Associate Director - Finance

Associate Director - Finance

Location: Noida (Work from Office - 5 days in week)

CA (Chartered Accountant) Qualified

Own financial strategy and operations for 20M+ users across 15+ regional languages with scope to go global soon. Build systems that enable disciplined growth and turn financial data into strategic advantage — not just close books.

What You Will Own (Non-Negotiable)
This role owns the financial health and strategic clarity of the business, not just accounting.
You are the final authority on:
● How company allocates resources (content budgets, marketing spend, expansion decisions)
● How company plans for the future (fundraising, runway, scenario modeling)
● What the real numbers are — and what they mean for decision-making
● How company leverages AI to automate, predict, and optimize financial operations
● How company communicates with investors — with clarity, confidence, and credibility
● The systemic rigor that turns financial data into strategic advantage
Your mandate spans FP&A + Accounting + Compliance + Treasury + Strategic Finance + Investor Relations + AI  Adoption.

Key Responsibilities
1. Financial Planning & Analysis (Strategic Finance Engine)

• Build company's Financial Command Center — the single source of truth on business performance, unit economics, and growth levers.


• Own monthly/quarterly financial reviews with sharp insights on:
  
  
  
  • Revenue trends by region, language, and content category
  
  
  • Subscriber cohorts, churn, LTV, and payback periods
  
  
  • Content ROI and acquisition efficiency
  
  
  • Cash burn and runway projections
  
  
  
  


• Present a monthly Finance Insights Deck to leadership with clear, articulate recommendations on resource allocation and strategic pivots.


• Influence Content, Marketing, Product, and Growth roadmaps with financial clarity and strategic foresight.


• Build predictive financial models using AI/ML tools for forecasting, anomaly detection, and scenario planning.
  

2. Content Economics & Unit Economics Mastery (OTT-Specific Intelligence)

• Build and continuously refine the unit economics model:


• Subscriber acquisition cost (CAC) by channel, region, and language


• Lifetime value (LTV) by cohort, content genre, and user behavior


• Content cost per hour watched and per subscriber


• Revenue per user (ARPU) trends and payment method analysis


• Churn drivers and retention economics


• Master content economics:
  
  
  
  • Content amortization schedules for library valuation
  
  
  • Licensing vs. original content ROI trade-offs
  
  
  • Content asset valuation and depreciation
  
  
  • Regional content performance (Haryanvi vs. Gujarati economics)
  
  
  • Structure content deals from a finance lens:
  
  
  • Minimum guarantees, revenue shares, licensing windows
  
  
  • Creator contract economics and payout structures
  
  
  • Content investment cycles and working capital management
  
  
  • Identify margin leaks and partner with Growth, Product, Content, and CX teams to improve efficiency.
  
  
  • Use financial data to uncover hidden consumer pain points — subscription drop-offs, regional pricing mismatches, payment gateway issues.
  
  
  
  


• 3. Fundraising & Investor Relations (Capital Strategy & Articulation)
  This is a senior-level, strategic mandate requiring exceptional articulation skills.
  Own all fundraising activities:
  ● Build compelling pitch decks and financial models
  ● Lead investor conversations with clarity, confidence, and strategic depth
  ● Coordinate due diligence processes with legal, product, and operations teams
  ● Manage data room preparation and investor queries 

Growth fundraising expertise required:
● Series B/C dynamics: growth metrics scrutiny, path to profitability, valuation defense
● Secondary transactions and cap table optimization
● Investor syndicate management

Own investor communication:
● Monthly investor updates with sharp insights and honest assessment
● Quarterly board decks that tell the business story through numbers
● Annual audited financials and investor reporting
● Board relationship management and governance

4. Accounting, Compliance & Regulatory Rigor (Operational Foundation)
Own ALL finance verticals with zero gaps:
Accounting Operations:
● P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow statements
● Accounts Receivable (AR) and Accounts Payable (AP) management
● Month-end and year-end close processes
● Fixed asset management and depreciation schedules
● Revenue recognition under Ind AS 115 (subscription complexity, bundles, ads, B2B licensing)

