Sri Lanka
- Time zone
- UTC+5:30
- Behind AEST / AEDT
- 4.5 hrs / 5.5 hrs
- 9:00am AEST is
- 4:30am in Colombo
- Typical shift to overlap
- Early local start, e.g. 6:00am–3:00pm (10:30am–7:30pm AEST)
Accounting & finance · Full-time · Sri Lanka & Philippines
An Offshore Finance Manager to Run Your Finance Function
An offshore finance manager runs your month-end close, cash flow forecasting, budgets, board reporting and financial controls, and supervises junior finance staff. Elephant Teams recruits experienced, qualified finance managers in Sri Lanka and the Philippines for Australian businesses that have outgrown a bookkeeper but can't yet justify a local finance manager. Bank authority and statutory sign-off stay with your directors.
Australian businesses building offshore teams with Elephant Teams
Between a bookkeeper and a CFO
Many growing Australian businesses reach a stage where the books are kept, but nobody runs finance. Month-end slips, cash surprises happen and the owner still builds the budget at night. A local finance manager has a SEEK median salary of around $140,000. An offshore finance manager fills the gap at a much lower cost. The owner or an external CFO sets direction, and the finance manager makes the function run every day.
What your offshore finance manager owns
- Month-end close. A close calendar, reconciliations, journals and review of junior staff work, with management accounts delivered by a fixed working day.
- Cash flow management. A rolling 13-week cash forecast, debtor and creditor reviews, and early warning of funding needs.
- Budgets and forecasts. The annual budget built with department heads, then reforecast each quarter.
- Board and lender reporting. Monthly board packs, KPI dashboards and bank covenant calculations.
- Financial controls. Approval limits, segregation of duties, delegations and a documented procedures manual.
- Compliance calendar. BAS, PAYG, payroll tax, workers' compensation and super deadlines tracked and prepared with your accountant.
- Team leadership. Supervising offshore and onshore bookkeepers, AP, AR and payroll staff, including reviews and training.
- Audit and adviser liaison. Year-end files for your external accountant or auditor, and information for banks and investors.
Systems and tools
We look for finance managers who have run the ledger themselves, not just reviewed it. Typical systems: Xero, MYOB Acumatica, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Sage Intacct. Planning and reporting tools include Power BI, Fathom, Spotlight, Float and Calxa. Advanced Excel for three-way financial models is essential.
Qualifications and experience we screen
This is a senior role, so qualification and track record both matter.
- Sri Lanka: fully qualified CA Sri Lanka, CIMA (ACMA, CGMA) or ACCA members. Typically several years of post-qualification experience, often including Big Four audit or finance leadership in a listed or multinational company.
- Philippines: licensed CPAs (PRC Board of Accountancy), often with Big Four audit training and later finance-manager or controller roles in multinationals or shared-services centres.
- Everyone: interviews by phone and video, then a skills assessment. For this role it can include a case: diagnose a business's cash problem from three months of financials and present the fix to a non-finance owner.
An offshore finance manager supports your directors but doesn't replace their legal responsibilities. Keep bank authority, statutory sign-off and director duties with your Australian leadership.
Sri Lanka vs the Philippines for a finance manager
| Sri Lanka | Philippines | |
|---|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 | UTC+8 |
| Behind AEST / AEDT | 4.5 hrs / 5.5 hrs | 2 hrs / 3 hrs |
| 9:00am AEST is | 4:30am in Colombo | 7:00am in Manila |
| Typical shift to overlap | Early local start, e.g. 6:00am–3:00pm (10:30am–7:30pm AEST) | Standard local day, e.g. 7:00am–4:00pm (9:00am–6:00pm AEST) |
Philippines
- Time zone
- UTC+8
- Behind AEST / AEDT
- 2 hrs / 3 hrs
- 9:00am AEST is
- 7:00am in Manila
- Typical shift to overlap
- Standard local day, e.g. 7:00am–4:00pm (9:00am–6:00pm AEST)
Swipe to compare 2 options →
Sri Lanka (UTC+5:30) is 4.5 hours behind AEST and 5.5 behind AEDT. On an early local shift, a Sri Lankan finance manager overlaps most of your working day. They can also finish month-end reports in their afternoon, ready for your evening review. Sri Lanka's large pool of CIMA and CA Sri Lanka members with multinational experience makes it a strong source of commercially minded finance managers.
