Alaa Salama

Leading and directing finance and accounting function to ensure sound business strategy and fiscal performance for the Aramco SAR 2B Construction Project. Ensuring full compliance with signed agreements with clients and suppliers. Implement standards, procedures, policies, and controls across all units. Prepare corporate budgets, forecasts, and variance reports. Provide financial analysis and guidance to benefit decision making processes. Uphold cash management directives. Administer and maintain financial systems. Oversee nine members of the finance team.
 Participating in Islamic Project Financing process of a loan amounted SR 2B
 Participating in the Swap Hedging process with banks to mitigate the Profit Rate Risk
 Reviewing and commenting on all legal agreements
 Monitoring the drawdown to reduce the Finance Cost as much as possible.
 Providing strategic recommendations to the CEO and members of the executive management team.
 Ensuring full compliance with all executed versions of agreements including but not limited to business-related regulations, Banks, Aramco, customers, and suppliers
 Ensuring legality and at Arm’s length transactions with related parties.
 Leading, directing and managing finance and accounting team
 Managing the processes for financial forecasting and budgets, and overseeing the preparation of all financial reporting
 Advising on long-term business and financial planning
 Establishing and developing relations with senior management and external partners and stakeholders
 Reviewing all formal finance, HR and IT related procedures

Manage finance and accounting function to ensure sound business strategy and fiscal performance for the PPP project. Ensuring full compliance with concession agreement and other agreements with clients and suppliers. Implement standards, procedures, policies, and controls across all units. Prepare corporate budgets, forecasts, and variance reports. Provide financial analysis and guidance to benefit decision making processes. Uphold cash management directives. Administer and maintain financial systems. Oversee nine members of the finance team.
 Provided valuable financial analysis and critical insights on business activities, targets, and drivers to ensure effective navigation of potential risks by executive leaders.
 Quickly earned credibility while serving as trusted advisor and create strategist for senior teams and advising on avenues for business growth and development.
 Developed stance to maintain robust and compliance financial systems for both existing and future growth states.
 Adjusted internal policies to reflect most current regulatory guidelines and ensure effective risk management for capital requirements, debt, taxation, equity, disposals, and acquisitions.

Maintain senior-level financial accountability for holding group maintaining portfolio in real estate and development, aviation, wholesale, software, and hospitality. Ensure fulfillment of quality and productivity targets while overseeing cost and inventory accounting, AP/AR, general ledger maintenance, and financial statement preparation functions. Research and resolve budget variances and technical accounting issues. Coordinate internal and external reporting requirements as well as month- and year-end close processes. Devise and document core business processes, accounting policies, and internal controls. Liaise with senior managers, executive leaders, external auditors, and business stakeholders.
 Ensured highest levels of quality of audited financial reports by implementing final quality review step and leading discussion with top levels of management prior to issuance.
 Met banking industry requirements for documentation to support new facility lines and enable renegotiation of credit periods and pricing for current lines.
 Improved posture for risk management by leading efforts to continually improve systems, policies, and procedures.

Key Responsibilities:
• Interprets financial results and recommends business alternatives to improve financial standings at the strategic level.
• Provides financial assistance and support such as cost / benefit return on investment and capital resource analysis for corporate projects and activities, including new business opportunities, proposals and bids, major contracts, system conversions, and new product development.
• Helps direct the design, development, testing and implementation of financial and reporting system updates and enhancements, including updated internal controls
• Prepares and presents regular and ad hoc analysis to diverse audiences on a variety of Company historic and proposed activities, including implications for current and future operations.
• Supports the company’s cost containment process by:
• Provides business areas with comprehensive analysis and recommendations to establish and execute detailed negotiation plan strategies and tactics
• Analyze revenues, liabilities, credit conditions, and other financial indicators to forecast its short, medium, and long-term cash flow position.
• Advise senior management on financial matters and on the potential impact of current and future laws and regulations on the operation of the organization.
• Provide technical expertise and advice on financial issues to functional or operational areas managers to help them develop revenue and expense budgets, understand financial reports, and manage their financial responsibilities.
• Prepare the organization’s financial reports and present findings and recommendations to the top executive management.
• Demonstrates a high degree of understanding of financial concepts and principals to adequately support budget development (i.e. ROI, NPV, detail margin and underwriting financial development).
• Oversees auditing projects and interacts with internal and external auditing teams.
• Provide coaching, develop skills, deepen learning, and improve performance of employees and peers.
• Apply knowledge of business and personal objectives to key players and get them personally committed to the success of the Finance initiatives.

Promoted to lead AP accounting operations for wholesale medicines company. Guaranteed accuracy of recorded transactions and reconciled account records and invoices. Monitored compliance with applicable accounting standards and corporate policies and procedures. Produced standard and ad hoc reports. Contributed to budget, cost, accounting, and expense analysis. Allocated tasks among teams and provided direction and support. Routinely liaised with department heads and other senior staff to discuss finance and accounting matters. Led change management and improvement initiatives.
 Played key role in leading effective implementation of Oracle R12 company-wide.
 Captured $58M USD through claims and collections from trade suppliers following market changes.
 Designed new recording process to enable seamless close process while maintaining integrity of sub-ledger accounts and allowing for proper clearing of Oracle suspense accounts.
 Introduced new finance and business performance analysis to improve cost control results.

Notable Accomplishments (Senior Accountant):
• Enhanced the overall efficiency and effectiveness of accounting operations by automating the following functions in Oracle E-Business Suite:
o AP invoices in ORACLE including trade payable.
o Journal vouchers in the general ledger as required.
o Debit notes for suppliers and reconciliation of internal records with supplier records.
Key Responsibilities (Senior Accountant):
• Evaluated financial transactions prior to making entries in the financial accounting system and properly accounted for settlements, inventories and payroll.
• Prepared monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements comprising of Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement and Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity.
• Gauged financial performance of the corporation with the assistance of a team and developed useful insights to support executive management in solving complex problems associated with the profitability of the corporation.
• Leading the inventory physical count committees at the end of each accounting period.

Notable Accomplishments:

• Advised executive management on how to retain focus on core business functions and avoid unnecessary expenditures on non-value generating activities to enhance the bottom-line of the corporation.
• Reduced the number of misappropriations linked with sales and purchases by streamlining the process for evaluating sales and purchase invoices and their associated entries in the financial accounting system.
• Prepared financial statements in alignment with applicable financial reporting standards after making 10, 000+ error free accounting entries.

Key Responsibilities:

• Evaluated financial transactions, prepared journal entries and posted them in the relevant ledger accounts.
• Scrutinized inventory records through physical counts at regular intervals.
• Kept close tabs on all activities linked with budgeting, sales invoicing and cost & expenditure controls.
• Processed the payroll on a monthly basis after incorporating leaves and benefits inclusive of end of service benefits.
• Assessed financial performance of the corporation and highlighted key areas of concern to facilitate strategic planning and decision making.

Accountant under training