WHAT DOES A COMMERCIAL FINANCE MANAGER DO?

Published: August 6, 2024 - The Commercial Finance Manager acts as a business partner to the Management team, providing assistance and advice on the tender and bidding process. Ensures client financial and procurement setups align with company policies and practices. Reviews the commerciality of client and vendor contracts and proposals, providing analysis and recommendations on key business drivers to improve performance.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Commercial Finance Manager

1. Commercial Finance Manager Duties

  • Financial Forecasting: Provide financial insight into Syngas commercial performance, including forecasts, half year and full year analysis.
  • Performance Metrics: Provide month-end reports, key performance indicators, and commentary, challenging the commercial delivery with account managers and supply chain teams.
  • Budget Management: Lead the Syngas commercial budgeting process with regards to the preparation and analysis of commercial plans in accordance with Sector and Group requirements.
  • Financial Leadership: Provide financial leadership on Syngas customer profitability using new analytics tools and input into the Cost-to-Serve model.
  • Commercial Analysis: Provide analysis to commercial and FP&A on key customer metrics, advising commercial teams on areas of concern and equally identifying operational or overhead issues.
  • Business Relations: Build business knowledge and relationships to efficiently support and challenge commercial business performance including pricing and costing, and customer profitability.
  • Deputy Leadership: Support similar activities across the wider AMOG business and act as a deputy to the Refineries and GP commercial finance manager.
  • Performance Analysis: Analyze, forecast, and report on company performance to drive improved decision-making.
  • Operational Partnership: Partner with Country General Managers (GMs) to highlight areas for operational improvement, pricing, and contract negotiations.
  • Business Development: Be responsible for preparation and presentation of business cases for new city launches and investment decisions.
  • Forecasting Implementation: Support the implementation of forecasting software.
  • Risk Management: Identify risks/opportunities that may occur in the business.
  • Compliance Maintenance: Maintain compliance and integrity of financial standards.

2. Commercial Finance Manager Details

  • Finance Management: Responsible for the finance function across all Swedish businesses and the development of strong commercial partnerships with the COO, senior management, and the SSC.
  • Information Coordination: Manage and coordinate the flow of information between each business and the SSC including the revenue cycle, supplier management, and payroll.
  • Commercial Support: Provide commercial finance support to the COO and CFO including P&L and customer KPI trends and investment ROI.
  • Cash Forecasting: Prepare weekly cash forecasts across all businesses and identify opportunities to improve cash flow.
  • Budget Leadership: Lead the annual budgeting cycle and ad hoc re-forecasts, review and analysis of monthly management accounts.
  • Reporting Improvement: Work with the SSC to improve the quality, speed, and consistency of the monthly reporting.
  • Audit Management: Manage and coordinate audit and compliance matters.
  • Group Collaboration: Work closely with the central finance team in London on any group audit or reporting requirements.
  • Financial Optimization: Work closely with the SSC to improve the quality of financial and KPI reporting across the region, and to optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of the Swedish finance function.
  • Business Integration: Rapid integration of newly acquired businesses into the SSC and onto standard Miss Group finance systems, processes, and reporting.
  • Cross-functional Partnership: Partner with cross-functional teams, support business planning process, and provide financial & budgetary forecasts for the business.
  • Sales Analysis: Monitor and review sales analysis report i.e., Daily Sales, Sales and Margin by SKU comparing with previous year, Top sales by channels & by customers, etc., and requested ad-hoc reports.
  • Financial Tracking: Manage and track monthly financial reports, analyze differences between the results and the original budget in sales, costs, and identify the justified business rationales.

3. Commercial Finance Manager Responsibilities

  • Strategic Analysis: Model, understand, and interpret financial, commercial, and operational impacts of strategic opportunities.
  • KPI Visibility: Ensure that e-commerce, product, marketing, and operational KPIs are visible and stakeholders understand their impact on performance.
  • Customer Analytics: Own customer analytics, understanding, and provide recommendations to key stakeholders.
  • Promotional Analysis: Understand the financial impact of promotional activity and communicate to stakeholders to enable better decision-making.
  • Competitor Insight: Provide insight into competitor performance utilizing third-party tools.
  • Margin Assessment: Assess margin improvements and impacts of international pricing to support decision-making by Buying & Merchandising teams.
  • Marketing Assessment: Assess marketing channel performance to support decision-making by Marketing teams.
  • Reporting Improvement: Proactively look for ways to improve reporting and analysis to better support stakeholders.
  • Analytics Collaboration: Work alongside analytics and data science functions to drive improvements in insight, reporting, and processes.
  • Financial Planning: Provide commercial finance input to financial planning processes.
  • Data Systems Management: Responsible for establishing, implementing, and maintaining data gathering and analysis systems, including revenues, expenses, costs, investments, cash flow, pricing, and profits in line with global and regional requirements.
  • Budget Leadership: Lead the budget and forecast process in conjunction with central planning to ensure the corporate plan.
  • Reporting Controls: Lead and develop best-in-class reporting controls ensuring all areas of responsibility are accounted for.

