Ahmed Bilal

Al Mana Group -is a large conglomerate in Qatar with operations across FMCG (Food and Beverages), Banking, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Construction, retail and services industries. It operates through over 92 companies inside Qatar and wider Middle East and employs over 5, 500 staff. Key responsibilities and achievements in the current role included:
• preparation of monthly, quarterly & annual financial statements & consolidation of group financial statement.
• Preparing feasibility studies & Financial Due diligence for potential investments, Product costing, CVP analysis and analyzing the on-going profitability of all ventures.
• Heading the Internal controls on Financial Reporting (ICFR team) and ensuring that strong financial controls and procedures are in place to provide assurance about FSCP to those charged with governance.
• Advising on end to end process of accounting cycle including P2P, O2C, working capital, payroll, Fixed Assets accounting, Current Assets such as inventory, receivable, Payable and Loans, Equity and P&L and various reconciliations as per IFRS and sector best practice.
• Assist with Business Plans, Budgeting, Forecasting and Variance analysis with Budget to Actual.
• Liaise with Group Finance for treasury functions including Interpreting cash flows, LCs and Loan Restructuring, Financial Policies and Procedures and predicting future trends.
• Delivered presentation about IFRS 9 (ECL Model), IFRS 15, IFRS 16, IFRS 1-41 to Finance Managers/CFO of all group companies.
• Identifying the potential for making financial savings, Cost reduction plan, Profitability improvement studies.
• Review of tax reporting with external consultant.
• ERP implementation and streamlining process flows to get best output from the new ERP in Group companies.
• effective liaison with the External Auditors (EY, PwC, & Deloitte) and compliance with the ISA, ISQC1, IFRS and Code of Ethics requirements.
• Managing Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Risk Register, Heat Map & Risk Dashboard for BOD.

Al Futtaim Group is a large conglomerate contributing 12% in GDP of GCC with operations across automotive, electronics, insurance, Banking, real estate, retail and services industries. It operates through over 200 companies across 30 countries in the GCC and wider Middle East and employs over 42, 000 staff. Key responsibilities and achievements in the current role included:
- planned, designed and implemented an overall Risk Based Audit Methodology, Audit Plans And Audit Programs.
- executed an internal audit plan, internal audit engagement, reporting and follw-up for recommendations and closure.
- lead the project of ERM COSO implementation, , IFRS implementation, IFRP and VAT implementation in UAE.
- leverage Financial & Operational efficiency & effectiveness by deploying process reengineering and robust internal controls while preparing Risk Register, Risk Reporting, and Risk newsletter.
- Ensured compliance of Risk Management Manual, and conducting quarterly training to the concerned corporate managers for risk awareness.
- thorough appraisal of Internal Audit Report and monitoring of KPIs for IA, and followup for Audit Recommendation timely and reporting to Group Audit about status of implementation of each division.
- reviewed more than 300 policies and procedures for automotive, real estate, retail, fmcg, manufacturing, construction & trading enterprises.
- risk reporting in an appropriate way to all concerned Business heads and to the CRO & CIA so they understand the most significant risks, to present it to Risk Committee; Identify controls on Financial and Operational domains.
- Preparation of Compliance & Assurance Report, Risk Register for MD/CEO.
- Periodic Review of Annual Budgets, Forecasts, CEO/Board commentary, Management Pack and Divisional Financial Synopsis.
- Implementation of Risk Management Standard ISO 31000 and lead the project of IMS across the companies.
- Liaise with team implementing SAP FICO & Fastrack Application.

One of the largest commercial banks listed on all the stock exchanges. It operates 1500 branches worldwide spread across 33 countries in the world and 32 subsidiaries/Associate Concerns.
Main responsibilities and achievements included:

- Developed five year Risk based audit strategy supported by Internal Audit Charter, manual and policies and procedures. Made recommendations for improvement in processes. Interviewed key people to strengthen internal audit function.
- Developed annual risk based audit plan and developed the entity Risk assessments philosophy, changes in regulatory, reputation, operation, and Financial Risk. Facilitated risk assessment workshops with senior management and board with emphasis of identification of business risks and discussing strategies to mitigate current and evolving risks.
- Developed risk management framework and communication plan to ensure organisational awareness and control procedures to mitigate Business Risks.
- Periodic reporting to the Audit Committee on the overall progress against approved work plans and advises them on status of key audit issues, Significant Risks, and appropriate Risk response that align Risks and the entity’s Risk appetite.
- Liaison with the COSO ERM Framework and BPR consultant, aligning the objective & components at entity, division and business unit level.
- Develop and discuss findings, recommendations and time lines for corrective action with responsible officer of operations audited and monitor the implementation status of agreed recommendations.
- Training teams on risks assessment, Credit Risk Review, Audit findings and Risk Profiling, Financial Analysis & Control Analysis
- Performing Fraud Controls Gap Analysis and recommending best controls for minimizing the fraud risks within the organization.
- Leading team to rebuild/revise Risk based internal audit manual, Business Risk Review Model, Risk Management Manual and Audit Programs.
- Special internal audit reviews conducted on Audit Committee’s request. This includes reviewing existing control environment and supporting implementation of controls to support the objectives of the review.

