Haider Najim

Head the Internal Audit of a publicly listed, fully integrated & the largest real estate development company in Abu Dhabi with a total real-estate development portfolio in excess of USD 15 billion & turnover in excess of USD 1.25 Billion for 2015. Following the merger, the operational businesses managed by ALDAR expanded in size to include shopping malls (316, 311 sqm. leasable area), community retail (78, 979 sqm. leasable area), hotels (2, 536 rooms), residential communities (5, 871 units), commercial properties (229, 542 sqm. leasable area), links golf course, marinas, schools (5, 082 pupils), operating village (25, 824 capacity), catering, property & facilities management as well as construction.

Functionally report to the board of directors & audit committee & administratively to the CEO. Recruited to set up and establish the internal audit function & revamp the company’s governance systems of processes, risk management & internal controls.

Set up a broad & progressive Internal Audit Department that is perceived as a collaborative, value-adding team & proactive change facilitator supporting the various areas of the business.

Successfully completed a regulatory quality review by Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) over ALDAR’s internal audit approach & related governance framework & practices.

Developed ALDAR’s post-merger integrated governance framework & related policies as well as a comprehensive new company-wide delegation of authority.

Spearheaded the unification & review of the merged company’s processes, policies & procedures.

Assisted in the overhaul of the merged company’s extensive list of subsidiaries, joint ventures & affiliates that operate across a diverse range of business segments.

Cascaded the new corporate governance model & processes across the various subsidiaries & joint ventures that are to be maintained within the merged company.

Developed departmental risk register to assist the risk management committee’s objective to employ enterprise risk management.

Developed a monitoring mechanism to track progress of implementation of agreed action plans that hold senior management accountable by successfully including it as part of their annual performance assessment.

Established a compliance function within the department to facilitate implementation & adherence to the company’s policies and procedures.

Established a structured & transparent investigation processes that is recognized for being comprehensive, balanced & fair to all parties involved.

Cultivated & maintained relationship with all business process owners despite difficult & sensitive issues & recommendations made to management & the audit committee.

Standardised internal audit methodology through the development of Internal Audit Manual, risk review & reporting templates as well as enhanced application & utilisation of automated auditing tools (e.g. ACL).

Functionally report to the board of directors and audit committee & administratively to the CEO. Recruited to head & setup the internal audit & compliance function & review the company’s compliance to applicable rules and regulations of regulatory bodies such as the UAE Central Bank, SCA, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) & Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

Developed a comprehensive operations manual for the entire activities of a fully owned subsidiary engaged in brokerage activities to ensure compliance & adherence with the applicable rules and regulations of regulatory bodies.

Assisted in a gap analysis & monitored the implementation of a new IT system for a subsidiary with particular emphasis on the system’s risk management functionality.

Coordinated with the external auditors on their reviews & financial audit of the Company & its subsidiary.

Managed assurance & business advisory engagements spanning across a diverse range of industries including banking & financial institutions, real estate & construction, hospitality, oil & gas, & trading, among others. Recruited as a trainee in the audit department in February of 1998 & successively promoted to positions of increased responsibility based on consistently exceeding firm & client goals and expectations.

Specialised in the provision of assurance & business advisory services for financial services institutions. Senior Manager reporting to the engagement partner on the most profitable & one of the largest banks in the UAE, one of the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world as well as managing the largest exchange houses in the region and insurance company.

Met & exceeded client expectations in standards of service & client care ensuring technical correctness, completeness & presentational standard of all client deliverables.

Identified new business opportunities & positioned the firm to obtain repeat &/or referred business & approved engagement budgets & negotiated fees, where appropriate.

Conducted meetings & presentations to the audit clients regarding the result & status of the audit & prospective clients on various business proposals.

Lead & coordinated planning & management of assignments in an effective & efficient manner in accordance with the firm’s methodologies & guidance, professional standards, & local legal & regulatory requirements

Established realistic but challenging budgets & monitored time spent on a regular basis throughout an assignment.

Counseled, coached and mentored staff.