Muhammad Umair

DULSCO LLC is one of the leading provider of Human Resource solution, Waste management solution, Logistics, Boat Services in UAE and QATAR. I joined Dulsco in Dec-12 to take care of Accounts and Admin of Ras Al Khaimah. I moved DULSCO Fujairah (Inside Port of Fujairah) in Feb-14 which gave me an opportunity to understand some new operations e.g. white & black Tank cleaning operation, Boat services, Stevedore jobs for cargo and aggregate loading on ships.


Some of my key responsibilities and accomplishments in Dulsco include:

1) Conducting weekly AR meetings with commercial team to resolve the conflicts and streamline collection from all customer.
2) Ensuring monthly closing of accounts with help of my team e.g. 2 time keepers, 1 assistant accountant.
3) I controlled cash flow of the branch by setting equilibrium between outflow and inflows e.g. I managed to improve working capital cycle of branch by getting early payments from clients and taking some more credit period from vendors. I recovered from black listed clients where invoices were pending from over 180/360 days. Provision for bad debt was kept in most cases.

4) I was responsible for monthly reports on financial performance e.g. BI analysis, Variance Analysis, Consumable /Stock Report, Changes in fixed asset schedule (disposals/additions).

5) Conducting investment appraisal analysis for all new and ongoing projects in RAK (Dec-12 to Feb-14) and FUJ (Feb-14 to July-14). Investment analysis was required for camp construction, purchase of vehicles, purchase of sewage tankers and lease v/s buy decision for equipment. Analysis was based upon NPV, IRR, Ratio analysis, ARR, ROCE and non-financial data. Tangible & Intangible Risk analysis was part of all my feasibility reports.

6) Managing procurement was another major role. Due to high cost in Dubai and longer delivery period, I sourced most of vendors from local market in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. E.g. manpower supply companies, PPE, accommodation items, office stationery, equipment rental, shovel hire etc. I always believed in good relations with vendors as they are major cost centre and can easily disrupt operations and revenue if not managed well.

7) I contributed in significant cost reduction. My major achievement is reduction in Stevedoring cost which came down by 35% by changing the terms with new vendor. Medical, consumables and transportation cost was also brought down by 10% with better vehicle utilization, trip management and monitoring.
8) Ensuring accuracy and timely dispatch of invoices to all clients by setting controls.
9) Extracting daily summaries from JD Edwards and CMS for Business Unit Head.
10) Raising IDA’s (Inter Departmental Advice) for utilization of manpower and equipment’s from other departments within company.
11) Taking care all admin jobs of the branch etc. Managing meetings, camp renovations, office stationary, utilities and vehicles.

Working for Accountax was one my most challenging and independent role. I was in charge of more than 250 clients indulged in numerous businesses activities and was directly responsible to principal. I was tested for my nerves and pressure handling at each quarter end. Most of clients were small and medium sized businesses. It was common to have improper documentation and incomplete records from clients.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:

Ø I restructured the client handling mechanism in the firm through sending letters to all the clients where they were stressed for orderly arrangement of documents in files each month. It saved almost 50% of our sorting time in coming quarters and reduced error rate. The firm also enjoyed significant cost saving for not making additional hours on weekends.

Ø I introduced “Sage Line 50 Accounting software” for account’s preparation and maintenance of client’s record which was held previously in Microsoft excel using complex formulas with ever possibility of error. It not only simplified the record of all clients but also improved reporting structure. Age analysis of debtors was conducted first time in formal way using Sage. It helped to chase slow paying clients and improved monthly collection.

Ø I prepared feasibility studies for clients in which I applied various financial management theories and models (NPV, IRR, PAYBACK PERIOD, and Forecasted Cash flows etc) that refreshed my knowledge base. It helped clients in acquisition of loans from banks (Forecasted Cash flow) and taking important decision in business line. Being a fresh qualified I was able to follow most recent IFRS guidelines which helped in first hand acceptance of these reports by Financial Institutions and thus enhancing the goodwill of my firm.

Ø Some other roles in Accountax were to prepare bank reconciliation statements, Quarterly VAT returns, finalization of accounts from trial balance & general ledger, managing existing network of clients, dealing with new clients, monthly reporting to principal about progress of business (Cash flow summary, Debtors Age analysis, correspondents with bank, current obligations) chasing slow payers and managing assets of firm.

