+ years of experience in finance roles, with a minimum of 6 years in a leadership or supervisory

capacity managing finance teams.

• Minimum 5 years of experience in B2B travel industry finance, airline industry finance, or similar

high-volume transaction-based financial environments.

• Demonstrated experience managing full-cycle accounting including payables, receivables,

reconciliation, and financial reporting in the travel or airline sector.

Travel Industry Specific Experience

• Working knowledge of airline ticketing accounting practices, commission structures, and

settlement processes.

• Experience with GST reconciliation and TDS compliance specific to travel and airline distribution.

• Experience managing travel agent billing, collection processes, and agent settlement statements.

Technical Skills Required

• Complete proficiency in travel finance systems and GDS accounting interfaces.

• Ability to work with airline settlement reports, commission structures, and complex reconciliation

processes.

• Proficiency in standard ERP systems used in travel companies such as Oracle, SAP, or similar

platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with travel technology platforms and airline booking systems such as Amadeus, Galileo, or other GDS networks.

• Previous experience scaling finance operations within a B2B travel distribution model or similar

high-growth environment.

• Experience implementing financial process automation, robotic process automation (RPA), or

system integration projects.

• Knowledge of international airline accounting practices and multi-currency settlement processes.

• Prior experience working with internal audit teams and implementing financial controls

frameworks.

Skills & Competencies

Technical Skills

• GST and TDS compliance and reconciliation in travel and airline contexts.

• Airline settlement processes, commission calculations, and financial accounting for airline ticketing.

• Account reconciliation across multiple transaction types, payment methods, and agent segments.

• Financial statement preparation and P&L analysis specific to airline distribution.

• Travel finance systems, ERP platforms, and accounting software used in B2B travel environments.

• GDS accounting interfaces and airline partner reporting system integrations.

Business Skills

• Financial leadership and team management with the ability to mentor and develop finance

professionals.

• Stakeholder management across airlines, GDS providers, travel agents, and internal business

teams.

• Negotiation skills for managing airline payment terms, commission structures, and supplier

agreements.

• Strategic thinking around working capital optimization, margin improvement, and financial

planning.

• Problem-solving and analytical thinking to identify and resolve complex financial issues and

discrepancies.

• Communication skills to present financial analysis, variance reports, and recommendations to

senior management and non-finance stakeholders.

Software & Tools

• Advanced Microsoft Excel including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and financial modeling.

• ERP systems such as Oracle or SAP.

• Travel finance and accounting platforms specific to B2B travel distribution.

• Business intelligence tools for financial reporting and dashboard creation.

• Airline settlement and reporting systems.

Systems & Tools Used

• ERP platforms used within for financial transactions and reporting.

• Airline settlement and financial reporting systems for major airline partners.

• Global Distribution System accounting interfaces and reconciliation platforms.

• Travel agency billing and receivables management systems.

• GST and TDS compliance and filing software.

• Bank reconciliation and cash management platforms.

• Financial analysis and dashboarding tools.

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