Saroj Kumar M

Finance leader with 18+ years of experience driving FP&A, Strategic Finance, Business Partnering, P&L Management, Finance Transformation, and Enterprise Performance Management across multinational organizations. Recognized for translating financial insights into strategic decisions that improve profitability, operational performance, resource allocation, and long-term value creation. Built and scaled planning, forecasting, performance management, reporting, and analytics ecosystems across complex global environments, enabling leadership teams to accelerate decision-making, strengthen financial visibility, and improve business outcomes.

Delivered measurable impact through driver-based planning, scenario modelling, reporting modernization, automation, and finance transformation initiatives, achieving up to 30% improvement in forecast accuracy and 40% reduction in reporting and close cycle timelines.

Trusted Finance Business

Partner, Finance Transformation Leader, and Finance Consulting advisor to senior executives across FMCG, Manufacturing, Beverage, Oil & Natural Gas, SaaS, Automotive, and Aviation sectors. Extensive experience operating within Global Capability Centers (GCCs), Centers of Excellence (CoEs), and global finance delivery models, leading cross-functional initiatives that align financial strategy, governance, and business performance.

Senior Manager – FP&A, Europe Consolidation & Finance Transformation - Brisa Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Client: Nissan Automobiles) - Bengaluru

(2025-07 - 2026-05)

• Led Enterprise FP&A, Financial Planning, Forecasting, Budgeting, Rolling Forecasts, and Performance Management across Nissan's multi-entity European operations, improving decision turnaround by ~20% through Finance Transformation, Reporting Automation, and Analytics-driven Decision Support.
• Spearheaded a strategic Finance Transformation and Operating Model Harmonization program across Europe, designing standardized FP&A, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), governance, planning, and reporting frameworks to create a scalable finance operating model.
• Directed Annual Operating Planning (AOP), Scenario Modelling, Variance Analysis, Executive Performance Reviews, and Forecast Accuracy Management, strengthening financial visibility, planning reliability, and decision support across the region.
• Owned P&L Governance, Financial Performance Steering, Resource Allocation, and Driver-Based Planning, identifying optimization opportunities that supported ~15% spend reduction while improving business performance visibility.
• Partnered with the Regional CFO, Finance Directors, Business Leaders, and Global Headquarters, delivering board-ready insights, Profitability Analysis, Strategic Finance Recommendations, and Executive Decision Support for business performance and transformation priorities.
• Modernized Management Reporting, Dashboarding, Consolidation Governance, Intercompany Reporting, Financial Controls, and Audit Readiness, improving reporting accuracy to ~98% while strengthening enterprise-wide transparency, accountability, and governance.

Associate Manager (Principal Analyst) – FP&A & Finance Transformation - AbInBev GCC Services India Pvt. Ltd. - Bengaluru

(2018-03 - 2025-04)

• Led Enterprise FP&A, Annual Planning, Budgeting, Rolling Forecasts, Long-Range Planning (LRP), and Performance Management across 12+ global entities, improving forecast accuracy by 20–30% through Driver-Based Planning, Predictive Analytics, and Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB).
• Delivered $3M+ business impact through Finance Transformation, redesigning FP&A, governance, reporting, and planning frameworks that accelerated executive decision-making, operational effectiveness, and business performance.
• Built and scaled enterprise-wide Management Reporting, Business Intelligence, Dashboarding, and Analytics Ecosystems, reducing reporting cycle times by ~40% while enabling near real-time visibility into financial, operational, and business performance drivers.
• Led FP&A support for 12 US manufacturing facilities, driving ~15% improvement in operational efficiency through plant finance, standard costing, inventory governance, cost center management, and performance analytics.
• Served as a trusted Finance Business Partner to senior stakeholders across Finance, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Procurement, Operations, and Commercial functions, translating financial insights into Strategic Finance recommendations that improved business performance and organizational alignment.
• Strengthened Financial Governance, Internal Controls, SOX Compliance, US GAAP, IFRS, Audit Readiness, and Risk Management Frameworks, ensuring 100% audit compliance across global operations.
• Supported enterprise-wide Finance Transformation, Digital Finance, Reporting Modernization, and automation initiatives, enhancing scalability, financial transparency, and decision-support capabilities across a 50-country, 7-zone operating model.

Principal Financial Analyst – FP&A & Analytics Optimization - Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd. - Bengaluru

(2016-04 - 2018-02)

• Delivered $2M+ business impact through Financial Analytics, Predictive Modelling, Scenario Analysis, and Performance Intelligence, enabling proactive planning, improved forecast accuracy, and enhanced business visibility.
• Managed global FP&A, Budgeting, Forecasting, Rolling Forecasts, Variance Analysis, Financial Planning, and Management Reporting processes, improving reporting accuracy to ~97% and strengthening enterprise-wide transparency.
• Leveraged SAP ERP, Advanced Excel, Power BI, Reporting Automation, Dashboarding, and Analytics Platforms to streamline financial data consolidation, reporting workflows, and enterprise reporting efficiency.
• Led Month-End Close, Accrual Accounting, Financial Reconciliations, Variance Reviews, Financial Governance, and Control Activities, improving close cycle efficiency by ~25% through process optimization and automation.
• Partnered with global finance leaders, controllers, and business stakeholders to drive Finance Business Partnering, Performance Management, Reporting Modernization, Finance Transformation, and Continuous Improvement initiatives, strengthening alignment between finance strategy and business execution.

Team Lead – FP&A CoE / Financial Reporting & R2R - IBM India Pvt. Ltd. - Bengaluru

(2006-09 - 2016-02)

• Built and scaled a centralized FP&A Center of Excellence (CoE) supporting 20+ global entities, standardizing Planning, Forecasting, Reporting, Performance Management, and global finance delivery processes.
• Led Management Reporting, Financial Analysis, Performance Tracking, Consolidated Reporting, Executive Reporting, and P&L Visibility initiatives, enabling structured performance management across multi-entity operations.
• Improved process efficiency and scalability through Automation, Workflow Optimization, Shared Services Excellence, Process Standardization, KPI Frameworks, Financial Models, Dashboards, and Performance Scorecards.
• Directed Record-to-Report (R2R) Operations, Financial Consolidation, Internal Controls, Reconciliations, Audit Readiness, Governance, and Compliance Activities, strengthening financial integrity and control effectiveness.
• Led finance teams within a global delivery environment while driving Capability Building, Coaching, Team Leadership, Process Excellence, Finance Transformation, and Reporting Modernization initiatives across multiple regions.

Masters in Finance & Control - Finance & Control - Berhampur University (2006)

Post Graduation in Data Science & Business Analytics - Data Science & Business Analytics - IIIT Bangalore (2024)