CHAS LEIGH BROWN AND SONS gave me the very first opportunity to penetrate in UK professional market. It was an uphill task in start as the firm had only five employees working independently on different clients (200 Clients approx) .I made myself habitual of self learning from day one. I equipped myself with following skills in CLBSCA.


• Direct reporting to both partners of firm regarding major issues e.g. missing record from client, doubtful transactions,
progress of work. I was blessed with professional flavor in my communication with partners as well as understanding of local accent.

• With minimum interaction with other accountants in firm, I was able to absorb all skills at my pace. Late sittings
enabled me to learn and accomplish tasks simultaneously.

• I was responsible for preparation of trial balance of allotted clients and reconciliation of both sides of ledger. I imported
all ledgers of given clients from manual registers to Microsoft Excel creating a cheap and easy to use back up.

• Reconciliation of bank statement with cash register and passing year end adjusting entries (Accruals, Prepayments etc)
were some major routine tasks.

• Some other non routine tasks were preparation of forecasted cash flows for bank purpose (mainly for granting loan to our clients), dealing with queries of clients, sending letters to clients and participating in meetings of firm.

INTERNAL AUDITOR

Ruplai is the largest polyester manufacturing group in Pakistan with more than 5000 employee and known for strongest internal
control system in sector. I was one of the 22 audit officers who handle monthly audit of three plants on different sites. If you want to enjoy extensive travel and team work, then Rupali is the right place. My duties in Rupali were as follows:

Duties in Head office:

i) Being a part of audit team in head office, I was responsible for detailed analysis of purchase invoices where
payment to relevant department was not possible without prior stamp of auditor. During the scanning of invoices, I had to verify each element of purchase cycle e.g. Purchase requisitions, purchase orders, quotations,
goods received notes and delivery notes (from supplier) . The criteria for supplier selection were also being
tested.

ii) 2nd important role in head office was to verify financial statements on monthly basis. Starting from general
ledgers, I had to apply "Walk through Test" on transactions from selected sample. Major area being tested were,
Debtor balances, Creditors, non-current assets, monthly cash flow movement, bank reconciliations, income and expenditures.

Duties at Site: (Rupali, Rupafill and Spintex Plants)

iii) Working in a team of five auditors for each plant, I had to report my team leader about any sizable finding and then prepare a formal report to discuss directly with head of department audit.

iv) Each audit team had to conduct several audits during 20
days span at plants and then finally report all findings in head office during final week of the month. Tasks were shared among team members.

v) I have conducted following audits in Rupali, Rupafill and Spintex Plants with in strict deadlines.

Stock Audit > Fixed Asset Audit > Hired Vehicle Audit > Loose tools Audit
Sale Audit > Purchase Audit > Leave Audit > Audit of Power Generation Plant

Munawar Associates Chartered Accountant provided me a platform to equip myself with accounting and auditing skills from scratch. During my two year articles I ended up as senior auditor in the firm.

ACCOUNTING ROLES
Preparation of vouchers for recording purpose, e.g. Petty Cash Vouchers, Cash Payment Voucher, Bank Payment
Vouchers, Journal Vouchers, General Vouchers
Posting of invoices via double entry in various accounting software following the guidelines of IAS and IFRS.

Collection and maintenance of data from clients for preparation of accounts.

Preparation of Cash book, Bank books, Sales Book, Purchase Books, Stock Register, Tax Registers, General Ledgers
etc.

Preparation of Ledgers, Nominal Ledgers, Trial Balance and Final Accounts for different clients.

Preparation of extensive feasibility study for CWCD (Centre for Women Cooperation Development) for granting of loan to small scale businesses in Pakistan. ( a non-profit organization)

AUDIT ROLES

During external audit assignments I performed following tasks.

Preparing comprehensive "Audit plan" and allotting duties to subordinates.

Preparing and supervising "Audit File" using both permanent and current working papers for each client.

Drafting and sending "Third Party Confirmation Letters" for verification of receivables and payables. E.g. letters to banks and customers

Discussion of "Variances" with management of the client for satisfactory reasoning and reporting to firm partner if not
convinced.

Setting "Materiality" level for different heads of accounts and selecting "Sample" for audit purpose.

Preparation of "Audit report" after discussion with partner of firm.