Retail Finance Manager
Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait
Total years of experience :27 years, 4 Months
Responsible for financial control, management reporting, Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) reporting, strategic planning, product control, retail operations and retail risk management.
Represent division in Strategic Planning, Budget, Risk, ALCO and network expansion committees.
Work closely with the bank’s executive management team and CFO in developing and implementing the three year business strategy and annual budget.
A member of the strategic team at Group center responsible for identifying and evaluating acquisition opportunities to expand footprint.
Involved in integrating ICAAP with the strategic planning process for closer alignment of capital planning with corporate strategy.
Formulate dashboard of critical metrics for translation of risk appetite to operational risk limits.
Responsible for developing annual business plan (SBU & Channel), synchronize with strategic objectives, evaluate business initiatives, identify key risks, track synergies and set KPI’s.
Closely liaise with SBU heads in developing their business plans, selection of strategic initiatives for implementation, identifying critical success factors and key dependencies and co-ordinate with support functions to integrate their plans to achieve overall strategic objectives.
Responsible for information and responses to rating agencies - Fitch & Moody’s
Interact closely with senior stake holders and finance, risk, operations & IT teams on all aspects of analysis / reporting / issues uncovered in day to day role.
Delivery of credit originating & scoring model project, development and maintenance of a detailed Business Requirement Document (BRD), development of front-end design and business process re-engineering (BPR), ensuring system integrity, conducting user training for 300+ frontline staff and scorecard maintenance.
Drive the Operational Risk Control Self assessment (RCSA) for the consumer banking division by identifying business, people and system risks, mitigants and residual risk.
Partner with SBU in introduction of new products, reward programs and offers/campaigns.
Conduct quarterly reviews of strategic and reputation risk scorecards.
Evaluate business proposals and network expansion projects from a cost benefit analysis perspective to justify capital outlay and achievement of overall strategic objectives.
Manage and reduce costs by implementing suitable controls and challenging commercial decisions.
Manage cost of funds on the liability book in close co-ordination with treasury.
Manage external auditors and CBK audits / inspections on retail loans.
Identify opportunities for operational efficiency within retail and branch operations.
Consolidate monthly financial results for ABN AMRO Paris as per IFRS and in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Ensure integrity of financial statements and provide accurate and timely management information to all stakeholders; onshore clients - Group CFO Office in Amsterdam, Country CFO Office in Paris & SBU Heads in Paris.
Prepare and submit various regulatory reports such as liquidity report for the Dutch National Bank & Banque de France (apex banks of France & The Netherlands), country risk report and Basel II reports within deadlines.
Maintain Chart of Accounts, effect inter-company, inter-branch and transfer pricing adjustments, justify internal accounts and close books at the end of each month and year.
Management reporting of revenue and costs by business line and product, allocation of indirect costs to product, support units and SBU.
Actively participate in the migration project of the accounting and management reporting function of ABN AMRO Paris to Mumbai; document processes, implement internal controls and ensure smooth transition with minimal disruption.
Provide recommendations/inputs for improvements in accounting processes and systems and implementation of the same.
Ensure satisfactory group audit rating by identifying risks and implementing risk mitigating controls.
Responsible for Verification and Validation of the Trade finance FE module - CitiDirect Trade; requiring testing, validating, defect tracking, reporting and re-testing of updated versions of validated message alert systems, purchase order system and document discount system for Citibank Global Trade.
Updating business requirement document with minute details of all trade finance product activities.
Ensured high audit ratings with Citibank, managed risk control self assessment process for all testing units within the division.
Book-keeping, reporting of financial performance, ensuring integrity of reported profit and loss account and providing recommendations/inputs for improvements in accounting processes and systems.
Liaise with service level heads to understand service level performance metrics and variances and provide analysis on variances.
Responsible for financial accounting, bank reconciliation, payroll, tax deductions on salaries and payments & filing tax returns, sales tax, processing payments, MIS reporting, statutory compliance, budgeting, forecasting and taxation.
Conduct statutory audits, internal & management audits for public and private limited companies engaged in manufacturing, exporting and trading activities. Responsible for client engagement and leading a team of semi-qualified accountants and apprentices.
Worked as an apprentice for 3 years with a practising Chartered Accountant where I gained hands-on experience of book-keeping, audit and tax.