Compliance & Statutory:
● GST (registration, filing, reconciliation, audits across multiple states)
● TDS (deduction, payment, returns — especially for content creators and licensing)
● Income Tax (advance tax, returns, assessments)
● ROC filings (annual returns, financials, director KYC)
● Audit coordination (statutory, tax, internal)
● FEMA compliance (for foreign investments and international content deals)
● Digital Media regulations (Intermediary Guidelines compliance)
● Audit Committee readiness and governance

Treasury & Banking:
● Cash flow management and liquidity planning
● Bank account management and signatories
● Forex management for international content licensing
● Vendor payment systems and approval hierarchies
● Crisis/runway management under stress scenarios

5. Payment Infrastructure & Tier 2/3 Economics
● Payment gateway economics and transaction costs
● Carrier billing partnerships and economics
● UPI, wallets, and regional payment behavior
● Payment failure patterns and recovery
● Regional pricing strategy and elasticity

6. AI Adoption & Finance Automation (Future-Ready Finance)
This is a core requirement, not a nice-to-have.
Lead AI adoption across the finance function:
● Implement AI-powered tools for expense categorization, invoice processing, and reconciliation
● Build predictive analytics for cash flow, churn, and revenue forecasting
● Automate financial reporting and dashboard generation
● Use AI for fraud detection, vendor analysis, and spend optimization
Evaluate and deploy finance tech stack (ERPs, FP&A tools, automation platforms).
Train the finance team to work alongside AI systems — not resist them.
Stay ahead of AI trends in finance and continuously improve automation maturity.

7. Strategic Thinking & Cross-Functional Leadership
You are not just the Finance head — you are a strategic thought partner to the CEO and leadership team.
Translate complex financial concepts into clear, compelling narratives for board, investors, and teams.
Influence company culture around financial discipline, data-driven decisions, and long-term thinking.
Your strategic thinking must elevate every major business decision.

8. Team Building & Finance Culture (Leadership Excellence)
Create a culture of curiosity, rigor, and continuous improvement within finance.
Train non-finance teams to understand key financial metrics and think like owners.
Foster an AI-first mindset where automation is embraced, not feared.
You create the systems and culture that make the finance engine run predictably, intelligently, and withquality.

Requirements
Experience: 10–15+ years in Finance, with at least 5 years in senior leadership roles (Head of Finance, CFO, VP Finance, or equivalent).
Proven ownership of:
● Financial planning & analysis (FP&A)
● Accounting operations (AR, AP, GL, fixed assets)
● Compliance & statutory (GST, TDS, Income Tax, ROC, FEMA)
● Treasury & cash management
● Fundraising & investor relations
● Strategic finance & unit economics

Must-have experience:
● Growth Fundraising (Series B/C+) — Series C scrutiny is different — path to profitability,
valuation defense, investor syndicate management
● AI Adoption — Implemented automation tools or used AI/ML for forecasting/analytics
● Content Deal Structuring — Experience structuring content licensing deals, MGs, revenue
shares from finance POV
● Compliance Mastery — Zero compliance delays or penalties in previous roles
● Consumer Business — OTT, fintech, e-commerce, SaaS, food delivery, or mobility with deep understanding of unit economics
● Payment Infrastructure — Understanding of Tier 2/3 payment behavior, gateway economics, carrier billing
● Revenue Recognition (Ind AS 115) — Subscription revenue complexity — bundles, ads, B2B licensing
● Strategic Thinking — Changed business strategy or resource allocation through financial
insights
● M&A / Strategic Partnerships — Evaluated acquisition targets or structured strategic deals
(preferred)
● International Finance — Multi-currency, transfer pricing, international entity setup (preferred, given global expansion plans)
● Crisis Management — Runway extension under stress, turnaround scenarios
● Audit Committee Experience — Board-level governance and audit processes