Financial Controller (Financial Services / Banking

Cotton & Clay Collective Candidate-facing Job Description Finance Controller Cotton & Clay Collective

Function: Finance, Control & Commercial Planning

About Cotton & Clay Cotton & Clay Collective is building a digital-first fashion and lifestyle business for the Indian market. Our ambition is to create well-made, well-priced clothing that customers genuinely want to wear, supported by disciplined sourcing, strong product quality, a distinctive brand identity, technology-led operations and an exceptional digital customer experience.

We are building the business for scale from the outset. That means every leadership and specialist role is expected to operate across functions, use data intelligently, protect commercial economics and help create repeatable operating capability rather than simply execute a narrow job description.

The Opportunity The Finance Controller is responsible for building the financial control architecture behind Cotton & Clays growth. The role combines controllership, planning, cash and working-capital management, commercial finance, management reporting, statutory readiness and stewardship of the Money module. In a product business where inventory, marketing and cash timing can destroy otherwise attractive growth, Finance must be embedded in decisions rather than report history after the fact.

Give leadership a reliable financial truth, protect cash and control, challenge commercial assumptions, and ensure every material growth decision is understood through revenue, margin, working-capital and cash consequences.

Financial Control & Accounting Establish accurate books, controls and close discipline.

Own chart of accounts, accounting policies, reconciliations, journals and month-end close.Ensure revenue, inventory, landed cost, returns, marketing and operating expenses are recognised consistently.Cash & Liquidity Maintain forward visibility of cash, not merely bank balances.Build rolling cash forecasts covering inventory commitments, marketing, payroll, tax and operating expenditure.Govern payment controls, approval limits and banking access.Working Capital & Inventory Finance Treat inventory as both a commercial asset and financial exposure.Track inventory investment, ageing, turns, markdown exposure and cash conversion.Reconcile financial inventory to operational stock records.Model landed-cost and margin effects of freight, duties, FX and supplier terms.

Planning, Forecasting & Scenarios Translate strategy into a financially coherent plan.

Own annual budget, rolling forecast and scenario planning.Explain variance through business drivers rather than accounting labels.Commercial Finance Bring Finance into customer, product and channel decisions.Support pricing, promotion and markdown decisions with margin analysis.Maintain consistent metric definitions across Finance and operating modules.Highlight risks, opportunities and actions rather than numbers without interpretation.Provide board and investor-ready financial information when required.

Tax, Statutory & Compliance Maintain statutory readiness as the business scales.

Coordinate GST, corporate tax, payroll tax and applicable filings with external advisors where necessary.Maintain documentation and calendars for regulatory obligations.Support audits, due diligence and banking requirements.Escalate compliance risks early and track remediation.

Partner with functions to improve commercial terms without compromising capability.

Systems & Money Module Make the financial system the governed source of truth.

Own business rules, assumptions and finance workflows in the Money module.Partner with Technology on finance integrations and automation.Finance Capability & Governance Build a finance function that can support growth without losing control.Define future finance roles, outsource-versus-in-house decisions and segregation of duties.Build a culture where Finance is commercially constructive but independent in control matters.

How We Will Measure Success The role will be assessed primarily on outcomes, operating quality and sustained business impact rather than activity.

Financial Reliability

Close timeliness and reconciliation qualityInventory turns and ageingCommercial ValueQuality of financial decision support

The Candidate Finance leader who combines technical control with commercial understanding.

Strong grasp of inventory accounting, working capital and consumer-commerce unit economics.Strong modelling and scenario-analysis capability.Clear communicator who makes finance understandable to non-finance leaders.Preferred Experience Qualified CA, CMA, CPA or equivalent strong accounting and finance background.Controller, FP&A or commercial-finance leadership in retail, D2C, consumer goods or inventory-led business.Strong understanding of GST and Indian tax/compliance environment or experience managing specialist advisors.Inventory and landed-cost accounting.Financial modelling and scenario planning.Finance systems