Paras Hiteshkumar Shah, Financial Controller

Paras Hiteshkumar Shah

Financial Controller

Majid Al Futtaim Retail

Location
United Arab Emirates - Dubai
Education
Doctorate, Chartered Accountant
Experience
16 years, 3 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :16 years, 3 Months

Financial Controller at Majid Al Futtaim Retail
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • My current job since February 2020

Examining proposed projects and providing support by highlighting risks and recommending solutions (valuation, feasibility and capital budgeting)
Lead investment review on all aspects of business activity - Investment and project appraisal of land acquisition, investment / disposition under consideration, greenfield and brownfield projects feasibility, project financing, due diligence, bench-marking, evaluation and providing recommendations for Board Approvals.
Support the process of reviewing Capex assumptions for the appraisal of new projects and budgets, by assisting with the development of feasibility studies and providing necessary analysis
Subject matter expert and leads the process of stores valuation and impairment testing, dealing with auditors for review and clearance
Manage and review the MAFR's overall investment & capital expenditure planning + forecasting process (including capital allocation at corporate level).
Continuous evaluation and recommendation of guidelines on investment appraisal methodologies - including WACC and Hurdle Rates for project appraisals.
Perform independent, robust and constructive review of investment propositions that require Board / CEO / CFO approvals and make suitable recommendations.
Establish and evaluate store cost, profitability and store models for various lines of business
Monitoring the performance of newly opened stores through the process of Post investment analysis and Feasibility variance, report to the management about non-performing stores along with recommendation to improve the performance
Support the control process by staying informed on the progress of relevant Capex investments approved projects / budgets and carry out a detailed analysis, giving feedback to concerned stakeholders about possible budget risks
Support the value creation process by analyzing existing fixed assets details for productivity and identifying patterns applicable in new projects to maximize value creation to be recommended to concerned stakeholders
Support the identification process of improvement areas for different stages of an investment process to identify potential for cash flow savings / synergies and create optimized investment process and assist with the implementation phase

Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis at Majid Al Futtaim Properties
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • October 2016 to January 2020

Leading and coordinating the financial planning cycle for a timely delivery of business performance analyses, strategic plans, budget, forecasts, and business presentations for the board meetings; liaising with Director, Financial Planning & Analysis for MAF Properties
Conducting analysis and generating accurate financial results that reflect the true financial condition of operating assets, developments, regions, cost centers, and countries within the MAFP by issuance of monthly management pack to the leadership team
Sharing inputs / insights on non-financial and financial key performance indicators
Delivering accurate and relevant analysis of historic and forward-looking performance to provide efficient & effective financial planning management support to enable timely and accurate decision-making
Liaising with the business and regional counterparts to secure accurate forecasts and identify opportunities for growth, cost efficiencies, and investment
Establishing adequate profitability management tools to support business performance analyses and decision-making with respect to capital allocations
Assisting on a variety of strategic initiatives, including financial systems improvements, process enhancements (which include Robotics Automation, Business Intelligence Dashboards), zero base budgeting, stress testing etc.
Collaborating with MAF Holding Corporate Teams to secure reporting and planning systems & processes within the MAF group are efficient, effective and consistent with the MAFP governance processes
Providing inputs in reporting systems and process improvements opportunities relating to the closing, budgeting & planning cycles (including on systems) and ensuring implementation of relevant preventive/corrective initiatives
Resolving all reporting and budgeting/forecasting issues within the MAFP

Senior Credit Analyst at Finance House
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • August 2015 to September 2016

Established and managed corporate relationship base of the assigned business portfolio; Developed marketing plan & implement it as per agreed objectives in order to maximize profitability & achieve business growth
Executed spreading of company's financial statements and industry analysis of corporate/commercial customers and analyzed comprehensive write-up to assess the financial risks
Prepare credit proposals and short-term proposals; followed up on regular credit check on clients with other banks; managed turnaround credit proposals and short-term credit proposals within benchmarked time frames
Followed up on documentation, submitted required documentation for approved clients to Credit Risk Management & Advances Division and follow-up on sanction limit
Assessed account position and highlighted strengths/weakness in account conduct; addressed issues related to quality financial analysis

Financial Manager at Geebee Group of Companies
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • January 2014 to June 2015

 Spearheaded a team of 3 members for finalizing the books of accounts of group companies
Executed financial planning, budgeting and management; formulated strategic and long-term business plans; Application of Letter of Credit, trade finance, and import & export procurement
Collaborated with external auditors for annual audited financial statements and with banks for day-to-day operation (including KYC documents)
Successfully transformed the manual books of accounts into computerized books of accounts and setting up the internal control system from scratch
Liaised with insurance broker for renewal of all kind of group insurance policies, reviewing all the insurance policies in order to cover all the risks and mitigating exposures and settlement of all pending insurance claims

Senior Auditor at Crowe Horwath DMCC
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • January 2012 to December 2013

 Conducted various audits of LLC & Free Zone Companies and prepared reports thereon as member of team
Finalized books of account and prepared audit report with compliance of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) and ISA (International Standards of Auditing)
Managed major audit clients such as Ansar Mall, Safety Electricals Group, Pal International Food Stuff, Al Manama Group, Mubarak Marine & Power Solution Industries LLC
Administered accounting assignments for clients such as Accounting of Emaar Business Park, Dubai Little League, Saahil DMCC, Shamu Diamonds & CD Jewels

Auditor at M/S. Pipara & Co.
  • India - Ahmedabad
  • January 2008 to December 2011

 Played an active role in the team of 2 - 4 members for conduct of various statutory audits of Private Ltd Co. and preparation of report thereon.
 Active Assistance in conduct of internal audit, stock audit of several Pvt. Ltd. companies with application of standard.
 Responsible for carrying out Tax Audit and Income Tax return filling as per Income Tax Act for Pvt. Ltd. Companies, Individuals, Partnership firms.
 Periodically return filling and other legal documentation for TDS, Service Tax, Excise Duty and Custom Duty.
 Active part of the team in resolving TDS and tax planning queries and clarifications.
 Visiting Tax departments on behalf of client for Tax scrutiny matters.

Education

Doctorate, Chartered Accountant
  • at Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
  • May 2011

Professional Degree in Chartered Accountancy Examination (CA) from ICAI in May 2011.

Bachelor's degree, Bachelor of Commerce
  • at HL College of Commerce
  • March 2008

Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) from HL College of Commerce, Gujarat (India) in March 2008.

High school or equivalent, Commerce
  • at Vijaynagar High School
  • March 2005

Secured 1st Rank in H.S.C (89%) in School & Jain Community and awarded with a gold medal.

Specialties & Skills

taxation
Finance
Auditing
Accounting
ACCOUNTING
Finance
Analytics
Budgeting and Reporting
Cash Flow Management
Taxation
Valuation and Capital Budgeting
Board Presentations
Cost Control & Optimization
Financial Management
Strategic Planning
Management Reporting

Languages

Hindi
Expert
English
Expert
Gujarati
Native Speaker

Memberships

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
  • 140268
  • May 2011

Training and Certifications

Data Analytics (Training)
Training Institute:
Majid Al Futtaim Leadership Institute
Date Attended:
January 2018
Duration:
150 hours
Leadership (Training)
Training Institute:
Majid Al Futtaim Leadership Institute
Date Attended:
June 2017
Duration:
100 hours

Hobbies

  • Reading, Travelling, Music