Finance Manager - Client Billing

ZS is a place where passion changes lives. As a management consulting and technology firm focused on improving life and how we live it, we transform ideas into impact by bringing together data, science, technology and human ingenuity to deliver better outcomes for all. Here you’ll work side-by-side with a powerful collective of thinkers and experts shaping life-changing solutions for patients, caregivers and consumers, worldwide. ZSers drive impact by bringing a client-first mentality to each and every engagement. We partner collaboratively with our clients to develop custom solutions and technology products that create value and deliver company results across critical areas of their business. Bring your curiosity for learning, bold ideas, courage and passion to drive life-changing impact to ZS.

About the Role

ZS seeks a Finance Manager - Client Billing to lead our global Billing Centre of Excellence within the Client Accounting function in Pune. The Billing CoE owns end-to-end customer invoicing for ZS globally across services and software and supports the order-to-cash lifecycle from deal booking through delivery, billing, collection and reporting.

As Finance Manager - Client Billing, you will be accountable for timely, accurate and compliant customer invoicing across ZS globally. You will lead a team of approximately 20-22 billing professionals, build skills and capabilities, improve efficiency through process redesign and automation, and act as a trusted partner to Finance and business leaders. This role balances operational excellence with strategic transformation.

The team supports a diverse global portfolio across consulting, technology, managed services and asset-based engagements, including fixed-fee milestone, time-and-materials, subscription/software, ticket-based and expense billing. The role also spans client procurement and e-invoicing portals and country-specific statutory invoicing requirements across multiple geographies.What You'll Do

• Lead and develop the team. Coach and develop approximately 20-22 billing professionals across levels; build capability in billing models, contract and SOW interpretation, PO management, portals, e-invoicing and systems; strengthen onboarding, training, performance management, succession and backup coverage.
• Own global billing delivery. Lead end-to-end invoicing from milestone monitoring, PO readiness and billing confirmation through invoice creation, submission and receipt confirmation across fixed-fee, T\&M, subscription/software, ticket/consumption and expense billing models.
• Manage critical billing cycles. Oversee month-end, quarter-end and year-end billing against phased targets and client-specific deadlines, including reconciliation between ERP and client portal records.
• Improve working capital and cash conversion. Minimize unbilled WIP, resolve missing or incorrect POs, run disciplined escalation with business stakeholders, and partner with Accounts Receivable and Collections to address overdue balances and short payments.
• Strengthen controls and audit readiness. Institutionalize documented controls; ensure invoices comply with MSAs, SOWs, PO terms, tax requirements and ZS policies; prevent revenue leakage and over-billing; and lead preparation for client, internal and external audits.
• Partner across the business. Serve as the primary billing leader for Client Accountants, Finance Business Partners, Project Managers, Principals and Client Service Leaders; collaborate with Revenue Recognition, Sales and Order Management, AR/Collections, Contracting, Legal, Tax, Accounts Payable and Corporate Finance.
• Drive process excellence and transformation. Standardize global billing processes, reduce touch points and individual dependency, and deliver automation and AI opportunities across PO retrieval and mapping, portal reconciliation, invoice-status confirmation, reminders and SOP generation.
• Shape future-state systems. Represent billing in ERP and systems transformation programs, including SAP S/4HANA, and partner with IT, Reporting and Data teams on dashboards and reporting for missing POs, unbilled milestones, WIP and productivity.
• Track and communicate performance. Define KPIs for productivity, quality, timeliness and stakeholder satisfaction; publish monthly operational reporting with clear insights and actions; and run regular governance reviews.

What You'll Bring

• Qualifications and experience. CA, CMA, CPA, MBA in Finance or an equivalent qualification; approximately 14-15 years of experience in order-to-cash, billing, revenue or client accounting, preferably in professional services, consulting, IT services, global shared services or a GCC environment.
• Leadership experience. At least 4-5 years leading sizeable teams of 15+ people, ideally including team leads and multi-level structures, with experience running or building a global CoE or shared-services operation.
• Billing and order-to-cash expertise. Deep understanding of invoicing, order-to-cash and project financial management across fixed-fee, T\&M, subscription and expense billing.
• Systems and portal knowledge. Hands-on experience with SAP ECC and/or S/4HANA project systems and billing; working knowledge of client procurement portals, e-invoicing and indirect-tax requirements across geographies.
• Finance and reporting capability. Understanding of ASC 606 / IFRS 15 and the relationship between billing, revenue and working capital; advanced Excel and reporting skills; exposure to Power BI, automation tools or AI agents is highly desirable.
• Leadership competencies. Strong coaching, mentoring, talent-development, stakeholder-management and executive-communication skills; ability to influence without direct authority and make sound decisions with imperfect information.
• Transformation mindset. Strategic thinking, structured problem-solving, change manag