Saddaqat Ali Ali

Coffee Planet LLC - Deals in Coffee business (From roasting of coffee beans till providing equipment to make coffee and servicing). Our major lines of business are; 1) Providing coffee equipment on Free on Loan (FOL) Contracts, 2) Equipment on Rental (Events and others), 3) Service Agreement (Our workshop provide repair, maintenance and service facilities to customer owned equipment and FOL contracts) 4) Sale of equipment & 5) Processing of raw coffee beans in our roastery and sale to famous food chains in UAE & Outside. My role here is to identify the risk in areas (Purchases, Movements, Sales of Fixed Assets, Accessories and related spare parts) and develop & implement controls and reporting directly to Finance Director. Below are given the detailed roles and responsibilities;

Roles and Responsibilities:

 Understanding control environment, developing process flows and performing risk-controls mapping;
 Developing risk based internal audit plan for fixed assets and related spare parts & accessories movement;
 Performing risk assessment of key business functions (Assets Movement, Inventory Management, Procurement & sale of equipment);
 Identifying design weaknesses in Internal Controls and reporting to management;
 Preparing audit program and executing test of controls on regular basis;
 Communicating audit observations with process owners, documenting responses and Issuing final report to management;
 Maintain and update the fixed assets register;
 Monitoring & assisting in successful implementation of a newly launched Assets Management Software (Vega).

I was serving as policy underwriter within non-motor segment (Medical) for corporate clients. My direct reporting is to the division head and to the General Manager, depending on the type of assignment. Following is the summary of my day to day activities:

Roles and Responsibilities:

 Preparation of monthly/quarterly reports for Finance Department relating to payments to service providers, reinsurers, agents and brokers commission & calculation of IBNR, outstanding claims and unearned premium reserves (UPR) etc.
 Determining the premium based on risk parameters, approved pricing mechanism, by assessing background information of client to determine the loss ratio and past trend of claims;
 Liaison with our reinsurer for the assessment of risk for very big corporate clients at time of issuance of policy or at the time of renewal;
 Writing, negotiating policies and adding specific terms and conditions whenever required in line with department policy guideline;
 Fulfilling major regulators requirements i.e. DHA & HAAD on timely basis;
 Preparation of base working for negotiation of Treaty with Reinsurer and involve in such meetings.

Receivable & Cash Management

 Prepare daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly receivable MIS repots for higher management;
 Attending the Weekly AR review meeting with MD and Sales team in order to discuss sales team performance, collection status and advising them with sound reasoning to write off or to create provision against very old and slow paying receivable (if any);
 Involved in monthly sales and collection budget meetings and advising if there is a need for revision of budget;
 Managing and maintaining all records related to short-term financing like factoring/invoice discounting;
 Carrying out regular Bank and GL reconciliations;
 Administration of credit insurance (Euler Hermes) viz applying for limits, provide feedback to business for refusal or conditional approvals;
 Obtains sufficient information to assess the creditworthiness of new and existing customers and referring for advice to our in-house credit control department (if required);
 Document submission to HR and Legal department for police action against past due customers;
 Processing of credit notes after verification and regular reconciliations with customers;
 Performing the month end closing process and reconciliation of the ledgers.

Inventory & Payable Management

 Identification of ‘slow moving’ inventory items and prepares a weekly and monthly Inventory aging and provision reports for management analysis and advising them if there is need for the provision against such stock;  Ensures accurate costing and valuation of stock by adopting appropriate accounting principles ‘lower of cost and net realizable value;  Conduct physical inventory count with Internal Audit department and present report to management on any discrepancy and stock condition;
 Process the suppliers and all other utility related payments on due date by timely processing the invoices and regular follow up of our group treasury department (GBFT);
 Performing the month end closing process and reconciliation of the ledgers.

Monthly Reporting and Annual Closing Responsibility

 Preparation of Monthly Financial Scorecard report for management which highlights all components e.g. Revenue, Expenses, Stock, Receivables, etc. with reasoning of any variation with budgeted figures;  Update fixed assets register, prepayment schedule and Accrued expenses detail;  Quarterly and Annual Preparation, examination and analysis of financial statements in accordance with company policies and applicable IFRS and present to management;  Co-ordinate and liaises with External Auditors during Interim and Annual Audit of financial statements.

External audits, internal audits and Book keeping services

 Preparation, examination, analysis and review of financial statements including cash flows in accordance with applicable IFRS;
 Planning execution and completion of audit assignments including analysis of existing organizational internal controls and accounting structure of clients, evaluating potential risks and advising management for remedial action;
 Coordinating, supervising, and conducting audit of assignments, adequacy of internal controls, and verifying compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements;
 Performed a comprehensive exercise of reconciling the stock and fixed assets as recorded in the books with their existence.
 The assignments included preparation of report depicting the deficiencies and inconsistencies in the balances being reported in the financial statements;
 Review different statements prepared such as, bank reconciliations, payroll sheets etc.

Business Evaluation Services

Provide independent opinion over the income resources of client for stated scheduled banks in order to assist the credit rating department in approving the short and medium term loans. Major roles and responsibilities include:
 Detailed analysis of the financial performance and position of the customers;
 Critical evaluation of the credit proposals, in the light of Prudential Regulation of SBP and CPM (Credit Policy Manual) of the Bank;
 Use the Professional judgment to evaluate main financial and non-financial risks;
 Client record and files management;
 Review of books of accounts and preparation of work papers to support our opinion;
 Preparation of report which includes the detailed analysis.

Major clients served were

 Dubai Islamic bank Limited
 Silk Bank Limited
 National bank of Pakistan
 ABN-Amro Bank Limited
 Muslim Commercial Bank Limited
 Mezan Bank Limited
 Faisal Bank Limited
 United Bank Limited
 BankAlfalah Limited
 Askari Commercial Bank Limited

I was involved in preparation and review of records to support financial and management reporting.
Review of business operation and control procedures and recommend ways to manage risks faced by the company. Preparation and implementation of policies and standard operating procedures.
Ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulatory framework.
Review legal documents and agreements and in case of any discrepancies highlight them.
Observe physical stock checks and reconcile sales to dollars deposited to banks.
Review different statements prepared such as pricing and contribution margin analysis, bank reconciliations, salary sheets etc.
Preparation of Internal Review Reports.
Supervision of day to day accounting records and to ensure that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) are being followed.
Preparation of Inventory Accounts and other related reports such as (Physical Stock Adjustment Report, Daily Moment Report).
Co-Ordination with External Auditors during audit.
Check monthly closing inventory.
Preparing and checking monthly reports.

A part from these I was also involved in the following special assignments:

Participation in business planning, preparation & monitoring of cash flows, fund management and treasury operations. Preparation of purchase and payment plans, sales forecasts and interface with statutory auditor.
Preparation of repayment schedules and forecasts for banks.
Assistance in the preparation of Human Resource Policy.

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