Haris Kidwai

A private equity group focused on transforming under-performing companies into better-performing businesses. Responsible for monitoring, oversight and financial reporting, ensuring accuracy and reliability of financial information.

Provide expert consultation to the CFO and other executives on matters relating to financial accounting and reporting.

Manage the external reporting and compliance process, monitor quarter end and annual closing of books of account (stand alone and consolidated).

Aid the senior management in the design and development of key financial reports and analysis.

Perform health check of subsidiaries and monitor critical components of business such as credit risk, capital adequacy, debtor analysis, cash flow analysis and compliance with mandatory disclosure requirements.

Implement and manage accounting services and document processes to ensure reliable and accurate financial reporting for clients. Evaluate the efficiency of internal systems and controls, identify process improvements and introduce best in class practices to meet organizational goals while adhering to organization policies and
procedures.

Manage finance operations by utilizing Shared Services Centre model to improve operating
performance with measurable outcomes and transfer of risks. Establish books of account for small and medium businesses including defining the chart of accounts, transaction mapping, consolidation and aligning the financial statement closing process (FSCP). Provide recommended insight on how to improve record to report (R2R) process leading to improvements in data quality and lesser reliance on highly centralized business
models.

Key Accomplishments:

• Facilitated clients in achieving compliance related objectives involving preparation of statutory financial statements and prudential returns utilizing IFRS and local regulatory framework knowledge. Utilized statutory reporting tools on complex engagements, thus providing greater efficiency and cost savings and ultimately offering competitive pricing to clients.

• Consistently achieved all KPIs and SLAs annually; resulted in strong relationships with clients such as Cisco, Microsoft, British Telecommunications, Lego, Duracell, Thomson Reuters, Dell, HMD (Nokia Mobile), and SAP.

• Set up online real time dashboards for multi-jurisdictional clients to manage deliverables and track progress of their engagements. Result driven dashboards further reinforced adherence to client SLAs and helped achieve a close to 98% SLAs fulfilment.

• Led and mentored teams (in-house and back-office) by allocating budgets, timelines, setting clear expectations and monitoring performance. The Global Delivery Services team in EY India office was responsible for service delivery, while the on-site team in EY Dubai office was responsible for review and finalization of deliverables.

• Managed record to close process of clients by deploying shared services and sub-contracting of work to local jurisdictions which facilitated clients in reducing their operational costs, avoid CAPEX, reduce their risk of regulatory exposure and improve their process sustainability and flexibility through global delivery.

• Managed technical areas of client engagements requiring research and analysis, alignment of key systems and processes and identification of areas requiring improvement in data quality. Collaborated with different service lines within EY to undertake engagements and work within a blended team. Pivotal focus would be towards data quality and completeness before deployment of performance improvement measures.

• Engaged with clients senior management to discuss and advise on key financial metrics, offering
suggestions on improving their reporting practices and leading to reduced month end reporting timelines. This was achieved by means of revamping clients record to report cycle, advising on system change, analysing current state vs. target state and suggesting the use of technology, for example, investing in cloud technology or automation of routine and mechanical tasks.

• Recognised by management as a top performer and received highest evaluation rating annually with consecutive promotions.

Conducted audit planning and procedures on key business processes. Reviewed financial statements and prepared deliverables such as management letters and presentations for the audit committee. Assessed the efficiency and effectiveness of clients’ internal controls, reported systematic errors and fraud indicators, and analysed account balance and transaction variances.

Key Accomplishment:

• Received a letter of recommendation from the Firm Partner for an excellent work performance during the audit training program.