Finance Manager – Role Description

Overview

Clearstate is seeking a commercially minded Finance Manager to support the CFO in driving Budgeting, financial planning, performance analytics, and operational discipline across the business. This role will be critical in bridging finance, sales, and delivery teams, with a strong focus on subscription metrics (ARR), project-level profitability, and data integrity across systems.

Key Responsibilities

1. Financial Planning & Analysis

- Lead annual budgeting, quarterly forecasting, and rolling forecasts
- Develop financial models to support strategic initiatives and investments
- Analyse revenue, cost, and margin drivers across products, regions, and key accounts
- Support CFO in board and investor reporting

2. Board Reporting & Performance Analytics

- Prepare monthly and quarterly board packs with clear commentary on financial performance
- Build bridges across revenue, gross margin, EBITDA, and cashflow
- Track KPIs including ARR, revenue growth, utilization, and project profitability
- Provide variance analysis vs budget, forecast, and prior periods
- Translate financial data into clear commercial insights for leadership

3. ARR & Revenue Analytics

- Define and maintain ARR policies aligned with subscription and data licensing models
- Calculate and report ARR monthly (new, expansion, churn, contraction)
- Track GRR and NRR and provide drivers of changes
- Reconcile ARR against contracted values and revenue recognition
- Work closely with sales and operations to ensure accurate pipeline and renewal tracking

4. Project & Revenue Reconciliation

- Perform project-level reconciliation between contracts, billing, and revenue recognition
- Track project profitability and margin leakage
- Reconcile milestone-based revenue against delivery progress
- Ensure alignment between SOW terms, billing schedules, and accounting treatment
- Identify revenue risks and timing differences

5. Data & Systems Reconciliation

- Ensure consistency across systems (e.g.,Netsuite, CRM, project tracking tools)
- Reconcile financial data with operational data (timesheets, project delivery, ARR tracking)
- Investigate discrepancies and implement controls to improve data integrity
- Build automated dashboards (e.g., Power BI) for real-time reporting

6. Billing & Contract Compliance

- Reconcile billed amounts against contract values and agreed terms
- Track unbilled revenue, deferred revenue, and billing milestones
- Ensure billing aligns with contractual clauses (e.g., upfront, milestone, subscription)
- Work with legal and sales teams to improve contract structures for revenue predictability

7. Cashflow & Working Capital

- Monitor cashflow forecasts and working capital metrics
- Track AR aging and support collections process
- Provide insights on billing timing and cash conversion

8. Process Improvement & Controls

- Establish FP&A processes and monthly reporting cadence
- Develop data governance and reconciliation frameworks
- Support audit readiness and ensure documentation of financial processes
- Drive automation and efficiency across reporting workflows

Key Requirements

- 6–10 years of experience in FP&A, finance, or consulting;

- CA/CPA qualified;
- Strong understanding of revenue models (subscription, project-based, milestone)
- Experience with ARR metrics and SaaS/data business models preferred
- Advanced Excel and financial modelling skills
- Experience with ERP systems (e.g., Netsuite) and BI tools (e.g., Power BI)
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Ability to communicate complex financial information clearly to senior stakeholders.

Success Metrics

- Accuracy and timeliness of board reporting
- Quality and reliability of ARR and revenue analytics
- Reduction in reconciliation differences across systems
- Improved visibility on project profitability and cashflow
- Strength of financial controls and processes