Chief Financial Officer
Global Catering Services (Group of Companies)
Total des années d'expérience :27 years, 7 Mois
Analyse investment opportunities (new product line, segment, geographic expansion, new business line, etc.) and provide rational advise to senior management and board on feasible opportunities.
Analyze, evaluate and negotiate majority acquisition of equity shares of existing entities. Analysis and evaluation includes full due diligence and financial modelling.
Development of financial, procurement, supply chain and IT department’s strategies and lead management team to develop operational tools and tactics to implement set strategies.
Work closely with senior management and board to develop and update overall group as well as business units’ business plans and monitor the implementation of business plans at BUs level and group level.
Directly responsible for annual budget preparation of BUs and group based on set business plans and in line with developed strategies and present budget to senior management and board for approval.
Monitor and report on monthly basis BUs results and performance compared to approved budget, report and analyse variances and recommend corrective measures to senior management where applicable.
Produce monthly financial and management reports and detailed analytical reports, present reports to senior management, highlight the areas require attention and provide advice and recommendation on corrective actions as and where applicable.
Prepare high level presentation to the board on quarterly basis. Presentation is prepared in coordination with the CEO and is meant to summarize BUs financial and non-financial results and overall group performance, address areas of potential improvement and issues require board attention and directions.
Produce and update monthly cash flow forecast for each of the BUs and group consolidated to ensure availability of funds to meet current as well as long term commitments, maximize return on excess cash and avoid idle cash.
Evaluate and analyse operational business units and provide rational advice to senior management on tactics to achieve maximum return on investment
Evaluate and analyse non-performing business units/branches/sections/product lines and participate in strategic decisions related to continue vs. cease operations to eliminate losses.
Development and regular update of policies and procedures and process flow documentation. Monitor policies and procedures implementation, review feedback of stakeholders and recommend changes/update to senior management and board.
Maintain excellent relations with local banks to facilitate BUs daily banking requirements and secure financing as part of overall group funding strategy and in line with set business plans. Loans are obtained at best available rates and tenor to support Capex as well working capital needs and maintain flexible cash flow of business units.
Manage finance, IT, procurement and supply chain department heads/managers and set their KPIs, review their performance and provide directions as needed to ensure management team objectives are aligned with overall group set objectives.
Work closely with company lawyers on all legal issues such as review of contracts, agreements, establishment of SPVs, JVs, acquisition and investment deals, conflicts with third parties, legal claims… etc.
Coordinate with HR & Admin to provide adequate insurance coverage (property all risk, vehicle, marine, goods in transit, cash, fidelity, health, business interruption, etc.) for all BUs and monitor the update, upgrade and renewal of insurance policies.
Evaluate and select ERP solution for group and business units and lead the implementation project tam to ensure proper planning and phasing of the implementation and that all modules (Financial, HR, Purchasing, Supply Chain, SOP, CRM, and Consolidation) are properly configured/customized to serve business needs in line with company overall strategies and business plans.
Spearheading & establishing financial policies & procedures for the company in coordination with the independent consultant and senior management of the company.
Identifying risks, implementing effective internal control procedures in cooperation with head quarter in Abu Dhabi; defining authorities and responsibilities and liaising with external auditors for timely completion of audits and quarterly reviews of the financial statements of the company.
Overseeing the timely submission of periodic MIS reports to the senior management and ensuring the monthly, quarterly and annual accounts in accordance with the prevailing laws, regulations and relevant provisions of international accounting standards.
Preparing company’s annual budget and monitoring company’s performance vs budget; provided feedback to the executive management with regards to the performance of executed investments/ projects (Actual IRR, NPV & ROE).
Ensuring the construction of financial and management reporting including the selection & implementation of financial reporting systems, maintenance & verification of all financial records in line with IFRS.
Directing, coordinating and controlling payments to various developers, contractors, consultants, suppliers and vendors; taking care of overall cash Management, cash flow projection and project finance functions.
Involved in the implementation of Oracle Financials for the company and its subsidiaries; supervising the execution of HR and Payroll solution.
Managing project finance through proper debt vs. equity mix of capital; negotiating with banks on loan terms.
Contributed to the formulation of strategies from a financial perspective and ensured proper budget formulation, in line with Burooj policy.
