Regional Finance Manager, Southeast Asia

Role Purpose

The Regional Finance Manager, Southeast Asia is the commercial finance business partner for the group's sales entities across Southeast Asia , and the direct line manager for the local accountants based in each of those entities. Based in Malaysia and reporting to the Group CFO, this role sits between regional commercial leadership and Group Finance, translating sales and distribution performance into forward-looking financial insight, and ensuring a consistent standard of financial discipline and reporting across every South East Asia entity.

The role is best suited to a finance professional who has operated in a manufacturing business selling through a mix of distributors and direct B2B channels, and who is equally comfortable coaching a team of in-country local accountants as they are building a regional forecast model or challenging a sales forecast in a business review.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial FP&A

• Own the Southeast Asia regional budgeting, forecasting (rolling forecast / latest estimate) and long-range planning process, consolidating inputs from each in-country local accountant.

• Partner with regional and in-country sales leadership to evaluate pricing, margin, customer/channel profitability, and distributor terms across both distribution and direct-sales B2B channels.

• Provide monthly management reporting and variance analysis (actuals vs. budget vs. forecast) with clear commercial commentary for regional and Group leadership.

• Build and maintain commercial decision-support models: deal evaluation, new customer/distributor onboarding, discount and rebate structures, and investment cases for new market entry.

• Track and report key commercial KPIs (revenue by channel, gross margin, DSO, working capital) and flag emerging risks or opportunities early.

Team Leadership – Southeast Asia Local Accountants

• Act as direct line manager to the local accountants in each South East Asia sales entity, providing day-to-day guidance, coaching, and performance management.

• Set common standards for month-end close, reporting templates, and forecasting methodology across all entities to ensure comparability and a single source of truth for the region.

• Build local finance capability, including succession planning and structured knowledge-sharing across the entity accounting teams.

• Run a regular cadence of regional finance reviews to align in-country local accountants on priorities, timelines, and Group requirements.

Business Partnering & Governance

• Sit on the regional leadership team as the senior finance voice for South East Asia, contributing to commercial strategy, channel strategy, and go-to-market decisions.

• Ensure compliance with Group finance policies, internal controls, and approval frameworks across all Southeast Asia entities.

• Act as the primary regional liaison to the Group Consolidation Team for financial reporting, and ensure local accountants meet statutory and tax filing requirements in each jurisdiction.

• Support ad hoc commercial projects such as new distributor evaluations, M&A due diligence, or restructuring of sales entities.

Candidate Profile

Experience

• 8–10 years of progressive finance experience, with meaningful time in FP&A or commercial finance business-partnering roles.

• Prior experience within a manufacturing business selling through distribution and/or direct B2B sales channels is strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated experience managing or mentoring other finance professionals, ideally across more than one country or entity.

• Experience working within a regional or multinational group structure, coordinating with Group Finance / Consolidation functions.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen: able to connect financial results to sales, pricing, and channel dynamics rather than reporting numbers in isolation.

• Advanced financial modelling and Excel skills; comfortable building and maintaining forecasting and profitability models from scratch.

• Confident communicator able to influence sales and regional leadership who may not have a finance background.

• People leadership skills, with the ability to manage remote, in-country local accountants across different cultures and time zones.

• Structured and organised, able to bring consistency to reporting and forecasting practices across multiple entities.

• Fluent in English, spoken and written, to communicate effectively with the Group CFO, regional leadership, and local accountants across markets.

Qualifications

• Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or a related discipline.

• Professional accounting qualification (e.g. CPA, ACCA, CIMA, CFA) preferred.

• Prior experience with a Big 4 or other reputable accounting/audit firm is an advantage.

Location & Travel

This role is based in Malaysia. Regular travel to Southeast Asia sales entities should be expected in order to support in-country local accountants and regional business reviews.