Regional Head of Audit
Nestle
Total years of experience :25 years, 3 Months
Overall six years of experience as Head of Internal Audit including 3 years in Pakistan.
• Managing the audit region of 15 countries for Middle East, Pakistan and Turkey (three markets).
• Any fraud and other investigations regarding Business Principles and Code of Conduct within compliance domain are managed by me.
• Reporting to Compliance and Control Committee in Middle East and the Group Audit in Swiss headquarters. Also managed the Statutory Audit Committee in Pakistan alongside management Audit Committee.
• Reinforced Integrity Reporting System (covering whistleblowing) and integrated with Compliance Committee Agenda including relevant key Compliance and Control subjects.
• Leading a team of 12 people including two managers across the region with the vision to drive discipline and add value.
• The audited universe covers all businesses (Food and Beverage, Waters, Nutrition, Professional), business functions, factories, shared services, various processes and projects across the region.
• Developing audit plan based on risk assessment and stakeholder’s input and managing its execution.
• Manage audit plan execution with highest professional quality, communicating results and getting action plans from management and publishing audit reports across the group.
• Aligned audit practices with globally accepted audit practices leading to audit department certification by Group Audit in Switzerland.
• Have raised awareness across organization around policies and control systems through different initiatives.
• Participated in missions with Group Audit Team in Switzerland, and audited three factories in UK.
Acting as business controller, drove significant initiatives to achieve the business growth and profitability targets by making pricing decisions and cost reduction initiatives. This led to net profit of 5% in 2007 from a loss making situation in previous year. The role spanned:
• Developing and aligning business strategy to ensure sustainable profitable growth
• Managing rolling budgets/dynamic forecasts
• Financial reports analysis on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis
• Analysis for new or existing products for product portfolio optimization
• Investment analysis for the expansion plans/new investments
• Managed the strategic initiative of growing the dairy supply base by encouraging development of corporate mega farms in Pakistan through investor interaction and lobbying.
Managed the tax affairs of Nestle Pakistan and its subsidiaries under the Tax Risk Management Model with annual tax flows of over USD 10 million, keeping the effective tax rate at an optimum level (29%, for 2005 and 2006, compared to 35% standard corporate tax rate) by employing various schemes of law and restructuring the transactions. This entailed assessing and managing the compliance risk, transaction risk, financial accounting risk and reputation risk. Exposure encompasses
• Successfully dealing with the tax authorities in respect of tax audits and assessments and related proceedings (rectifications, amendments, reviews) in many sensitive and large value cases and other issues like advance rulings, exemption certificates.
• Providing tax advice on various transactions including Shared Services Agreements/Cost Contribution Agreements, Employees Share Options Schemes, Licensing/Technical Assistance Arrangements.
• Have dealt with taxation aspects of mergers and acquisitions of the companies with consequential savings to the company.
• Tax advice on transactions involving associates e.g intra group loans, supply arrangements.
• Ensuring compliance with tax law regarding various reporting requirements specially withholding tax on various transactions of the company including foreign payments to non-residents.
• Won back many old cases in appeals through successful representation before first and second appellate authorities.
• Managing and liaising with external tax advisors wherever necessary
• Planning tax efficient salary structure keeping in view the implications for the employer and employees.
• Working knowledge Double Tax Avoidance Agreements
Audit and Taxation Services
Worked in both Audit and Tax services on a varied portfolio of blue-chip clients.
The highest accouting qualification in the country recognized by International Federation of Accountants
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