4. Commercial Finance Manager Accountabilities

  • Risk Analysis: Review tender documents, Requests for Proposals, bids, etc., to identify any commercial risk.
  • Stakeholder Liaison: Liaise with various internal stakeholders such as Delivery and Solutions, Procurement, Sales, Finance, Legal, etc., to gather information for building the pricing/commercial model.
  • Pricing Models: Develop pricing/commercial models which include financial modeling, sensitivity analysis, cash-flow, budgeting, financial risks & rewards for each tender, RFP, bid.
  • Pricing Review: Prepare and run pricing review meetings, review draft contracts, identify risks, and provide possible mitigations.
  • Contract Management: Oversee contract handover and contract management.
  • Contract Amendments: Review, manage, and propose amendments to existing contract rates, pricing structures, and commercial terms.
  • Project Budgeting: Create operational project budgets for the Delivery and Solutions team which covers key financial milestones, operational delivery plan, resource allocation, and contractual compliance.
  • Project Reporting: Develop a summary report for individual projects which captures all key information specific to the project such as start/completion date, changes in scope, asset allocation, profitability, etc.
  • Performance Analysis: Identify and understand the variance between actual and planned performance.
  • Revenue Forecasting: Work closely with the Finance Director and Financial Controller to maintain forecasts of revenue and gross margin for presentation to management.
  • Forecast Discussions: Participate in weekly meetings to discuss forecast revenue and gross margin.
  • Budget Preparation: Work closely with the Finance Director and Financial Controller to prepare the annual budget and quarterly forecasts.
  • Invoicing Compliance: Work closely with the Credit Controller to ensure that client invoicing is completed in accordance with contract terms.

5. Commercial Finance Manager Functions

  • Finance Management: Be responsible for all finance management activities of the company in the Asia Pacific region.
  • Business Partnership: Act as a business partner to the Management team by actively providing assistance and advice on the tender and bidding process.
  • Financial Compliance: Ensure client financial and procurement setups are consistent with company policies and practices.
  • Contract Review: Review the commerciality of client, vendor contracts, and proposals.
  • Client Engagement: Actively participate in client pitches, fronts of Fee & KPI/Incentive modeling.
  • Sales Support: Support the Sales and Revenue setting processes for the Sales organization.
  • Proposal Analysis: Review the commerciality of client, vendor contracts, and proposals.
  • Business Analysis: Provide analysis and recommendations on key drivers of business, like sales and revenue performance, sales productivity, customers, and product performances, to improve business performance.
  • Financial Review: Facilitate regular review with Sales Management on key financial performance, trending and abnormalities, identify key drivers and issues.
  • Budget Evaluation: Conduct reviews and evaluations following the budgetary control objectives set by management.
  • Cash Flow Management: Responsible for cash flow management, tax planning, foreign exchange planning, and control.
  • Operational Reporting: Provide regular reporting and analysis of the business and operation financials for supporting the daily management and monitoring by all function heads

6. Senior Commercial Finance Manager Overview

  • Commercial Judgment: Working in a fast-paced environment, demonstrate commercial judgment with confidence, recommending clear actions built on accurate analysis to identify operational efficiencies.
  • Cultural Leadership: Foster a culture within the team and across the business whereby business performance and processes are understood and challenged on an end-to-end basis.
  • Team Leadership: Lead a small team to deliver commercial outcomes across the business.
  • Sales Development: Commercially drive the development and review of all sales, robustly assessing return on investment and impacts on key performance indicators.
  • Organizational Improvement: Constantly challenge the status quo and drive improvements across the organization.
  • Monthly Review: Participate in month-end review meetings with Finance and Operations teams and assist with the analysis of results.
  • Ad-hoc Analysis: Assist with ad-hoc requests for information and analysis, for example, profitability analysis by project, product type, or market segment.
  • Process Compliance: Ensure compliance with all internal processes and suggest ways to continually improve.
  • AR Coordination: Coordinate with AR team in managing DSO at the distributor level.
  • Cross-functional Support: Support cross-functional projects with GT and ATC teams.
  • Financial Training: Grow together through building financial capability to GT and ATC team, embedding ROI mindset.
  • Business Review Improvement: Coordinate and lead improvement on business review in GT and ATC, also ATC spending review process.
  • TSC Coordination: Coordinate with TSC team in managing reliability on consistency claim payment to the distributor.

