Aftab Shaukat

Responsible for the management of Retail Asset Product team to manage retail asset portfolio. Role included end to end (from concept to launch & day to day monitoring) product management.

Operations Management:
~ Manage the Centralized Operations in an efficient and cost effective manner to achieve the accuracy in processing and overall business targets.
~ Ensure efficient and effective delivery of repeatable and reliable operations activities covering the following areas:
o Central Operations - Account Services, Clearings, Payments, SWIFT, Cash Management, Reconciliation and Branches Operations.
o Credit, Pre-paid and Payroll Cards Operations - Card issuance & management, Chargeback, Fraud, Pro-active Risk Management, WPS & Reconciliation of the card activities.
o Retail/Consumer Loan/Card Origination Operations - Loan and Card Origination activities, Blacklist Management, Credit Scoring, Systematic Approval Management & Processing.
o Treasury, Investment and Securities Operations - FX, Money Market, FI Transaction activity and 3rd Party Funds / Investment processing.
o Credit Operations - Loan sanction fulfillment, & administration distribution (Retail, SME, Corporate & Commercial and Institutional segments)
o Credit Administration - Limit, securities, documentation management and custody.
o Trade Finance Operations - LC’s, G’tees, Advance Payment Finance and Invoice/Bills Discounting
~ Appointed as team member for the takeover of the CapM Investments by Finance House, restructuring capital and the operational model.

People Management:
~ Collaborate and support Corporate Communication, Strategic Planning, Finance, Risk Management Division, Collection & Remedial, Call Center, Customer Services and Channels Management Departments for the implementation of organizational strategy to achieve common objective.
~ Proactively liaise with Retail/Consumer Finance, Corporate & Commercial Finance, Trade Finance, Treasury and Investment Departments to align and strategize the Central Operations Department to meet business goals by providing operational infrastructure with structured and planned road maps as per the industry best practices.

Project Management:
~ End to end management of all projects in Central Operations department including Project analysis, Project Planning and Project Implementation in line with overall organization strategy.

Strategic and Advisory:
~ Develop & implement policies, procedures and system for compliance with FATCA.
~ Authorized Category "A" signatory.
~ Developing culture of innovation and creativity to continuously identify and simplify complex transactions by automating processes to a 'click of button solutions'.

Team & Technology Management:
~ Build and develop a professional culture amongst the teams and colleagues to support the delivery of continuous improvements, automations, simplifying & standardizing processes and performance.
~ Ensure the identification and management of underlying regulatory and operational risks, by suitably hiring, training and mentoring staff, throughout the operational environment in line with the Performance Management objectives.
~ Manage team responsible for preparing the BRD, testing & implementing IT solution, including but not limited to the following main systems/solutions:
o Core Banking System T24 from Temenos
o All CBUAE system including Image Base Cheque Clearing System (ICCS), Funds Transfer System (FTS), Direct Debit System (DDS), Wages Protection System (WPS), etc
o CRM Solution - Talisma
o Internet Banking Solution
o Loan Origination System
o Unicentre® Service Desk System
o Performance Management System

Product Development and Integration
~ Manage the product mix and portfolio management strategy planning & design, development, quality assurance, review and handoff phases of the product and business development lifecycle process.
~ Develop & implement new product development ideas, define product requirements/ features and conduct market study.
~ Manage new product development programs, including establishing a project pipeline, developing the business cases, prepare project plans, project analysis and feasibility study for the launch of new products (Islamic & Conventional) offering in the market. Products included Trade Finance, Consumer Finance, Investment, Commercial Paper, Sukuk, Corporate & Commercial Finance, Flexi Deposit, Real Estate Finance SME Finance etc.

Strategic Planning and Leadership
~ Formulate business plans and profitability targets based on thorough analysis and market research for each product, while considering the impact of product pricing and channel cost for each customer segment.
~ Ensure elimination of the concentration, reputation and legal risk and liaison between different departments for proposed amendments and suggestions by developing Service Level agreements (SLAs) and Standard Operating Procedures “SOPs”.
~ Provide support and assistance to group companies Islamic Finance House, Insurance House, FH Securities, FH Capital Limited, etc. related to Product Development and SOPs activities.

