Head of Department – Financial Accounting
Ooredoo - Oman
Total years of experience :21 years, 8 Months
The second telecom operator in Oman and a listed company, subsidiary of Ooredoo Group, Qatar, with revenues in excess of USD 700 million and market share of 43%.
• Full responsibility for managing the accounting department
• Monthly finalization of accounts and review of all P&L and Balance Sheet reconciliations
• Review and presentation of quarterly and annual financial statements including notes and disclosures
• Handling all external reporting functions and coordinating with External and Internal Auditors
• Process improvements and alignment of accounting entries as prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
• Undertaking research and coordination with external advisers on accounting treatments for new lines of business and tax implications
• Automation of processes and flow of accounting information from various systems into the General Ledger
• Enhancing the quality of information presented to internal and external parties including relevant disclosures for analysts review and investor presentations
• Preparing, updating and maintaining accounting policies and procedures to reflect current practices and advising departments on various aspects of accounting and control of business activities
• Development of staff and available capabilities within the department through internal and external trainings and in-house workshops
• Prepared and presented long term business plans (3 - 5 years) and annual operating plans for 3 consecutive years.
• Provided variance analysis and management commentary in the monthly and quarterly management packs.
• Modeled and presented with recommendations several strategic business cases having long term financial impacts, regulatory requirements and in country value generation
• Reported and coordinated on a cross functional cost optimization program across the company aiming at a savings in costs of several USD millions over 3 years
• Worked closely with technical experts to submit LRIC models to TRA as part of the license obligation
- Managing the Revenue and Cost of Sales reporting for Mobile and Fixed operations.
- Implementing the guidelines provided by TRA for the accounting separation between Mobile and Fixed operations within the established time frame.
- Develop and disseminate procedures for the smooth functioning of the department with regard to settlements related to Interconnect and International Gateway operators.
- Handle independently various regulatory requirements in the areas of Royalties, Management Fees, Revenue recognition and reporting, Transfer pricing between Mobile and Fixed segments at applicable interconnect rates.
- Responsible for Receivables from Agents and Distributors for all Nawras products, MVNO/Resellers and wide network of shops, kiosks and customer service centres all over Oman.
- Point of contact for all corporate bank accounts and relationship with Banking Relationship Managers for smooth functioning of the operations between the various bank accounts.
- Monitored the daily/weekly/monthly cash position in multiple bank accounts and movement of funds to a single main collection account. Also involved placing idle cash into fixed deposits based on the best rates and tenures available.
- Maintained the Chart of Accounts and controlled the use of various account codes set up to ensure accurate reporting.
- Supervised the preparation of bank reconciliations and other general ledger reconciliations to ensure accuracy and timely clearance of any unusual transactions recorded/posted.
- Ensured the timely completion of all reviews and audits by External and Internal Auditors and implementation of best practices and compliance controls within the Accounting department.
- Responsible for timely payments to all vendors/suppliers, partners, government and regulatory agencies etc.
- Responsible for timely processing of all staff disbursements and maintaining accurate records of business expenditures paid through petty cash.
- Ensured the complete and accurate booking of all invoices and bills into the payables system and adherence to monthly closing time lines and cutoff periods.
- Point of contact for all queries related to expenditure related account codes for purposes of preparing purchase requisitions/orders, booking of invoices and bills into the payables system.
- Ensured the timely preparation and accuracy of all supplier related reconciliations and other accrual based ledger reconciliations.
- Coordinated and prepared annual operating plans and subsequent revisions on a rolling quarter basis for the commercial area (Marketing, Sales, Customer Services, Business Development).
- Developed models for monthly variance analysis and commentary on the business and financial reasons/impact of the variances. Involved communicating in report format to Commercial Managers the results of the analysis for better decision making and budgetary control.
- Business case modeling and preparation for various price and product scenarios. Involved sensitivity analysis, investment analysis, customer acquisition and retention analysis and a wide range of assumptions building based on available information and trends.
Khimji Ramdas LLC is one of the largest and oldest business establishments in Oman. The group comprises of various divisions such as FMCG, Retail, Shipping, Fast Food Chains, Lifestyle etc.
- Independently handled the accounting and reporting for the retail outlets managed by the company on a contractual basis (ROP Welfare Markets and Oman Oil Quick Shops).
- Supervised the work of junior accountants in the booking of supplier invoices, analysis of inventory variances and preparation of daily and monthly sales reports by location.
- Coordinated the quarterly and annual inventory exercise for all the locations.
- Prepared daily and monthly sales report for all retail outlets by locations.
- Prepared daily and monthly cash and credit collections.
- Point of contact for all bank deposits made from different locations by the retail outlets.
- Accounted for all inventory received on credit and maintenance of inventory and supplier records. Involved booking of invoices into the system and ensuring supplier accounts are reconciled for timely payments.
- Involved in the quarterly and annual inventory counting analysis and subsequent analysis of variances arising.
Fellowship awarded in 2011