7. Commercial Finance Manager Tasks

  • Financial Coordination: Coordinate and control financial rolling forecast, month-end closing for GT and Alternative Trade Channel expenses.
  • Financial Reporting: Provide reliable and actionable financial information to GT and Alternative Trade Channel team.
  • Profitability Analysis: Assist GT and ATC team with supporting analysis for customer profitability (front and back margin), Cost to Serve, customer/channel contribution statement, profitability analysis.
  • Productivity Review: Review productivity to business insight and provide sufficient and timely information for distributor review.
  • Promotion Management: Ensure trade spends are in control, manage pre/post promotion evaluation, aiming to improve promotion ROI.
  • Compliance Assurance: Make sure relevant controls and procedures are well implemented.
  • Strategic Partnership: Partner with the Life Sciences executive and leadership team to support the development of key business strategies with a focus on growth.
  • Commercial Review: Ensure commercial arrangements progress through a robust financial model and decision-making framework to ensure they add value, economically meet agreed KPIs, and manage/mitigate risk.
  • Investment Support: Support investment cases (acquisitions, capital projects, new business opportunities) with sound commercial analysis.
  • Contract Analysis: Active contributor to all Contract Approval Requests covering new contracts, renewals, tenders, pricing submissions.
  • Financial Planning: Own and deliver Budget, Forecast, and Corporate Planning processes.
  • Performance Reporting: Make accurate monthly reporting to management on a timely basis, providing fact-based insight and commentary on business performance.
  • P&L Management: Manage and report full P&L, Balance Sheet, and cash flow for the Life Sciences business unit.

8. Commercial Finance Manager Roles

  • GCL Support: Provide financial and commercial support to the Global Client Leads (GCLs) covering forecast, profitability, and working capital.
  • Driver Analysis: Help GCLs understand key drivers (e.g., pricing, over-servicing, etc.).
  • Remedial Action: Give recommendations on remedial actions that could be taken on low margin/loss-making work.
  • Commercial Conversations: Lead all commercial and contract conversations with global clients and select regional clients.
  • Client Procurement: Act as the main point of contact for Client Procurement on assigned global and regional clients.
  • Pitch Involvement: Get involved in large-scale global pitches/RFPs, working alongside Global Client Leads, Client Service, Pricing, and Finance teams.
  • Stakeholder Updates: Ensure that key internal stakeholders (GCLs, Commercial Director) are kept up to date on any key Global Client issues, escalating for resolution.
  • Legal Coordination: Work alongside Kantar Legal to negotiate and implement Global MSAs.
  • Commercial Ownership: Take ownership of the commercial and financial aspects, getting input from other areas of the business (IT, Operations, Client Service).
  • Rebate Management: Manage Kantar Group rebates for assigned clients.
  • Timely Calculations: Ensure that calculations are performed on a timely basis in line with commercial terms and that any accrual requirements are communicated to the markets on a periodic basis.
  • Client Conversations: Support Commercial Director in managing client conversations and financial modeling.

9. Commercial Finance Manager Additional Details

  • Business Partnership: Sole business partner to the commercial (Sales and Marketing) teams.
  • Financial Modeling: Develop financial modeling to enable accurate and timely monthly reporting for customer P&Ls and profitability, trade-investment, overheads, and expenses.
  • JBP Assessment: Work closely with the Account Managers to assess JBPs and challenge thinking.
  • Promotional Analysis: Conduct post-promotional reviews and analysis.
  • NPD Support: Support the NPD team from a financial standpoint, advising on costings, margins, and impact of decisions on COGs/margin.
  • Ad Hoc Modeling: Perform ad hoc modeling to assist the team in key investment decision-making, focusing on ROI and spend optimization.
  • Forecasting: Lead the sales and marketing quarterly forecast and annual strategic planning process.
  • Compliance: Ensure compliance with month-end processes, purchase orders, and supplier invoices, etc.
  • Finance Reporting: Report to the Head of Finance.
  • Project Budgeting: Provide financial support for project budgets, supporting the Founding Partner and the team and challenging the status.
  • Meeting Steering: Steer regular meetings between creative people, ensuring time allocation to projects and challenging the WIP about the budget.
  • Profitability Reporting: Report on consulting project profitability, margin reports, labor reports, and productivity reports.

10. Commercial Finance Manager Essential Functions

  • Business Performance: Improved business performance within the Market with tangible results driven by Finance including increased Sell-In and Sell-Out, higher Gross Profit & EBIT, and improved inventory levels.
  • Relationship Building: Building strong relationships with Business Partners, and embedding themselves within crucial business processes.
  • Transformation Delivery: Delivered (Finance) Transformation program deliverables in the cluster and markets.
  • Process Improvement: Implemented process improvements to drive efficiencies in areas such as Month-End Close, Forecast updates, Target Setting, and ongoing reporting.
  • New Reporting: Developed new reporting/processes around Customer Profitability and Long Range Planning.
  • Performance Support: Provide financial and commercial support to drive performance and influence delivery of the commercial result.
  • Actionable Insights: Provide actionable insight to key forums based on risk, opportunity, and sensitivity.
  • Performance Improvement: Support Market Finance teams with performance improvement interventions and set financial and operational KPIs/drivers.
  • Strategic Projects: Part of the core teams of strategic projects within Cluster/Market (e.g., investments, new category/channel/product creation, and launch), providing analysis.
  • Commercial Results: Delivering the commercial results of the US (P&L and Balance Sheet).
  • Performance Management: Acting as the ‘engine room’ of Business Performance management, owning the Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting processes within the framework set by the Group.
  • Client Success: Contribute to the client and the financial success of each deliverable.
  • Project Engagement: Being involved with each project from start to finish, meeting with clients and being engaged each step.
Relevant Information
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