Financial Controller
Samra International DMCC
مجموع سنوات الخبرة :17 years, 6 أشهر
I was moved to Samra International DMCC in January 2015 which is part of Samra group and is licensee of Versace Fine Jewellery (VFJ). It is involved in product development, wholesale & retail of VFJ. It has 3 franchise stores in GCC and 15 POS in Versace Ready to Wear stores around the world.
My designation is Financial Controller and my responsibilities are:
• Produce annual budgets and forecast models on a departmental, business segment and consolidated basis working with functional department heads and senior management
• Analyse and interpret monthly variances and trends between budgets, actual and prior results in developing projections and forecast
• Provide financial support and analysis to Operations and Marketing areas for strategic business decisions and cost savings initiatives
• Manage, review and deliver accurate group consolidated P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, including key variances & commentaries for all division businesses in line with monthly corporate timetable. Key deadlines always met.
• Prepare monthly sales analysis by region vs. budget and quarterly forecasts achieving accuracy of +/- 5%. Present information to non-financial sales teams.
• Exceeding all financial reporting deadlines: weekly commercial reports; monthly management accounts; and legal statutory accounts.
• Co-ordinating operations, commercial, supply chain and systems functions to ensure the company’s policies & procedures are sufficient to control risk and compliant with accounting requirements - no serious non-compliance.
• Involvement in a project team to analyse a new joint company venture, including the preparation of the budget, projected financial statements, IRR, ROI and what-if scenario analysis.
• Manage intercompany and external funding for business expansion and growth. Keep track of all capex spend.
• Monitor inventory turnover, replenishment and days sales of inventory resulting in effective inventory control.
• Prepared accounts payable and receivable processes and track AP and AR days for efficient cash flow.
• Coordinate with auditors and review financial statements with the CFO to ensure that accounting procedures and systems are adequate and functional.
• Conduct risk assessment and manage insurance policies related to inventory, property and third parties.
• Led a systems project to develop and implement a purchase order system that cut costs by 10% through more effective purchasing and control.
• Propose staff incentives criteria and salary increases based on performance evaluation and calculate accordingly.
• Created an optimal staffing model for stores resulting in annual payroll work hours savings of 20%
• Manage team of three accountants and two logistics coordinators
• Effectively manage relationship with stakeholders such as banks, vendors, customers, auditors, insurance companies, etc
• Worked closely with IT to design and implement Microsoft Dynamics AX with full system interfaces.
Samra Jewellery LLC is a subsidiary of Samra group of companies, which specializes in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail of gold and diamond jewellery and precious stones. It has 2 factories, 2 wholesale units and 8 retail outlets in Dubai. Moreover, it operates one factory in Thailand.
I worked as Cost Controller and my responsibilities were:
• Preparation of annual budgets and monitoring actual performance on monthly basis. Updating quarterly budget based on actual results and analysing variance in detail.
• Preparation of monthly standalone and combined P&L statement and balance sheet across all sectors of the business.
• Comparing actual costs with standard and budgeted costs and presenting variance analysis to senior management.
• Proposed Job order costing to precisely calculate and manage product cost which resulted in efficient product pricing and margin calculation.
• Analysing cost accounting data and assisting with cycle count/physical inventories.
• Coordinating with auditors and reviewing financial statements with the group CFO to ensure that accounting procedures and systems are adequate and functional.
• Managed intercompany reconciliation across the group companies.
• Kept track of all indirect expenses to ensure they fall within the respective budget and presenting monthly reports to BOD
• Closely worked with all stakeholders for the preparation and tracking of capital budget.
• Managed external funding by approaching new lenders and renegotiating terms with existing lenders, which resulted in overall reduction of 1.5% in interest rate. Also, dealt with the banks on routine basis for day to day matters.
• Preparation of monthly management reports, accruals, prepayments and income reconciliation.
• Involvement in product pricing and margins analysis of different jewellery collections.
• Produced detailed business process and procedures manual which enhanced sales and reduced debtor days.
