Financial Controller
Bhatia group of companies
Total years of experience :25 years, 10 Months
Leadership
• Leading a finance team of 7 encompassing operations, decision support, financial planning, reporting and analysis, controllership, and legal for the relevant companies as well as the owner
• Assigning KPIs, monitoring and evaluating performance and mentoring the team to achieve peak performance
• Establishing & implementing departmental KPIs ensuring consistency with the KPIs of the organisation and effecting improvements
Finance & treasury operations (managing a team of 7)
• Responsible for the budget, P&L and policies & procedures of the company
• Bringing discipline in the accounting process by constant improvements
• Directing the development, preparation and interpretation of the budget, company financial reports and statements, audit reports and other information documents of the company ensuring accuracy and compliance with all relevant laws
• Managing the financial close process on a monthly basis
• Active participant in strategic decisions
• Co-ordinating with auditors
• Cash, treasury and investment management for the group as well as the owner
• Fund-raising
Legal, contracts & negotiations
• Liaising with external law firms on various legal matters
• Reviewing, analysing & recommending improvements in contracts to ensure consistency and compliance with the company policies, objectives and standards
Leadership
• Lead a finance team of 5 encompassing business operations, decision support, financial planning, reporting and analysis, controllership, Real Estate operations and legal
• Lead and supervised a team of property management and facility management professionals
• Assigned KPIs, monitored and evaluated performance and mentored the team to achieve peak performance
• Established & implemented departmental KPIs ensuring consistency with the KPIs of the organisation and effected improvements
Finance operations (managed a team of 5)
• Successfully completed the financial aspect of the group restructuring exercise within the timelines laid down
• Brought discipline in the accounting process
• Directed the development, preparation and interpretation of the budget, company financial reports and statements, audit reports and other information documents of the company ensuring accuracy and compliance with all relevant laws
• Managed the financial close process on a monthly basis
• Directed and oversaw the planning and implementation of the policies and procedures as required to manage the financials
• Group reporting to the management - quarterly results and budgets
• Managed the consolidation of financials of the group companies for both statutory and management reporting on a quarterly basis as well as the preparation of the consolidated balance sheet
• Liaison with group companies for all statutory and management reporting requirements
• Active participant in policy development and strategic decisions
• Co-ordinated with auditors
• Managed the implementation of VAT
Real Estate Operations (managed and supervised a team of 25)
• Maintained the occupancy levels in the Real Estate portfolio as well as ensuring best possible rentals in the existing market scenario thereby beating the budget and market estimate for the year
• Drove the energy saving measures for the buildings and other cost reduction initiatives in general
• Ensured Yield maximization
Fund-raising
• Cash and treasury management
• Successfully arranged for leverage in excess of USD 35 million with a local bank at the best possible rates with room for enhancement in the future by keeping a low LTV
• Successfully raised debt & facilities of more than USD 50 million with an Islamic Bank for various capital projects across the group
Legal, contracts & negotiations
• Liaised with internal Group Legal Counsel on various legal matters and contracts
• Reviewed, analysed & recommended improvements in contracts to ensure consistency and compliance with the company policies, objectives and standards
• Led the process of negotiations with banks & various service providers resulting in better commercial terms (including reduced rates / increased scope of service)
• Negotiated and achieved Y-on-Y cost savings on the general insurance coverage for the group companies keeping the scope of coverage unchanged
IT
• Championed the implementation of the Oracle ERP system for OPN, eAM & Finance for the group companies within the time frame set despite numerous iterations of the scope of requirements
Leadership
• Lead a finance team of 7 encompassing operations, decision support, financial planning, reporting and analysis, controllership, and legal for the relevant companies as well as the owner
• Lead a team of 3 encompassing business operations, financial planning, reporting and controllership for the real estate business
• Assigned KPIs, monitored and evaluated performance and mentored the team to achieve peak performance
• Established & implemented departmental KPIs ensuring consistency with the KPIs of the organisation and effected improvements
Finance & treasury operations (managed a team of 7)
• Brought discipline in the accounting process
• Directed the development, preparation and interpretation of the budget, company financial reports and statements, audit reports and other information documents of the company ensuring accuracy and compliance with all relevant laws
• Managed the financial close process on a monthly basis
• Directed and oversaw the planning and implementation of the policies and procedures as required to manage the financials
• Active participant in strategic decisions
• Co-ordinated with auditors
• Cash, treasury and investment management for the group as well as the owner
• Fund-raising
• Obtained bank finance pre-approval for prospective clients for our real estate development
Real Estate Operations (managed and supervised a team of 3)
• Met with investors and end users for the real estate projects to finalise the sale transaction
• Supervised the process of listing the real estate units on the Oqoodi portal
• Co-ordinated with banks for release of funds from the escrow accounts for the real estate projects
• Settlement of disputes with real estate investors during the financial crisis of 2008
Legal, contracts & negotiations
• Liaised with external law firms on various legal matters
• Prepared the purchase and sale agreements for our real estate developments
• Reviewed, analysed & recommended improvements in contracts to ensure consistency and compliance with the company policies, objectives and standards