Accounts Payable Manager People Manager Role

About Darwinbox:
Darwinbox is Asia's fastest-growing HR technology platform. Brainchild of alumni from world's most distinguished organizations (McKinsey, EY, Google), we are the preferred choice of 850+ global enterprises to manage their 2.2 Million+ employees across 100+ countries.

For three years in a row, we are the fastest growing HCM tech company in the Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Cloud HCM Suites for enterprises with 1,000+ employees.

Darwinbox's new-age HCM suite competes with local as well as global players in the enterprise technology space (such as SAP, Oracle, and Workday). The firm has acquired notable customers ranging from large conglomerates to unicorn start-ups – Vedanta, Mahindra, Glenmark, Adani Wilmar, Swiggy, DLF, Crisil, CRED, JG Summit Group, Cebu Pacific Air, Nivea, etc.

The vision of Darwinbox to build a world-class product company from Asia and is backed by marquee global investors like Salesforce, Sequoia Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners and Microsoft.

Role Summary
The Accounts Payable Manager will lead and transform the AP function across all eight Darwinbox entities. Reporting to the Group Financial Controller, you will own the end-to-end Procure-to-Pay (P2P) lifecycle — from invoice receipt to supplier payment — while driving automation, reconciliation excellence, stakeholder engagement, and process governance. This is a people-leadership and strategy role with an expected team size of 5–10 across geographies.

QUICK FACTS
Location: Hyderabad, India (HQ) | Remote flexibility for senior candidates

Department: Finance & Accounts — Accounts Payable

Reporting To: Group Financial Controller

Team Size: 5–10 (India + offshore entities)

Experience: 10+ years in Accounts Payable / Procure-to-Pay

Qualification: CA / CMA / MBA Finance (CA preferred)

Key Responsibilities
AP Operations Leadership
▸ Own the end-to-end P2P cycle across all eight entities — purchase order validation, invoice processing, three-way matching, approval routing, and payment execution

▸ Manage a team of AP analysts and executives; set performance benchmarks, review workloads, and build a high-accuracy, high-accountability team culture

▸ Ensure timely and error-free processing of all vendor invoices — domestic (INR) and cross-border (USD, SGD, AED, PHP, IDR, THB, MYR)

▸ Own the AP ageing dashboard — drive Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) optimisation and early payment discount capture where applicable

▸ Ensure compliance with TDS deduction obligations (India), WHT requirements (Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia), and VAT/GST rules across all geographies

Accounting & Reconciliation
▸ Maintain the AP subledger in NetSuite — ensure complete and accurate vendor balances at all times

▸ Own month-end AP close — accrue uninvoiced goods/services, clear GR/IR mismatches, and ensure cut-off accuracy

▸ Perform monthly AP-to-GL reconciliation across all entities; present clean, variance-free schedules to the Group Financial Controller

▸ Lead intercompany AP reconciliation — eliminate intercompany balances in consolidated accounts and investigate mismatches

▸ Manage vendor statement reconciliations — drive a zero-tolerance approach to unreconciled differences beyond 30 days

Vendor & Stakeholder Management
▸ Act as the primary escalation point for vendor payment disputes, ageing queries, and invoice rejections

▸ Build and maintain strong working relationships with key vendors — negotiate payment terms, manage exceptions, and resolve disputes professionally

Automation & Process Excellence
▸ Lead the AP Automation Programme

▸ Define and enforce the AP process manual — standard operating procedures for each entity covering invoice routing, approval limits, payment methods, and reconciliation cadences

▸ Implement KPIs and SLAs for the AP team — invoice turnaround time, first-pass match rate, on-time payment rate, and exception resolution TAT

▸ Identify and eliminate duplicate payment risks; institute preventive controls and monthly duplicate-detection reviews

Compliance, Audit & IPO Readiness
▸ Ensure AP processes and controls meet IPO-readiness standards — document all AP controls for Ind AS financial statement disclosures

▸ Own the AP component of the internal control framework — design and test controls over vendor master maintenance, payment authorisation, and bank account validation

▸ Support DRHP preparation — provide restated AP and trade payables data for three periods (FY24, FY25, FY26) on an Ind AS basis

▸ Maintain AP documentation standards that are audit-defensible under a Big 4 / Walker Chandiok audit lens

Mandatory Qualifications
▸ 10+ years of progressive experience in Accounts Payable / Procure-to-Pay, with at least 3 years in a leadership role managing a team

▸ Strong technical accounting knowledge — solid understanding of accrual accounting, cut-off, subledger-to-GL reconciliation, and month-end close

▸ Demonstrable expertise in AP reconciliation — vendor statement recons, GL-subledger recons, intercompany AP elimination

▸ Excellent communication skills — ability to communicate clearly and confidently with vendors, internal stakeholders, and senior management

▸ Strong stakeholder management — experience influencing business owners, procurement teams, and non-finance functions on AP process adherence

▸ Proven track record of implementing or improving AP automation and process governance

▸ CA / CMA / MBA Finance qualification — CA or CMA strongly preferred for technical accounting depth

Preferred Background
▸ Multi-entity, multi-currency AP experience — ideally across India + at least one international entity (APAC, MEA, or US)

▸ Experience in a high-growth technology, SaaS, or multinational company with a professional audit culture

▸ Exposure to TDS / GST compliance (India), WHT (APAC), and VAT reconciliations across jurisdictions

▸ Familiarity with AP automation tools — OCR-based invoice capture, three-way matching engines, or payment workflow systems

▸ IPO readiness, DRHP support, or Ind AS financial statement preparation experience is a significant advantage

LEADERSHIP & BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES
Team Leadership Stakeholder Influence Clear Communication
Process Ownership Audit Mindset Escalation Management
AP Automation Multi-Entity Ops DPO Optimisation
Technical Skills
NetSuite ERP Advanced Excel Ind AS Accounting
GSTR-2B Rec Intercompany Elimination FX / Multi-Currency