• Conducted risk assessment and negotiated group insurance policies including, Jeweller’s Block, Comprehensive General Liability, Medical, Fleet, Public Liability & Property Risk.
• Managed to reduce days sales of inventory by conducting detailed analysis of sales trend and inventory turnover and recommending course of action to BOD.
• Designed different reports for tracking sales, receivables, payables and intercompany balances which resulted in enhanced controls
• Recruited, trained and supervised two new staff members.
1st Choice Motors is one of the leading motor traders of the UK with three car showrooms, two service centers and one MOT center in London. It offers wide range of services including car sales, part exchange, insurance repairs, servicing & maintenance and MOT.
I worked as Assistant Finance Manager and my responsibilities included:
• Responsible for budgeting & forecasting, close control of company budgets and variance analysis on monthly basis.
• Conducted financial analysis, project costing and revenue recognition.
• Prepared, analysed and submitted quarterly and annual VAT returns to HMRC online.
• Prepared and analysed weekly payroll and submitted PAYE to HMRC online.
• Analysed company bank statements and managed petty cash.
• Projected and managed inventory levels, supervised weekly, monthly and annual stock counts.
• Developed the company’s inventory management strategy with the aim of controlling costs within budgetary limits, generating savings, rationalising inventory and maximizing available working capital.
• Processed sales invoices, receipts and payments.
• Managed centralized procurement by consolidating and rationalizing the supplier base, hence reduced lead time.
• Ensured effective stakeholder management and excellent relationships with internal and external stakeholders including DVLA, British Car Auctions, HMRC, local councils and insurance companies to ensure that key processes are running efficiently and cost-effectively.
• Managed websites for showroom and workshop and constantly updating stocks on Auto Trader, eBay and company websites.
• Dealt with all legal aspects involved in buying and selling cars, MOT tests, PPI, etc.
It is the first MNC of Pakistan, which now have two state of the art factories and employs more than 1, 700 people. It is market leader with 48.6% market share and boasts a diversified portfolio catering to the different tastes and preferences of the entire tobacco market and works in all areas of the business from seed to smoke.
I worked as Procurement & Budgeting Executive and my responsibilities included but not limited to the following:
• Preparation of annual departmental budget and tracking actual performance on monthly basis. Presentation of monthly budget vs actual performance to top team with reasoning and updating rolling budget.
• Conducted monthly physical stock take along with finance representative making sure zero discrepancies in physical and SAP quantities
• Lent assistance and expertise to various company managers, especially with matters relating to finance and budgeting in the creation of annual budgets and generation of financial forecasts.
• Provided financial expertise and commercial insight to drive procurement decision-making and sound planning to maximize long-term profits, cash flow, and return to shareholders.
• Analysis of overtime and its impact on productivity and conducted time & motion study to identify and resolve the disconnects.
• Analysis of annual spend of entire factory and preparation of annual procurement & expenditures plan at the beginning of the year accordingly.
• Responsible for costing and negotiating tenders and long term service contracts by ensuring compliance to labor laws and government legislations.
• Rationalized vendors from 148 to 44 to reduce administrative costs and secure better pricing, hence reducing procurement lead time by 64% and increasing procurement savings by 45%.
• Standardized procurement items based on quality, cost, safety and brands in liaison with all stakeholders.
• Rebuilt relationships with stakeholders and closely worked with AP to improve vendor payment turnaround, which resulted in 67% reduced payment lead time.
• Conducted vendors’ audits and carried out annual suppliers and contractors’ performance appraisals on the cost, quality, delivery and EHS parameters and suggested action plans accordingly.
• Active member of various EHS workgroups including Management of Suppliers & Contractors, Occupational Health, Vehicles & Driving, Hazardous Substances and Hazardous Work.
Conducted a deep and thorough research for my dissertation on the "Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on the Reputation of Controversial Tobacco Industry".
I got A+ result in M.Com. I did two months Internship at Prime Commercial Bank and submitted a detailed Internship report as part of my M.Com degree.
I did Internship for two months at National Bank of Pakistan after B.Com.