AVP – Head of Finance & Accounts (Controllership)

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:

Clairvolex is an AI-native intellectual property company built on a simple conviction: in IP, machines accelerate and experts decide. We partner with the in-house IP teams of large US and European corporations to develop and manage their portfolios, and serve as an extended arm to global law firms in drafting and prosecution.

What that conviction means in practice is that professional judgement stays where it belongs. Our AI does the retrieval, the extraction, the first pass and the heavy lifting. It does not make the call. Patent attorneys, patent agents, and senior paralegals remain accountable for what goes out the door, and their expertise shapes the products directly: our IP professionals sit with the product and engineering teams and define how the tools must behave. You will spend less time on the mechanical work and more on the work you trained for, and the tools you use will be tools you helped build. www.clairvolex.com.

ROLE DESCRIPTION:

We are looking for a hands-on finance leader to own the entire F&A function end to end — controllership, statutory and regulatory reporting, tax, internal controls, audit, and FP&A oversight — and to be a true business partner to the Leadership Team in executing the company’s financial goals.

The role is analytical as much as operational. A timely, accurate close is assumed; the substance of the work lies beyond it. The F&A infrastructure is already sound, so the focus is on refining specific processes, strengthening governance to support scale, and applying commercial judgement to the decisions that carry financial consequence. The position reports to the Leadership Team and holds full responsibility for the F&A function.

Who we want: someone who has experienced a set up closer — a business operating in and selling to the US market, with the cross-border, multi-entity and USD-denominated complexity that comes with it. US customer contracts, US GAAP exposure, and comfort partnering with global stakeholders across time zones are essential, not nice-to-have.

Key Responsibilities:

Financial Controllership

• Own an accurate and timely monthly, quarterly and annual close across all entities.
• Oversee preparation of financial statements per applicable standards, with variance, trend and reconciliation analysis for leadership.
• Own revenue recognition for across IP services & Clair subscription based B2B model.
• Own enterprise cash-flow planning, treasury and working-capital optimisation, and banking relationships.
• Strengthen internal controls, standardise processes and systems, and mitigate financial and operational risk for scalable operations.

Taxation, Compliance & Risk

• Oversee direct and indirect tax — GST, TDS, corporate tax — and Transfer Pricing across the India–US structure.
• Lead internal and external audits, from planning to seamless closure.
• Manage all statutory compliances and cross-border regulatory reporting (RBI / FEMA), and US-side filings as applicable.
• Establish strong internal controls for enterprise risk management, and coordinate with the Company Secretary on regulatory matters.

FP&A, Reporting & Investor Support

• Drive budgeting, forecasting, MIS and FP&A oversight, and support B2B pricing models and unit economics.
• Prepare Board and Committee financials with clear performance narrative and business insight.
• Support fundraising, investor reporting and diligence; own the cap table, ESOP and equity/valuation accounting.

Finance Systems & Digital Transformation

• Equip the function with robust systems and tools for effective governance.
• Drive reporting automation, BI dashboards, process standardisation, internal-control automation and data-governance standards.

Leadership

• Build, lead, mentor and retain a high-performing F&A team; own hiring and capability development for the function.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• 10–15 years of relevant experience, with at least 5 years leading Controllership in a B2B India-US business.
• CA — preferably cleared in the 1st or 2nd attempt; CPA / MBA a plus.
• Must-have: prior experience in a B2B business operating in / selling to the US, with cross-border, multi-entity finance exposure.

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Proven controllership depth, with the commercial judgement to partner on strategic decisions — not just report the numbers.
• Comfort with ambiguity, meticulous attention to detail, self-motivated and resourceful in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Executive presence and maturity in working with global stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving and leadership skills across departments and geographies.

Location : Bangalore, India

Reporting to : Leadership Team

Work mode : Hybrid, 3 days in office. In-person presence required during Review Week and Leadership meetings.