Director-Financial Due Diligence

Cognizant

5 - 10 years

Chennai

Posted: 3/30/2025

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

  • Plan, manage and execute financial due diligence internally and/ or coordinating with external advisor.
  • Plan, identify risks, establish scope of financial due diligence procedures and lead the execution of diligence activities to ensure that timelines are met
  • Review and provide recommendations on transaction agreement terms based on diligence findings
  • Advise on deal issues impacting the financial model coordinating with Corporate Development Team
  • Assess and conclude on accounting issues, identify and communicate quality of earnings issues and debt-like items
  • Provide point of view on SG&A cost synergies, quality of the target’s finance organization, internal control environment and integration strategy
  • Maintain a continuous improvement mindset toward world class in managing risk and increasing agility in due diligence, process playbooks and technology
  • Conduct post deal reviews on diligence effectiveness, develop targeted continuous improvement projects to optimize the financial due diligence function and processes
  • Document and communicate post-close considerations for controllership and broader CFO organization
  • Review and advise on accounting implications of employment and retention agreements
  • Preparation of allocation of purchase price to assets acquired / liabilities assumes (business valuation)
  • Contribute to a continuous learning environment within the financial due diligence team
  • Operate in a team-oriented environment working on transactions coordinating across functions as needed
  • People Management - Allocate work among deal team members and external advisors; resolve any bottlenecks

Mandatory Skills:

  • Understanding of various aspects of financial due diligence including commercial/operational, tax, legal, HR, and strategic considerations. Ability identify and conclude on complex accounting issues.
  • Possess expertise on the planning and execution of financial due diligence, including financial & data analysis and coordination across various stakeholders (i.e. corp dev.; corporate leaders; etc.)
  • Ability to plan, manage and execute financial due diligence plan in a timely manner and manage multiple transactions simultaneously (with appropriate internal or external advisor support)
  • Highly effective communication and ability to act as trusted advisor to key business and corporate functional leaders
  • Global conceptual leadership skills with ownership mindset
  • Experience with establishing financial due diligence playbooks, tools, processes and reporting. Must possess agile decision making and excellent professional judgment.
  • 8+ years of experience in a technical accounting role with M&A experience, including financial modeling, business valuations, transaction risk assessment and relevant business experience; minimum 3 years in leadership roles (managing / leading financial due diligence)
  • Ability to travel to conduct financial due diligence on-site when required

Preferred Skills:

  • Experience with cross-border M&A transaction
  • Prior experience in performing due diligence on IT service companies preferred
  • CPA or equivalent designation

About Company

Cognizant is a global leader in technology and consulting services, helping businesses transform their operations through digital solutions. Specializing in IT services, including software development, business process outsourcing, and consulting, Cognizant supports clients across industries such as healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and retail. With a focus on innovation, Cognizant assists organizations in modernizing their technology, improving operational efficiency, and enhancing customer experiences. Headquartered in the U.S., it is consistently ranked among the most admired companies in the world and is a member of the NASDAQ-100.

Services you might be interested in

One-Shot Campaign

Reach out to ideal employees in one shot!

The intelligent campaign for reaching out to the ideal audience to whom you can ask for help (guidance or referral).