Customer Finance Specialist

Role overview

The Customer Finance Specialist is responsible for supporting customer finance operations by overseeing major customer accounts, handling deductions and claims, and ensuring customer balances are accurately matched and reconciled. This position serves as a central link among Sales, Trade Marketing, and Finance so that commercial activities, trade spend claims, and customer deductions are checked properly and settled correctly.

The role includes direct interaction with customers, such as regular on-site visits, to settle disputes, review account statements, and improve collection and reconciliation workflows. The aim is to strengthen cash collection, lower overdue balances, and maintain clear control over trade-related financial transactions.

Accounts receivable and collections

• Review customer balances and aging reports to support collections on time.
• Follow up with customers regarding overdue invoices and unpaid amounts.
• Track promised payment dates and help drive the collections plan to reduce overdue receivables.
• Escalate accounts with high risk or significant delay to the Customer Finance Manager.

Customer reconciliation

• Carry out routine reconciliation of customer accounts, covering invoices, payments, deductions, and credit notes.
• Examine and resolve gaps between company records and customer account statements.
• Partner with internal teams to verify disputed entries and process corrections where needed.

Claims and deductions management

• Assess and confirm customer deductions tied to trade promotions, rebates, or marketing programs.
• Coordinate with Trade Marketing and Sales to verify claim validity and the required supporting documents.
• Monitor claim progress and ensure approved claims and credit notes are handled promptly.
• Keep complete records and audit-ready evidence for all claim-related transactions.

Customer engagement

• Visit customers on site when necessary to review balances, reconcile accounts, and settle disputes.
• Build professional relationships with customer finance teams to speed up dispute resolution and collections.
• Support reconciliation meetings for key accounts and periodic financial review discussions with customers.

Cross-functional coordination

• Work as the connection point between Customer Finance, Sales, Trade Marketing, and Customer Service to resolve account-related financial issues.
• Ensure trade programs and promotional agreements are documented correctly and reflected in finance records.
• Help align commercial commitments with accounting postings.

Reporting and analysis

• Prepare customer aging reports and reconciliation summaries.
• Monitor patterns in deductions, disputes, and claims.
• Share insights with management about repeat issues affecting collections or claim processing.

Compliance and process discipline

• Follow internal credit rules, approval workflows, and financial control requirements.
• Maintain well-organized records of reconciliations, claim support, and customer communications.
• Contribute to efforts that improve AR processes, claims handling, and reporting accuracy.

Qualifications and skills

• A bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting is required.
• Progress toward professional finance certifications such as CMA, CPA, or CFA is considered an advantage.
• At least 3 years of experience in Accounts Receivable, Customer Finance, or Credit Control.
• Prior exposure to customer reconciliations, trade claims, and deduction management is preferred.
• Experience working with ERP systems, especially SAP, along with strong Excel capability.
• Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving ability, and close attention to detail.
• Clear communication skills for dealing with internal teams and external customers.
• Comfort with customer meetings and site visits when needed.
• Ability to manage several issues at once in a fast-moving commercial setting.