Chief Financial Officer
Al Reem Hospico
Total years of experience :27 years, 2 Months
•Studied and identified potential acquisitions and prospective ventures within the industry.
•Designed, implemented and monitored internal controls for the purpose of ensuring strict compliance ad protecting the integrity of company’s assets.
•Determined operational feasibility of the software by evaluating analyses, problem definition, discussed requirements, solution development with SAP consultant and proposed solutions.
•Undertook responsibility for data migration and conversion activities such as extraction, transformation, migration, validation and reconciliation of data.
•Analyzed COGS and margin reports & variances on different product lines of the factory providing the profit analysis and reviewed capacity utilization
•Prepared annual budget and business plans for initiatives to increase sales and savings in cost of production
•Reviewed operating results, compared with budget and performed comprehensive variance analysis and determined the root cause for significant variances
•Ensured VAT compliance, checked VAT reconciliations, filing of tax returns and tax payments on time
•Coordinated with bank to ensure availability of finance facilities for working capital to ensure smooth business operations and AED 89 million Medium Term Loan for capital expenditure and controlled Capex spend
•Examined, advised and amended Letters of Credit and trade documents for adherence to LC terms in accordance with UCP 600
•Coordinated with IT Department to resolve system integration issues in the ERP modules and efficiently managed the month end closing cycle
•Performed profitability analysis for different product mix for major projects at various price levels and productivity level
•Acted as the liaison with bankers, insurers, auditors, government agencies regarding financial transactions
•Led the corporate finance team supporting CEO and Group Finance Manager. Member of the senior management team responsible for strategic planning.
•Supported senior managers to understand individual income streams and the budget process by providing analyses and evaluations in review meetings
•Provided decision support to senior management including unit General Managers - advised on the financial implications and consequences of business decisions
•Developed finance team to drive disciplined growth and strengthen controls
•Reviewed and consolidated financial statements of five factories and reported quarterly performance as per Securities and Commodities Authority requirements
•Participated actively in monthly management meetings, strategic business meetings and contributed with inputs and analyses
•Includes streamlining the Accounting Department of a property development company with major development projects
•Reviewed Income Statements, Balance Sheets and Cash Flow Statements
•Designed and generated accurate management reports, statistical reports and provided management with analyses and recommendations
•Trained staff to prepare budget, analyzed closely actual costs with the budgets and rolling forecasts
• Monitored contractors billing, payments from Escrow Accounts, ensured compliance of relevant regulations and recommended processes to check consultants’ Project Status Reports adhered to the terms of contract
Headed Accounting and Finance functions of the company with projects in UAE, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia with three divisions - Project Management, Commercial Services and Consulting.
•Monitored closely profitability of large projects, advance payments, billing and collection processes - analyzed cost escalations and explored potential problems with project managers
•Analyzed financial statements, key ratios including productivity, return on Productive Staff Cost and trends to draw future forecasts
•Established overhead recovery rates on projects to ensure that the forecasts are accurate and the charge out rates generated expected returns
•Effected reduction in overheads by controlling enquiry costs and other expenses
•Coordinated and maintained arrangements for the accurate assessment of accruals including the provision of robust analysis of key variances and monitored costs continuously to ensure that they are within the allotted limits and proper approvals are in place for any variation
•Ensured smooth cash flow and closely monitored Performance Bonds
•Reviewed the Project Summary Reports and challenged Project Managers on the costs to complete and the accuracy of forecast
Headed Accounting and IT functions of the company with three profit centers. Contributed to turnaround of a loss-making division to a profitable one through feasibility study of conferences and events, cost reduction, identification of low-margin events and opportunities for high-yield conferences, sponsorships and managed events. Record of 100% clean audit reports during tenure. Received an award for best reporting in terms of timeliness and accuracy across the group.
•Performed in depth analysis & costing in arriving at viability of new events, joint ventures and repeat conferences
•Liaised with bank and coordinated with treasury to maintain smooth cash flow and controlled finance cost
•Reconciled, agreed, netted and settled inter-company balances with respective branches / group treasury and resolved issues with counter parties
•Ensured proper accrual of commitments and allocation of prepaid expenses for responsible departments and ensured that expenses are captured to the right projects
•Migrated successfully all accounting data from Sage Line 100 to CODA software which included accounts mapping, validations and reconciliations
•Prepared the income statements and balance sheets and met management reporting deadlines in monthly cycles
Designed exception reports and generated MIS reports on a need basis to highlight the information that needed management attention. Implemented the accounting and reporting system for a new line of business started by the company.
•Supervised general ledger, accounts payable and accounts receivable functions - ensured disbursements are captured properly
•Coordinated closely with cost centre managers to provide a comprehensive accounting support service, including the provision of financial information and flash reports to senior management
•Performed sector wise cost and utilization study and persuaded management to review existing arrangement for slot costs
TRAINING
•Professional training in Auditing with a Public Accounting firm and Cost & Management Accounting training in a manufacturing company in India.