Sanjay Pahuja

CA with 8+ years of experience in FP&A, financial control, and business planning across leading Indian banks. Expertise in CFO-level reporting, budgeting, NIM analysis, and driving data-driven decisions for senior leadership

Assistant Vice President at Kotak Mahindra Bank (2024-07 – Present)

Business FP&A role focused on financial analysis, management presentations, and business planning & budgeting

• Prepare and present monthly and quarterly KPI scorecards covering Spreads, Asset Book, and Fees to the Business Head, enabling data-driven performance reviews.
• Tracked deal pipeline and conducted spread analysis to support forward-looking financial projections and revenue planning.
• Published monthly RM/SRM Leaderboards tracking Financial and Non-Financial KRAs, driving performance visibility and accountability across the team.
• Performed red zone checks to proactively identify risk exposures and operational concerns, enabling timely corrective action.
• Prepared executive-level management presentations consolidating business performance insights for senior leadership and strategic decision-making.
• Led annual budget preparation in collaboration with business and cross-product stakeholders, ensuring alignment across functions.
• Managed current year estimates and rolling budget processes across multiple regions, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
• Allocated regional budgets based on strategic priorities and historical performance trends, ensuring equitable and goal-aligned distribution.
• Defined, communicated, and monitored KRAs for Relationship Managers, fostering a culture of accountability and performance excellence.

Finance Controller at Kotak Mahindra Bank (2020-02 – 2024-06)

Senior Manager role in financial control and reporting

• Prepared Monthly and Quarterly P&L and Balance Sheet analysis, identifying MoM/QoQ variances and presenting findings to support strategic decision-making
• Developed comprehensive CFO Board Pack covering BSPL, NIM, CASA, and exceptional items with granular-level insights for board-level review.
• Led Annual Budgeting and Financial Planning cycle, ensuring full compliance with RBI regulatory norms and strategic business alignment.
• Managed end-to-end NIM calculation and yield analysis, delivering actionable insights on interest income trends and cost of funds optimization.
• Ensured strict compliance with RBI provisioning norms by accurately computing Standard Asset Provisions on a periodic basis.
• Played a key role in Core System Migration, partnering with the IT team to enhance financial reporting accuracy, data integrity, and internal controls.

Deputy Manager at HDFC Life (2018-11 – 2020-02)

Accounts Payable role focused on provisions, variance analysis, and cross-functional coordination

• Coordinated with cross-functional teams to finalize monthly provisions, ensuring accuracy and timely closure
• Conducted monthly variance analysis comparing actual spending against budget and provisions, highlighting key deviations for management review
• Prepared and reported Old Provisions Ageing analysis to Senior Management, supporting timely write-off and clean-up decisions
• Guided cross-functional teams on provisioning concepts and methodology to improve estimation accuracy across departments.

Articled at S.P. Kanekar & Co. (2015-08 – 2018-09)

Articleship experience in audit, internal audit, and taxation

• Audit under Companies Act- Audits of taxes, payroll, ageing analysis, and statutory compliances
• Internal Audit of Cooperative Bank- Examining areas of revenue leakage, routine banking operations, and RBI compliance
• Direct Taxation- Upkeep of accounting records, income calculation, and submission of income taxes

M.Com in Commerce – Mumbai University (2018-04 – 2019-05)

B.Com in Commerce – Mumbai University (2014-04 – 2017-05)

H.S.C – Maharashtra State Board (2012-03 – 2014-04)

S.S.C – Maharashtra State Board (2012-03)