Chief Financial Officer for East Mediterranean Region
Schneider Electric
Total years of experience :17 years, 1 Months
Lead the Finance, Accounting, Contract & Risk Management teams for Schneider Electric East Mediterranean region including Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Cyprus. Reporting to the Zone CFO (Middle East & Central Asia) and dotted-line to the CEO.
Role Summary: Lead the Financial Control team for Schneider Electric East Mediterranean region including Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Cyprus. Main Duties& Responsibilities: - Perform budget & cost control wide planning, scope by country market, entity, and business line objectives “Activity Based Costing” in operating and capital budget processes. - Develop, implement, communicate, and maintain a credit management policy & credit risk for East Med in line with local and corporate policies and ensure its application. - Approve or reject, or coordinate the approval and rejection of lines of credit. - Oversee the flow of cash and financial instruments. - Determine the status of collections and the amounts of outstanding balances. - Analyze and classify risks and investments to determine their potential impacts on the company. - Provide decision support for growth opportunities through country & business analysis. - Develop and analyze information to assess the current and future financial status of firms. - Establish procedures for custody and control of assets. - Prepare financial and regulatory reports required by laws, regulations, and boards of directors. - Monitor Schneider Electric group reporting processes, including business reviews. Special Engagements: Transferring Prices within the Group Delta Price and Delta Volume Calculation & Analysis Standard Costing Study Customer Discounts Control Purchase Orders versus Sales Order Cost Correspondent Performance reports
Reporting to the Finance Manager; Three colleagues under my direct supervision, and I hold a signature in the approval cycle & processes.
General Ledger:
Prepayments, Accruals, Intercompany (sending & receiving monthly Debit/Credit Notes to/from various sister companies with supporting documents & monthly reconciliation process).
Posting transactions and reconciliations with modules in order to comply with the accounting standards (GAAP, IFRS, AIS & Local Regulations).
Fixed Assets: Additions, Depreciations, Retirements and Create Accounting.
Project Accounting & Inventory: Monthly closing transactions of COGS & Sales of projects related with profit margin. Ensure that the amount & quantity of the inventory on the system is identical to the actual inventory.
Budgeting: Preparation, validation & controlling of Cap-ex, Op-ex, P&L by company and departments, projects & tasks. Analyzing utilizations costs & variance costs between standard rates & actual. Annual forecasts & progress against saving plans, through ensuring cost control & reducing costs.
Reporting: Monthly Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Cash Flow. As well, monthly management reporting and Budgeted versus the Actual Variances.
Risk Management & Audit Processes: Making sure that all group policies & procedures are being well applied from financial perspective. Setting Series of monthly control exercises & practices to be held on monthly basis to ensure proper work quality.
Preparing yearly audit file & balances confirmation letters. Keeping abreast of current development in accounting standards and changes in taxation laws.
Governmental Taxation: Yearly fiscal declarations, income & nonresident taxes “WHT”, salaries & cut wages taxes, stamp & custom Duty and quarterly VAT declarations.
Timetable & Deadlines: Setting monthly timetable and deadlines to all accounting & finance sections within; and assuring monthly closing on time.
Assist in the preparation of monthly financial statements (balance sheet, cash flow, bank position, income statement) in order to report the company’s position (allocate expenses, income, accruals, payables, receivables) while ensuring proper recording of all accounting entries. Reporting package including budget-to-actual variation analysis.
Main Duties& Responsibilities:
Examining accounting records and recording accounting transactions in order to properly allocate receivables and payables (transfers, interest, supplier’s payments, client’s collections, and investment in affiliated companies, etc…).
Registering and monitoring financial markets movements & performing periodical valuations.
Prepare and follow up payment of all taxes (the VAT quarterly, Built property tax annually, income tax quarterly, and municipality tax, NSSF).
Preparing monthly billings and following up on collection of receivables.
Reconcile all accounts (suppliers, affiliated companies, petty cash, etc…).
Review bank statements in order to reconcile incoming and outgoing transfers, deposits, verify then record interest and fees calculations and make sure it is in line with signed contracts/agreements. Reviewing procedure for opening LCs & LGs.
Made wire transfers and journal funding transfers and reconciled monthly bank statements.
Training and guiding junior accountants and/or other employees performing related work.
Maintaining daily coordination with subsidiaries, business partners, banks and lawyers.
Coordinating with external auditors for fiscal year closing.
File all documents in line with the e-filing policy and procedure in order to facilitate data extraction for both legal and accounting matters.
Projects handled:
Worldwide fashion, Faconnable Group in Europe & USA.
Real estate in MEA, USA, UK & Europe.
Aviation companies in Geneva.
Petrochemical in British Virgin Island.