Gameview is owned by DeNA Japan, a multi-billion dollar Tokyo Stock Exchange listed global company. The group is heavily involved in online financial solutions, e-commerce, gaming platforms and mobile app solutions. As of 2012 DeNA had an annual turnover of over $2 billion of which 15% ($300 million) was attributable to its going concerns in Pakistan. I am currently leading the Finance division at Gameview and five other local DeNA group companies. Main responsibilities and achievements include:
- Project planning, feasibilities & sensitivity calculations, measurement of cost and projected revenues on the basis of various assumptions; helped Gameview achieve a 5% increase in profitability along with an 8% reduction in costs in 2012;
- Successfully carried out performance improvement activity, customer’s profitability analysis & competitor’s analysis
- Successfully planned and carried out financial, regulatory, compliance and operational reviews in coordination with the Risk, Legal & Compliance functions;
- Preparation of monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements and consolidated reports;
- Preparation of monthly, quarterly & annual budgets using zero based budgeting methodology to eliminate slack and unwanted expenses, continuously updating it in light of current performance and changes in business plan;
- Supervision and day-to-day management of the finance team (10 Staff), overseeing the resolution of financial accounting, management & reporting issues, ensure compliance with the IFRS;
- Liaison with other DeNA entities particularly China, Japan, Singapore, Canada and US to assist in project reporting, ad-hoc reporting, planning tools, Balance Score-cards, and KPI based matrices;
- Intellectual Property registration including foreign contracts to protect proprietary information;
- Liaising with Ernst & Young Tokyo (DeNA Head office) for information request and assisting in group wide assignments and internal audit reviews of local entities;
- Monthly variance reporting against budgets and projected accounts identifying planning gaps and presenting these to the board;
- Member of Steering Committee, Executive Committee, Legal Counsel & Financial Committee;

JS Group has grown from its roots in Pakistan’s financial services industry. JS Financial operates market-leading companies in asset management, investment banking, securities brokerage, commercial banking, insurance and trade finance.

The group also includes five vertical businesses: JS Industrial, JS Infocom, JS Property, JS Resources and JS Transportation.
The group has offices throughout the major cities in Pakistan and manages its international operations from its London and Dubai offices. The group comprises businesses with over 18, 000 employees and profit after tax of $510 million in 2008.
- Supervising the Financial Accounting team consisting of over 20 staff and assisting in day to day financial records managements per statutory requirements and in compliance with the IFRS;
- Updated financial reporting to Business Leadership Team on weekly and monthly basis;
- Cash flow forecasting and overseeing treasury management;
- Due Diligence (Buy Side) studies for potential financial investments;
- Investment Appraisal for new business initiatives including financial feasibilities, review of agreements and negotiation with third parties;
- Lead and successfully conducted the implementation and integration of key ERP modules including General Ledger & Human Resources;
- Providing ad-hoc financial reporting to the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Executive Officer;
- Presented a cost effective plan for infrastructure and support expenditures;
- Preparation of Budgets & Monthly variance reporting against budgets and projected accounts; and
- Compliance with SECP, FBR, & Other statutory organisations in Pakistan.

Whilst working for E&Y Pakistan, I was involved in various assignments across several business areas including Transaction Advisory Services, Business Risk Services and Audit and Assurance Business Services.

Key responsibilities as Audit Senior in Audit & Assurance Business Services included:
- Planning assignments to execute them in effective and efficient manner by assessing systems to evaluate risks involved at business, financial and operational levels including making recommendations for improvement in Accounting and Internal Control Systems;
- Managing client’s portfolio, audit planning, liaison with clients, and successful executions of audits;
- Foreign reporting, internal audits, financial and management consultancy services, statute compliance certifications, and internal control design and evaluation;
- Documented various complex accounting systems using data flow diagrams, ICQ’s and performed walkthroughs, test of controls and substantive procedures on various areas of audit verifying Sales, Inventories, COS, Purchases, Bank, WC, Loans, Equity, Assets (Fixed and current) and Payroll.

- I was seconded to ERNST & YOUNG, SAUDI ARABIA AL-KHOBAR (KSA) where, I worked in multicultural and dynamic environment and applied the latest audit technologies including CASE WARE and GAMEX.