The Philippines (UTC+8) is 2 hours behind AEST and 3 behind AEDT. That suits a finance manager who sits in leadership meetings, deals with your bank and adviser in real time, and supervises an onshore team during the same hours. Philippine CPAs from Big Four and shared-services backgrounds bring strong close discipline and documentation habits.
The people behind every placement
Our recruiters brief your role, run the skills assessment and interview every candidate before you see a shortlist.
How we screen candidates →
What a shortlist looks like
Example finance manager profiles
These illustrative profiles show the experience, qualifications and software we typically see on a finance manager shortlist. They are examples, not real candidates. Your shortlist is built from a fresh job ad for your role, and wages are confirmed with you before you commit.
Sri LankaExample profile
Finance manager
- Experience
- 10 years
- Qualification
- CA Sri Lanka, ex-Big Four audit
- Software
- NetSuite, Xero, Power BI
- Typical wage
- A$1,800–2,800 a month
- Leads month-end and statutory reporting
- Cash-flow and treasury oversight
- Manages a small finance team
PhilippinesExample profile
Finance and accounting manager
- Experience
- 9 years
- Qualification
- Philippine CPA
- Software
- Business Central, Excel, Fathom
- Typical wage
- A$2,600–3,800 a month
- Group consolidations
- Audit preparation and controls
- Management reporting to directors
Plan options for a finance manager
A finance manager often becomes the person who manages your other offshore finance staff, so the plan choice matters. Ready for You (employ them yourself or through us) suits businesses with an engaged owner, CFO or external accountant who will lead the finance manager directly. Managed for You suits businesses building a whole offshore finance team around this hire. Its HR support, performance check-ins and 5-month guarantee help when a senior hire is central to the team.
| Ready for You | Managed for You | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront | $5,999+GST one-off recruitment fee | $0 recruitment fee |
| Ongoing | You employ them ($0/month), or we employ them as Employer of Record ($350/month) | $1,000/month per team member, 12-month commitment (we employ and manage) |
| Who employs | You, or Elephant Teams (EOR) | Elephant Teams |
| Included | Sourcing, screening, interviews, offer and placement, IT setup coordination | Everything in Ready for You, plus onboarding playbooks, HR policy templates, regular check-ins and advisory support |
| Replacement guarantee | 3 months | 5 months, up to two free replacements in the first 12 months |
Ready for You
- Upfront
- $5,999+GST one-off recruitment fee
- Ongoing
- You employ them ($0/month), or we employ them as Employer of Record ($350/month)
- Who employs
- You, or Elephant Teams (EOR)
- Included
- Sourcing, screening, interviews, offer and placement, IT setup coordination
- Replacement guarantee
- 3 months
Managed for You
- Upfront
- $0 recruitment fee
- Ongoing
- $1,000/month per team member, 12-month commitment (we employ and manage)
- Who employs
- Elephant Teams
- Included
- Everything in Ready for You, plus onboarding playbooks, HR policy templates, regular check-ins and advisory support
- Replacement guarantee
- 5 months, up to two free replacements in the first 12 months
Swipe to compare 2 options →
Team member wages are paid on top of either plan. Multi-hire savings are available.
IT options (pick any, with any plan): Self-managed, where you or your team member supply the equipment. Hardware coordination, where we buy and configure a laptop that you own. IT management, where we handle devices, setup and security, with leasing available. See IT security.
Frequently asked questions
Can an offshore finance manager replace a CFO?
Not fully. An offshore finance manager runs the finance function day to day: close, cash flow, budgets, controls and the team. Strategy, bank authority, statutory sign-off and director duties stay with your Australian leadership or a fractional CFO.
What qualifications do your offshore finance managers hold?
Typically full CA Sri Lanka, CIMA or ACCA membership in Sri Lanka, or a Philippine CPA licence, with several years of post-qualification experience. Many have Big Four or multinational backgrounds.
Can an offshore finance manager lead my other finance staff?
Yes. Supervising bookkeepers, AP, AR and payroll staff is a core part of the role, whether those staff are offshore or in Australia.
How much does an offshore finance manager cost compared with a local one?
A local finance manager costs about $13,050 a month including super, based on SEEK's median salary (our estimate). Senior offshore wages vary widely by experience, and we confirm the figure before you commit.
Is Sri Lanka or the Philippines better for a finance manager?
Both have strong senior talent. Sri Lanka suits commercially focused, analysis-heavy roles through its CIMA and CA pool. The Philippines suits roles that need constant real-time contact with your leadership and onshore team.
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