Finance Director
KGL Holding
Total years of experience :17 years, 2 Months
Highlights:
• Managed four Finance Managers (Axis solutions, KGL Car rental, KGL PTS Kuwait & UAE) and a team of 30+ members.
• Worked closely with the Board of Directors for cost-saving initiatives during the Covid-19 pandemic - sought new opportunity (Deliveroo) to minimize the company’s operational cost.
• Assigned as a Board Member in Axis Solutions in Jun 2020.
• Secured all the required studies (cash flow) and documents for any new bank facility Loan against contract.
• Efficiently handled KGL Logistic Freight forward business and Warehouse business unit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• Played a key role as the Cost Controller for Kuwait Oil company’s tenders.
• Managed cash flow by tracking transactions and regularly reviewing internal financial reports as well as deferred some bank installments.
• Made strategic decisions about financial and investment opportunities on behalf of company.
Responsibilities:
• Provide global financial leadership to the business and develop strategic and tactical initiatives to measure and evaluate the financial performance of the group.
• Support the senior management team with all financial and commercial matters while providing an accurate overview of the financial status and outlook.
• Monitor the performance of the finance department against pre-set performance goals, propose new initiatives, plans & programs to improve the effectiveness of the finance division & service delivery to other divisions.
• Manage all financial aspects of the company strategy including financial planning and developing financial management mechanisms that minimize the company’s financial risk.
• Prepare forecasts, develop an annual operating budget, implement the budget, monitor adherence to monetary provisions in the budget, note variance, and implement corrective actions during the next budget cycle.
• Forecast cash flow positions, related borrowing needs and available funds for investment; ensure that sufficient funds are available to meet ongoing operational and capital investment requirements.
• Develop and maintain a robust internal control system to safeguard the financial assets of the company; conduct and direct audits and reviews of organization controls, operating procedures, and compliance with policies and regulations.
• Establish and maintain healthy relations with stakeholders, lead development and negotiation of contracts, and assess the benefits of all prospective contracts.
• Ensure that critical financial analyses are performed to determine the present and forecasted financial health of the company; present potential scenarios and outcomes to the senior management team.
• Analyze financial performance against key business metrics and document pertinent financial highlights that will enable management to determine progress against budgets.
• Prepare detailed reports on the company’s financial performance on an annual basis including income statements, balance sheets, reports of annual profits/expenses to interpret the current and projected financial position of the company.
• Maintain updated knowledge of state of the Kuwait & GCC economy, global financial markets, and general current events through regular research and reading.
Highlights:
• Functioned asthefocalpointofcontactforpointforGlobalRetailBrandssuchasStarbucks, H&MandMothercare.
• Played a pivotal role in the acquisition and valuation of Mothercare-Kazakhstan, BestSeller-MENA, Hopduddy-USA, Asha’s Restaurant, Trolley-Kuwait and Bridgewater Chocolate along with property investments.
• Efficiently handledthefinancialplanningandreportingfor7Brands, operatingin16marketsacrossallregions.
• Function as the in-charge of the company Total Open-to-Buy (OTB)for all non-food brands.
• Worked as the Cost Controller for Project Phoenix valuing $250m.
• Successfully achieved saving of up to3%fromtheNon-Stockaccounts.
• Ensured 5% reduction in the headcount in operation and head office staff.
• Stellar role in controlling the OTB of Total Company and reducing it by 6%.
Responsibilities:
• Provided leadership to the team of 5 members with overall control of the company’s accounting and finance function to optimize the company’s financial performance and strategic position.
• Responsible for all aspects of financial management, including corporate accounting, regulatory and financial reporting, and budget and forecast preparation.
• Monitored and analyzed accounting data, oversaw the maintenance of accounting records, verified accounting heads assigned to transactions, and ensured appropriate preparation of GL, trial balance and financial records.
• Developed monthly/annual budget and controlled the operating cost; report to management on variances from the established budget along with the reasons for those variances.
• Forecasted cash flow, predicated future trends, and worked closely with the operations and project teams to analyze margins and cost analysis variances, evaluating the impact on business operations.
• Performed bank reconciliation to compare the balance in the bank as per the company’s accounting records with the balance stated in the bank statement, as well as prepared bank reconciliation statements.
• Maintained updated knowledge of market developments, new investment products and all other areas that can affect the markets such as movements in the economies of relevant countries.
• Conducted due diligence on companies and industries by researching, reading financial statements and market data.
• Processed all aspects of the monthly close of financial records, retrieved necessary month-end statements for the monthly closeout process, reconciled all asset accounts, including bank statements, and prepared financial statements.
• Liaised with external auditors during statutory audits, provided them with required accounting and financial information, and ensured successful completion of audits.
• Provided financial analysis and support to the management, allowing them to make well-informed commercial decisions.
• Analyzed financial data and created financial models for decision support; supported the financial planning process through financial data analysis.
• Consolidated and analyzed financial performance data to ensure integrity for reporting and planning activities.
• Analyzed the financial status of the company by comparing and analyzing actual results with plans & forecasts; improved company’s financial standing by monitoring variances, identifying trends, and recommending actions to management.
• Collated, formatted and maintained budget/financial information for new, existing, and ending contracts.
• Performed cost analysis/cost allocation, P&L analysis and profitability analysis; analyzed other business segment ledgers, ledger accounts, resolved issues, and prepared detailed reports for senior management.
• Provided various reporting analysis support for change in standard cost and for actual vs. standard cost variances.
• Coordinated information flow from different departments and collected all the necessary data to develop financial reports and analyzes.
• Prepared monthly gross margin reports, financial statements and other reports in accordance with IFRS standards.
• Prepared monthly analysis of the financial statements and feedback to management with regards to the company’s actual performance as per the formats approved by management.
• Provided required information to internal & external auditors to facilitate the audit process.
• Ensured adherence to corporate deadlines for the month, quarter and annual close duties and reporting requirements.