Strategic, Advisory & Business Management
~ Functioned as coordinator and liaison person for KPIs setting and monitoring for Balance Scorecard.
~ Conduct regular competitor and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis to establish process, operational, functional and financial standards.
~ Co-ordinate all legal and risk related issues with Compliance, Internal Audit and Legal Counsel; create and update agreements; ensuring all regulatory matters are satisfactorily addressed.
~ Preparation of Business Requirement Document (BRD) and performance of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for different applications.

People Management
~ Conduct periodic product and process trainings to continuously educate employees regarding various products & services offered by FH and relevant SOPs.
~ Kept track of the execution of activities by the staff and monitored the consequences arising from these actions through Balance Scorecard.
~ Function as a member of IPO advisory team to provide Detailed Due Diligence, Corporate Advisory, Valuation and Business Plan services.

Key Result Areas:
~ Manage an effective compliance function in addition to assigned duties for portfolio analysis and review of approved product mix and portfolio management strategies throughout respective product lifecycles.
~ In-depth analysis of Portfolio Performance Indicator and policy review in line with best market practices.
~ Transaction level hind sighting to understand the quality of underwriting, compliance with policy guidelines and provide qualitative feedback to underwriting team.
~ Prepare policies, procedures, processes and controls; to prevent and detect potential non-compliance to approved product strategies, Regulations and International Standards (i.e. Central Bank laws, DFSA Legal Framework, Local (Federal/Emirates) Laws, Basel, Internal Control-Integrated Framework, etc).
~ Performance of compliance and analytical procedures to test the integrity of internal control systems and Compliance.
~ Develop Anti-Money Laundering & Know Your Customer (KYC) policies, procedures and forms.
~ Prepare quarterly and annual reports for the Audit & Compliance Committee and regulators.
~ Assist the senior management to provide compliance advisory services to department heads in the discharge of their duties related to regulatory compliance.
~ Perform compliance reviews of transactions and activities to ensure that they are in accordance with internal policies and procedures, local laws and regulations.
~ Manage the Alert investigation and ensure that investigations are completed to meet regulatory and group standards.
~ Provide guidance and training on implementation of risk base compliance review and sanctions compliance function.
~ Provide advice on compliance & Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/CTF/Sanctions issues that arise through the group companies.

Key Highlights:
~ Established framework, policies, procedures, processes and controls to covers the following aspects of compliance functions across the Finance House:
o Compliance management
o Risk Assessment and Management Policies
o Know Your Customer “KYC” Requirements & Guidelines
o Customer Due Diligence “”CDD and Enhanced Due Diligence “EDD” guidelines
o Training and awareness among all FH employees
o System for detection of unusual and/or suspicious transactions
o System & procedures for monitoring and reporting obligations
~ Prepared Total Enterprise Risk Management (TERM) Guidelines for Finance House (Conformance & Performance).

Responsibilities Include:
Review of Audit working paper files.
Preparation of Financial statements in compliance of GAAP and IFRS
Monitor and arrange the activities of Auditors.
Fraud examination assignments.

Attained extensive practical experience in audits of various types of organizations including quoted, un-quoted, private limited companies and multi-nationals. Scope of work, inter alia, included ensuring compliance with management policies, reviewing existing systems to identify control weaknesses and examining financial statements to ensure compliance with National and International Reporting Frameworks
In addition to audit assignments:q Prepared Financial Statements of various clients including quoted, un-quoted and private limited companies, in the luminosity of local legislations and International Accounting Standards.
Prepared Financial Projections and Feasibility Reports of clients for onward submission to financial institutions for sanctioning of loans and finances.
Carried out Limited Reviews of half yearly financial statements as per statutory and professional requirements.
Provided assistance in developing different Computer Software like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Management Information System (MIS), Inventory Management and Financial Accounting System to different organizations.
Documented, made assessments and suggested improvements in Internal Control systems of various manufacturing concerns.
Provided Tax Consultancy services to various clients including preparation of returns, reply to notices from department and preparing grounds of appeals and representing the clients before Income Tax Authorities.
Provided consultancy to clients in relation to their queries / issues of Sales Tax, Central Excise Duty and Application of International Accounting Standards (IAS’s).
Conducted Special Audits of sales tax under the provisions of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 of various concerns.