Short answer: A finance manager in an Indian SME closes the books each month, prepares the MIS, manages cash flow and bank limits, keeps GST and TDS compliance on time, handles the audits and leads the accountants. Through Accounting Baba you see 3 to 5 profiles within 7 working days of paying the service charge, each interviewed by our team and reviewed by a chartered accountant. The fee is one month’s CTC of the person you hire, plus applicable taxes.
What a Finance Manager Does in an Indian SME
In an owner-run company the finance manager is usually the most senior finance person and reports to the promoter or managing director. The work falls into six areas.
- Month-end close: ledgers reconciled, provisions booked, branch and inter-company balances matched, and a closed trial balance by a fixed date every month.
- MIS: a monthly pack the owner can read in ten minutes, covering sales, margins, overheads, debtors, creditors and stock, with variances against budget.
- Cash flow: a weekly cash plan, collections follow-up, vendor payment runs, and the use of cash credit, overdraft and term loan limits.
- GST and TDS compliance: returns filed on time, input credit reconciled with GSTR-2B, TDS deducted at the right rates and deposited, and notices answered.
- Audits and banking: the statutory audit file, the tax audit, stock audits for the bank, CMA data and renewal of working capital limits.
- Leading accountants: a team of accounts executives and senior accountants, with reviews of their work rather than redoing it.
Skills Employers Ask For
Employers in Surat, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune ask for hands-on GST and TDS work, a disciplined month-end close, strong Excel, real ERP experience and the ability to deal with banks and auditors alone.
- GST in practice: registrations, returns, GSTR-2B reconciliation, refunds for exporters, and replies to departmental queries
- TDS and income tax basics: sections, rates, due dates, Form 26AS reconciliation, and support for the tax audit
- Month-end discipline: a close that happens on the same date every month, with a checklist
- Excel and an ERP: pivot tables, lookups, and real work in Tally Prime, Busy, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics or a similar system
- Banking: CMA data, stock statements, drawing power, LC and bank guarantee paperwork, and limit renewals
- Communication: the ability to explain numbers to an owner who did not study accounting
- A qualification: CA, CMA or an MBA in finance, or a commerce graduate with long and relevant industry experience
- Experience in your industry, which is why our Target-Company Search recruits from the companies you name
Senior Accountant, Finance Manager or CFO?
A senior accountant keeps the books accurate, a finance manager runs the whole finance function, and a CFO shapes strategy, funding and growth decisions. Many owner-run companies need a finance manager before they need a CFO. If the owner still signs every payment and the accountants have nobody to ask, the gap is a finance manager. If the company is raising equity, acquiring another business or running several entities across states, the gap is a CFO.
What Decides the Pay
Pay for a finance manager in India is not one number. It moves with the following.
- City: Mumbai and Pune pay differently from Surat and Vadodara for the same role, because the cost of living and the competing employers differ.
- Size and complexity: turnover, the number of GST registrations, entities, plants and bank facilities the role covers.
- Team: whether the person manages two accountants or twelve.
- Qualification: a CA with industry experience commands more than a commerce graduate with the same years; a CMA or MBA usually sits in between.
- Industry: an exporter with refunds and foreign currency needs more than a domestic trader; a manufacturer with costing needs more than a service firm.
- Where they come from: candidates moving out of a CA firm into industry often accept a different range from those already in an industry role.
- Notice period and counter-offers: a candidate on a three-month notice whose employer wants to retain them costs more to move.
We agree the CTC range with you on the first call, so the search targets people who will accept the offer. If you are weighing a Gulf role against an Indian one, our guide to accountant salaries in India and the UAE explains how the two markets differ.
How the Search Works at Accounting Baba
Tell us the companies you want people from, your competitors included, and we approach finance managers working there. This is our Target-Company Search. Each candidate is interviewed by our team, and each profile is then reviewed by a chartered accountant who checks that the GST, TDS, close and MIS experience on the CV is real. You receive 3 to 5 profiles, not a folder of CVs. We schedule the interviews and support the salary discussion.
How Long It Takes
You see 3 to 5 CA-reviewed profiles within 7 working days of paying the service charge; interviews, the offer and the notice period follow.
- Day 0: a call to agree the role, the CTC range, the timeline and the companies to target. You pay the service charge and post the requirement in the Hiring Portal.
- Within 7 working days: 3 to 5 profiles, each interviewed by our team and reviewed by a chartered accountant.
- After that: your interviews, the offer and the candidate’s notice period. We schedule interviews and support the salary discussion.
Finance managers in India usually serve a notice of one to three months. If you need someone sooner, say so on the first call.
What It Costs Through Accounting Baba
The fee is one month’s CTC of the person you hire, plus applicable taxes, with ₹5,000 per opening paid upfront and adjusted against it.
| Item | Amount | When it is paid |
|---|
| Service charge, per job opening | ₹5,000 | Before we start work |
| Recruitment fee | One month’s CTC of the person you hire, plus applicable taxes | When the candidate joins |
| Balance | Fee less the service charge already paid | Within 10 days of the candidate joining |
If we are not able to close the opening within 30 days of receiving the service charge, we return 50% of it. If the person you hire leaves or does not work out within 90 days of joining, our 90-day replacement guarantee applies: one replacement for the same role at no additional cost. The conditions are in our Terms of Business, and a worked example is in our post on what it costs to hire an accountant through an agency in India.
Where We Hire
Surat is our home base. We also hire in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Mumbai, and for senior roles such as finance manager, anywhere in India, Pune included. Roles run from Tally operator to CFO. The Employers page has the full list and the pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many years of experience should a finance manager have?
Most owner-run companies look for roughly eight to fifteen years of accounting work, including at least three years running a close independently. Ownership of cash, MIS and compliance matters more than the year count.
Does a finance manager need to be a chartered accountant?
No, many good finance managers in Indian SMEs are commerce graduates or CMAs with long industry experience, though a CA is common in larger companies.
How long does it take to hire a finance manager through Accounting Baba?
You see 3 to 5 CA-reviewed profiles within 7 working days of paying the service charge, and the candidate’s notice period decides the joining date.
What does it cost to hire a finance manager through Accounting Baba?
The fee is one month’s CTC of the person you hire plus applicable taxes, with ₹5,000 per opening paid upfront and adjusted against it. The balance is payable within 10 days of the candidate joining. There is no retainer or annual fee.
What happens if the finance manager leaves within a few months?
Our 90-day replacement guarantee applies: if the person leaves or does not work out within 90 days of joining, we find one replacement. It is for the same role at no additional cost, and the conditions are in our Terms of Business.
Can you hire a finance manager for a company in Pune or Mumbai?
Yes, for senior roles such as finance manager we hire anywhere in India, with Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Mumbai as our regular markets.
Should I hire a finance manager or outsource to a CA firm?
Outsource while the work is compliance only, and hire a finance manager once you need daily cash control, monthly MIS and someone leading accountants. Many companies keep the CA firm for audit and tax opinions after the hire.
Hiring a finance manager in India?
Paid service: one month’s CTC per hire, with ₹5,000 per opening paid upfront and adjusted against the fee, for employers anywhere in India.
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→ See pricing and how we hire for companies in India