Finance Manager
Savills Real Estate LLC
Total years of experience :13 years, 2 Months
• Implemented online payments and other payment solutions for Sharjah office
as these were carried out manually before
• Developed sound financial systems and reporting packs for Sharjah and
automated processes to reduce the risk of fraud
• Developed division wise profitability reports and a sound invoicing process for
Sharjah which was implemented across the UAE
• Assisted in development of financial reports to group company using Hyperion
and local systems
• Assisting the Regional Finance Team during monthly reporting, quarterly
reforecasting and budgeting processes for all middle east entities
• Monitor and prepare day to day financial operations within the company
• Liaise with internal and external auditors. Involved at all stages including
implementation of suggested improved processes.
• Track the company’s financial status and performances on a regular basis to
identify areas for improvement
• Prepare and submit monthly, quarterly and yearly management reports on a
timely manner in line with Group reporting schedule and in line with IFRS
• Seeking ways to reduce costs in line with budget and assist management with
financial decisions
• Manage cash flows regularly in line with business and reporting requirements
• Correspond and assist internal departments by developing financial strategies
(Valuation, Sales & Leasing, Property Management)
• Prepare and submit VAT returns internally for the UAE
• Go to person for finance related issues in Sharjah Business Unit
• Book supplier invoices and maintain reconciliations on a regular basis
• Payroll preparation and processing for 50 staff
• Perform other reporting ad hoc finance and compliance duties
• Work closely with the accounting team to ensure accurate financial accounting
and financial reporting
• Select, engage with consultants, and carry out VAT process for the Group
• Prepare, analyze & present monthly financial reports including monthly P&L by
company, monitor budget vs actual by company
• Reconciles intercompany balances for group companies on regular basis
• Coordinate with the Lab In-charge and Inventory controller monthly to ensure
Inventory is updated, to reconcile balances for the group companies
• Supervise the finance team to ensure proper functioning of systems, financial
software as well as accounting standards are applied
• Undertake and oversee month-end closing, constantly reviewing procedures
while eliminating efficiencies
• Undertake and review all month-end closing activities, that is GL Recon, Bank
Recon, Revenue and Overhead allocation
• Assist the Finance Director with external auditors by preparing & managing
support to external auditors till audit finalization
• Managing 11 legal entities in terms of accounting and finance with a team of 8
members in terms of closing and reporting
Circulating and preparing Payment vouchers and Statement of accounts on a regular basis. Also preparing payments by bank transfer and cheque • Daily correspondence with vendors on queries over email and phone • Involved in the migration from manual to semi-automatic payment planning process for almost 700 merchants • Prepare regular reconciliations between merchants and non-merchants • Produce ad hoc sales reports for the Management, CEO and Sales Team • Constantly maintaining vendor files and discussing any changes with the Sales Team. Discussions include updating bank details, payment terms, redemption basis options • Involved in the daily data upload from the website to the accounting system • Ensuring the daily data upload is accurate and any changes or differences observed are communicated with the Production and Sales Team • Assist with monthly end closing by preparing significant account reconciliations and assist the group Finance Manager with monthly reports • Assist with the year-end audit by providing supporting documents and preparing necessary reconciliations for the stand-alone financials • Assist with the consolidated management financials from scratch and involved in discussing differences with the auditors. • Prepare non-merchant payments by bank transfer or by cheque • Maintenance of accounting system to support business requirements of the Group • Preparing weekly and monthly Intercompany reconciliations for the Group • Any adhoc tasks given by Finance Manager/CFO
• Introducing and implementing SAP Business One for one of the companies in the Group operating in the Food and Beverage industry. Also, collaborating with the SAP team on a continuous basis whilst involved in the parallel adoption and ensuring successful implementation • Performing closing inventory and preparing monthly inventory reconciliations as per management deadlines • Review management accounts submitted by accountants with the Finance Manager and submit them to the Group CFO • For those companies operating in the Hospitality industry, responsible for preparing and analyzing daily and weekly sales reports for submission to the Finance Manager, Group Financial Controller, Group Finance Officer and Group CEO • Involved in the month end group financial reporting for companies included under the hospitality group and companies operating in the other industry • Assisting in the preparation of quarterly and yearly budgets, monitor monthly actual vs budget to correct deviations. • Review and support regular Accounts Receivable meetings to constantly follow up on collection • Liaising with external auditors for individual companies by ensuring the audits run smoothly and are completed on a timely basis • Assisting the Finance Manager with other ad hoc requests such as due diligence projects by obtaining the desired information and computing necessary financial information for senior management investment decisions
• Worked as an assistant auditor and senior auditor on several clients operating in various industries such as hospitality, HR solutions and waste management, consumer and electronics, trading, financial services • On group audits, contributed to team effort by accomplishing assigned audit procedures and resolving review notes assigned by the audit supervisors, managers and partners • Planned several audits from the initial stages by preparing briefing materials, setting up meetings with the client and immediate audit managers and partners to ensure smooth completion of jobs • Performed and completed audit procedures for statutory and interim audits by using integrated and specialized Grant Thornton software tools • Analyzing, comparing and highlighting large and unusual movements on the financial accounts and balances such as revenue, expenses, assets, payroll, inventory and other head office/management balances (e.g. reviewing and working on revenue and inventory reports, gratuity computations, asset computations, bank reconciliations, internal audit reports, minutes of meetings, budgets and forecasts and other management reports) • Prepared planning, discussion and conclusion reports on single handed jobs and assisted in the preparation of reports on group Company jobs used for external and internal purposes • Identified audit issues such as risks and gaps in the control environment throughout the audit, provided suitable recommendations and communicated these through regular client and audit team discussions, with the final conclusions being documented in the reports • Involved in producing financial statements for the audit reports and resolving any discrepancies and review comments made by the audit manager, partner and clients • Responsible for coaching of junior members on several jobs through onsite training, delegating work and reviewing completed areas of the audit • Completed international engagements from the Grant Thornton UAE office with clients located overseas through constant conference calls, email discussions and follow ups • Conducted and prepared revenue certification reports of various mall tenants for submission to the property developers and special agreed upon engagements upon liaising with the clients, senior audit managers and partners