Objectives of the Role

• Ensure accurate and timely expense planning, forecasting, and reporting across Asia.
•  Drive cost transparency and accountability through insightful analysis and governance.
• Support enterprise-wide initiatives, including FMG AI transformation and Asia 2025 Expense Initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• As a leader in Finance, the person would be expected to lead several (not all) of these areas independently.
• Lead the end-to-end Asia expense planning and forecasting process, including regional office budgeting and consolidated reporting.
• Analyze actuals vs. forecast, identify key drivers and variances, and provide actionable insights to senior leadership.
• Conduct expense gap studies to identify inefficiencies and recommend corrective actions.
• Ensure compliance with internal accounting policies and external regulatory requirements related to expense recognition and classification.
• Partner with country FP&A teams, regional functional leads, and enterprise stakeholders to ensure alignment and transparency.
• Lead and coordinate regional cost initiatives, including tracking savings and execution.
• Maintain governance and controls over expense categorization, allocations, and financial reporting accuracy.
• Prepare executive-level presentations and analysis for the Regional CFO, CEO, and enterprise stakeholders.
• Support FMG AI initiatives by identifying automation opportunities in expense processes and contributing to digital finance transformation goals.

Preferred Qualifications / Experience

• 10+ years of progressive experience in financial planning and analysis, preferably within the life insurance or broader financial services industry
• Proven track record in leading regional or enterprise-wide expense planning and budgeting cycles, including ownership of consolidated reporting and variance analysis
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field; CPA or MBA preferred.

Key Competencies and Skills

• Strategic Financial Acumen: Strong skills in variance analysis, forecasting, and scenario modeling; able to synthesize complex data into actionable insights.
• Leadership and Ownership: Comfortable operating independently, managing multiple priorities, and taking initiative in a matrixed environment.
• Communication and Collaboration: Capable of presenting financial insights clearly to both finance and non-finance stakeholders; including senior leadership. Builds strong relationships across teams and geographies to drive alignment and results.
• Systems Proficiency and Innovation Mindset: Skilled in financial systems and advanced Excel/PowerPoint; embraces automation and AI tools to drive efficiency and insight.
• Governance and Compliance: Solid understanding of accounting policies, expense recognition, and internal control frameworks.