SAP FICO Transformation Leader

ROLE PURPOSE

Lead end-to-end SAP Finance and Controlling transformation and Application Management Services for a global process manufacturing customer. Own the journey from strategy, business case, process discovery and target operating model through global template design, implementation, migration, cutover, stabilization, AMS transition and continuous value realization. Ensure solutions adopt SAP and industry best practices, minimize unnecessary customization, strengthen controls, and deliver measurable business outcomes across ECC and S/4HANA landscapes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own the complete transformation life-cycle: assess, envision, build the business case, define the road-map, design the target operating model, deliver the solution, migrate data, execute cut-over, stabilize operations, transition to AMS, and track benefits realization.
• Lead global template design and fit-to-standard workshops, challenging legacy practices and recommending scalable SAP and industry-standard processes before accepting custom development.
• Define the Finance transformation strategy across Record-to-Report, Procure-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, Asset Accounting, Treasury, Tax, Controlling, Product Costing, Material Ledger, Margin Analysis and enterprise reporting.
• Convert industry trends, peer practices, regulatory needs and process-manufacturing requirements into practical design principles, process controls, KPIs and a prioritized transformation backlog.
• Lead S/4HANA Finance programs and ECC modernization, including architecture, simplification, data readiness, migration, testing, organizational change, deployment waves and hypercare.
• Own AMS delivery covering incidents, requests, problems, changes, enhancements, releases, SLA/KPI performance, risks, escalations, service improvement and operational governance.
• Govern end-to-end integration with SD, MM, PP, QM, WM/EWM, Treasury, HR, banking, tax, consolidation, planning and external financial platforms.
• Drive financial close acceleration, process harmonization, automation, controls improvement, root cause elimination, knowledge management and intelligent use of analytics and AI.
• Partner with CFO organization, Controllers, business process owners, Shared Services, SAP COE, audit, vendors and onsite/offshore teams through structured design authorities and steering forums.
• Mentor functional teams, assure design and configuration quality, manage architectural decisions, and act as the escalation point for complex transformation and production issues.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:

• 15+ years of SAP Finance experience with deep SAP FI/CO configuration, finance process, solution architecture and transformation leadership expertise.
• Proven leadership of at least three full life-cycle SAP programs, including responsibility from discovery and design through go-live, stabilization and transition to support.
• Demonstrable ownership of an end-to-end business transformation, not only a technical migration, with evidence of process redesign, standardization, adoption and measurable value delivery.
• Strong command of industry best practices for process manufacturing finance, including standard and actual costing, inventory valuation, production variances, settlement, profitability and close management.
• Deep domain knowledge of process manufacturing business operations, including plant accounting, batch and yield management, co-products/by-products, inventory and working-capital drivers, and their impact on financial outcomes.
• Ability to assess custom processes objectively, facilitate fit-to-standard decisions, define exception criteria and balance global consistency with statutory or business-critical localization.
• Hands-on expertise in FI-GL, AP, AR, Asset Accounting, Banking, Tax, Cost Center Accounting, Internal Orders, Product Costing, Material Ledger, Margin Analysis / CO-PA and cross-module integration.
• Experience with SAP ECC and S/4HANA Finance; exposure to Fiori, BTP, Central Finance, Group Reporting, Cloud ALM, Signavio and ServiceNow is desirable.
• Strong knowledge of transformation governance, SAP Activate, data migration, testing, cut-over, organizational change management, benefits tracking and AMS operating models.
• Executive communication, consultative leadership, stakeholder management, commercial awareness, structured problem solving and the ability to lead global cross-functional teams.
• Awareness of SAP Business AI and the ability to identify governed use cases for close, reconciliation, forecasting, cash management, compliance and service operations.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Commerce, Business, Technology or a related discipline; CA, CMA or MBA is desirable.
• SAP FICO / S/4HANA Finance certification; SAP Activate, Signavio, ITIL, PMP or equivalent transformation certification is an advantage.

SUCCESS MEASURES:

• Adoption of a simplified, standardized global template with controlled exceptions and reduced unnecessary customization.
• On-time transformation milestones, successful migration and cut-over, stable operations, compliant controls and achievement of service levels.
• Reduction in close-cycle delays, repeat incidents, backlog, manual effort and process variation.
• Measurable adoption, automation, user satisfaction, working-capital or cost benefits, and sustained business value after go-live.