AR Credit Control & Collections Lead

AR Credit Control & Collections Lead

Reports To: Central Financial Controller - ACCBC

Business Unit: ACCBC Corporate

Function: Finance - Financial Control & Working Capital

Grade: Management Level (TBC)

Location: Dubai, UAE

Purpose of the Job

The AR Credit Control & Collections Lead is accountable for enterprise-wide governance, discipline, and performance of Accounts Receivable, customer credit risk, and collections across ACCBC.

Operating under the Central Financial Controller, the role ensures cash protection, disciplined credit exposure, accurate receivables reporting, and strong control execution across all markets.

The role acts as the second-line owner of AR controls and working capital assurance, while enabling the business to grow responsibly within approved credit risk frameworks.

The position does not own commercial negotiations or pricing but can support; it ensures credit, collections, and receivables integrity, escalation discipline, and predictability of cash inflows.

The role covers an AR portfolio spanning approximately 38,000 customers across 9 markets with direct presence and 60+ export markets. The position operates through a matrix line management structure, partnering with market-level finance and commercial teams to drive consistent AR governance, credit discipline, and collections performance across the enterprise.

Operating Context

ACCBC operates in a high working-capital, multi-country FMCG environment with:

• Complex customer trade terms and credit exposures
• Distributor- and wholesaler-led channels
• FX volatility and liquidity constraints in select markets
• Increasing scrutiny from auditors, banks, and CFO on cash predictability
• ERP-enabled O2C processes requiring strong configuration and control

Success in this role requires strong governance judgment, firmness with stakeholders, and execution discipline, without compromising customer relationships or commercial momentum.

Key Accountabilities 1. Credit Risk Governance & Policy Enforcement

• Own and enforce enterprise credit policies, limits, and approval frameworks.
• Ensure customer credit exposure remains within approved risk appetite.
• Review, approve, and elevate credit limit requests and exceptions in line with delegated authority.
• Monitor concentration risk and exposure by customer, channel, and country.
• Partner with Sales and BU Finance to balance growth with cash protection.

2. Collections Strategy & Cash Realization

• Own collections strategy, targets, and execution discipline across all markets.
• Drive DSO reduction and overdue recovery plans, with clear escalation paths.
• Govern follow-up cadence, aging resolution, and dispute closure.
• Ensure timely escalation of delinquent accounts to Finance Leadership.
• Support legal action, credit holds, or commercial escalation where required.

3. Accounts Receivable Integrity & Reporting

• Ensure accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of AR balances.
• Govern AR aging, reconciliations, customer confirmations, and substantiation.
• Ensure correct application of receipts, credit notes, deductions, and offsets.
• Maintain clean AR ledgers aligned with IFRS and group accounting standards.
• Partner with Record-to-Report teams to ensure AR close quality.

4. Working Capital & Cash Forecast Enablement

• Provide credible AR and collections inputs into cashflow forecasting.
• Partner with Treasury and FP&A to improve cash predictability.
• Identify structural issues impacting collections (terms, disputes, execution gaps).
• Track and report working capital performance drivers and trends.

5. Controls, Audit & Compliance

• Ensure strong internal controls embedded within Order-to-Cash (O2C) processes.
• Own AR-related audit readiness and closure of audit findings.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS, local regulations, and internal policies.
• Act as control owner for receivables-related risks and mitigations.
• Support regulatory, statutory, and special audits where required.

6. Systems, Process & Standardization

• Own AR-related process standardization and documentation.
• Ensure ERP configurations support credit limits, blocks, approvals, and aging.
• Drive automation and reduction of manual AR processes.
• Partner with IT and Finance Transformation teams on O2C improvements.

7. Leadership & Capability Development

• Lead and develop central and market AR / collections teams.
• Set performance standards, KPIs, and accountability frameworks.
• Build succession pipelines and strengthen credit & collections capability.
• Embed a cash-first, control-oriented mindset across Finance and Commercial teams.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• DSO vs target
• % overdue receivables (>30 / >60 / >90 days)
• Collection effectiveness ratio
• Bad debt provisions vs actual write-offs
• Credit limit breaches (zero tolerance)
• AR audit findings (zero repeat issues)
• Cash forecast accuracy (AR-related)
• Timeliness and quality of AR close
• % Customers over credit limit
• % AR under dispute
• Write-off recovery rate
• Bad debt % of revenue
• Cash conversion cycle impact

Experience, Knowledge & Qualifications Experience

• 8-12+ years progressive finance experience with strong AR, credit control, or working capital exposure.
• Proven experience managing credit risk and collections in FMCG or trade-heavy environments.
• Multi-country or regional exposure strongly preferred.
• Experience operating in ERP-driven O2C environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or related discipline.
• Professional qualification (ACCA, CPA, CMA, or equivalent) preferred.

Leadership & Functional Competencies

• Financial discipline & risk judgment
• Stakeholder firmness and influencing skills
• Analytical rigor and attention to detail
• Strong control mindset
• Execution discipline under pressure
• Cross-functional collaboration