Chief Rating Officer
PACRA | A Company set up by World Bank and Fitch
Total years of experience :22 years, 8 Months
The first to be formally named and designated Chief Rating Officer in Pakistan ever since the inception of rating industry in Pakistan. It is a proud achievement, which makes me humble from within. All praise to Allah Almighty. Immense gratitude.
Under my stewardship of the ratings function, PACRA made history of achieving 600+ ratings in Pakistan - again first ever in the country. The number is still growing.
My role is primarily executive management and oversight of 600 + ratings portfolio, with a Team size of seven units each comprising from five to seven.
It was a journey of 15 years to reach here. It was smooth yet tumultuous. Clear yet hazy. Defined yet open ended. I was not made for the title of CRO, for there was none. Not in PACRA but across Pakistan. It was made for me. Alhamdulillah. Everything is possible @ PACRA. It gives you the key. The key that helped unlock my potential. We are great. PACRA makes us greater.
(reporting to Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer)
• Budgeting, business & financial plans and strategy formulation
• Financial analysis, sensitivity and scenario analysis
• Risk modelling, model validation and back testing / methodologies
• Model automation, technology integration and MIS
• Cash flows management, debt structuring and financial alternatives
• Research, reporting writing and presentations
• Client management (150 + clients) & team mentoring (12 analysts)
• Accounts, audit and taxation / fee, billing and receivables
• Secretarial affairs / Compliance / regulatory filings
• Liaison with regulators (SECP and SBP) and other agencies
• Business development / cross sell / market awareness
In Credit Ratings : :
My role is three pronged:
1. Permanent Rating Committee Member (Rating Committee finalizes all credit opinions and I am a permanent part of it. Each credit decision requires my input.)
2. Member Criteria Group (Criteria for Credit Opinions is developed, refined and finalized by the Criteria Group. It is an all-encompassing job, requiring identification, quantification and modelling of risks -- both macro and micro -- which may affect the credit Opinion)
3. Unit Head Ratings, my job profile is multi-faceted:
I. Ensure quality and efficiency in the credit risk assessment process
II. Development of risk metrics and mapping of risk onto those metrics
III. Risk assessment Methodology for new and existing sectors and clients
IV. Presentation before the Risk Committee to finalize models and metrics
V. Financial Modeling of risk to quantify subjective and objective risk parameters
VI. Risk Assessment at sectoral and economic level
VII. Documentation of risk in clear and crisp reports
VIII. Sovereign Risk assessment insofar it has bearing on the client’s risk profile
IX. Sectoral and Economic Studies and modeling
X. Challenging the opinions presented in the Rating (Assessment) Committee
XI. Compliance with local laws and international best practices (mainly IOSCO Code of Conduct)
XII. Technology automation of models and processes
XIII. Motivation and encourage of team members
XIV. Performance evaluation ensuring fairness and objectivity
XV. Contribution in the business development activities of the company
My expertise is risk assessment, particularly credit risk assessment. The exposure that I have had to multiple sectors of the economy, as an analyst and as a team leader, has enabled me to identify, evaluate and quantify the risk. For this, one has to have a strong grip on business dynamics and financial modeling of risk. Besides a refined judgment and incisive intuition is also a pre-requisite - with which I am blessed. Quantitative factors also have a qualitative story to tell. I have eyes to read and interpret this story and give it a numeric value. My approach towards risk assessment is top down: Macro-economic (taking overview of socio-political risk as well), Sector and all the way down to the entity.
Worked as Manager Administration and Accounts. My job responsibilities include:
o Overseeing Accounts and Finance Functions (from scratch to preparation of financial statements & audit).
o Dealing with donors’ inquiries and Governing Body Members.
o Coordinating with the President Al-Mawrid in managing the academic projects in progress (additional charge).
I participated in/conducted different statutory and compliance (internal) audit assignments. Responsibilities included considering the audit approach, tailoring the audit program according to the nature of assignment, noting/flowcharting the client’s accounting and control environment, evaluating the related control risk, coordinating the delivery of statutory audit evidence, establishing the materiality level, evaluating evidence collected for the statutory audit, coordinating and reviewing the work done by team members and making judgment about the appropriateness of the accounting and other estimates made by the management in the financial statements. The statutory audit normally and compliance audit always culminated in compilation of all audit findings and communicating the same to the client in the form of a management letter.
Dissertation done on Impact of Credit Ratings on the Stock Exchange, the first such thesis in Pakistan
Accounts and Finance