Managed governance in the Finance Department by identifying risks, developing and implementing control procedures in cooperation with internal audit; liaised with external auditors for timely completion of audits and quarterly reviews of the financial statements of the company.
Prepared accurate and realistic forecasts of business performance to Executive Management based on Burooj growth objectives in order to give parties involved tools & information to adequately control business.
Managed and ensured international and national purchases as well as supported in negotiating interconnected issues, within the company guidelines and budget and compliance with local laws.
Ensured future operational funding, in line with Burooj funding strategy as well as built relationships with funding institutions and advisors in order to have cash available and be able to reach financial targets.
Negotiated and arranged project finance and oversaw capital expenditure on projects; took care of cash flow projection and forecast.
Selected and implemented ERP solution for the company and its projects; worked closely with Consultants and the IT department for the development of reports, workflow, project accounting module and FA bar-coding and reporting.
Initiated and implemented authority matrix across company divisions and at all levels.
Involved in the purchasing and tendering processes (reviewing tender evaluation reports, contract approval requests, material requisitions, variation orders and purchasing orders).
Planned and coordinated efforts to ensue optimum financing resources are made available to support company’s growth; prepared monthly cash flow forecast.
Worked closely with the HR department in order to recruit finance staff, evaluate, promote and allocate existing staff.
Ensured control and security of system access privilege for all users.
Significant Highlights:
Initiated processes, policies and systems including in-house development of policies & procedures manual, development of financial accounting systems and monthly MIS, etc.
Participated in the customization and implementation of project accounting and contracts management module.
Head of accounts department, development and implementation of automated accounting system, monthly MIS, control over budgeted expenditure, cost reports by category, cash management, establishing credit line with vendors, correspondence with international education institutions and consultants.
• Accounting & Reporting: I was responsible for timely compiling monthly financial report, including project expenditures, balance sheet, PNL and cash flow. The other related responsibility was Exercising control over project costing system to ensure posting is done to the related project/package/task/activity and chart of costing codes is updated in addition to financial closing of completed projects and transferring their final costs to the related fixed assets.
• Control: Exercising control over payments to consultants, contractors and miscellaneous suppliers in respect of accuracy, documentation and authorization and Verifying payroll prepared by payroll accountant.
• Systems (ERP): Development of new module within SAP for Dubai Festival City to capture costs, payments and commitments of the various zones, projects, subprojects, cost packages and indirect expenses, this task was accomplished in coordination with IT department and development team. The developed Module “Contract Management Module” was able to provide detailed project costs, project commitment reports on both cash and accrual basis.
• Cash Managment: Cash flow forecast, establishing relations with financial institution to raise finance for the project and arrange working capital finance to meet short term obligations.
• Procurement and Contracts: Review contracts with consultants and contractors, create and maintain a contracts record and review material requisitions to ensure terms, conditions and deliverables are in line with company policies and procedures
• Budgeting: Prepare in coordination with GM Finance, Commercial Director and Project Manager annual budget for the company and project life budget for DFC. A monthly variance report is issued detailing projects actual costs in comparison to Budget.
• Consolidation: Participated in the consolidation of Al Futtaim group financials at the year end.
• Head of accounts department, supervising accounting activities, stock Costing (L/C’s costing), stock control and reconciliation, principles’ payments and accounts reconciliation, budgeting of sales, cost of sales, expenses and cash flow, accounts receivable aging, follow up on collections, pending balances, post dated cheques and returned cheques, customers’ credit approval, Sales order approval (after checking customer’s account history in respect of credit limit, payment delays and/or returned cheques), monthly payroll, issuance Of monthly financial statements: balance sheet, income statement and cash flow.
• Head Of Accounts Department, supervising accounting activities, implementation of management policies, controlling and reviewing the accounting process and costing system to make sure that the management objectives are achieved and international accounting standard are applied with maximum accuracy and efficiency, correspondence and negotiation with banks and other financial entities in order to obtain the best facilities, which can satisfy company requirements with bets rate, Arrangement of Suppliers and Sub-Contractors payments to achieve a proper balance between outflow and inflow of cash, preparing financial statement such as: balance sheet, income statement, actual Vs budget projects’ cost report.