Valiza Afonso

Career progression: Accounts Receivable Accountant to Group Senior Accountant to Group Finance Manager to Group Finance Director

Achievements:
• Awarded ‘Employee of the Year’ in 2015 and 2018 for exemplary performance and under my leadership, my team won ‘Team of the Year’ in 2019
• Improved employee benefits, without increasing company costs through introduction of Bonusly, new wellness allowance, birthday & parking benefits, office health screenings & consultations, etc.
• Helped secure new revenue streams & negotiated better contract terms
• Implemented the NetSuite ERP successfully company-wide, replacing all old and manual processes, along with Jedox EPM.
• Automated invoicing that was previously done manually, through the integration of a new Billing Module system and automated reporting through the implementation of Power BI.
• Significantly improved receivables aging across all 4 entities of the Group each year
• Merged group entities, transferred business activities and liquidated a Swiss entity successfully
• Facilitated the complete revamp and upgrade of the company’s main revenue segment of the Loyalty program to a new & improved Loyalty program, offering suggestions, improvements, testing & implementation.

 Optimized resource utilization through recruitment, orientation & training of the Finance team.
 Review of monthly & quarterly billing across all four Company entities after revenue protection analysis.
 Responsible for payroll, bonus, EOSB & KPI incentive calculations & pay-out.
 VAT accounting & returns filing, with management of the tax audit for our Swiss & UAE entities.
 Preparation of P11D Tax Forms for UK employees.
 Review & approve weekly payment runs and bank reconciliations.
 Improved performance in AR each year through management of processes related to Credit Control.
 Monthly preparation of collections & revenue reports, cash flow forecasting & customer ROI reports.
 Review credit reports & maintain compliance to credit policy through bi-weekly aging analysis, ensuring good working capital management.
 Address & resolve escalated matters of defaulting customers.
 Negotiated with suppliers and clients, building & maintaining productive relationships.
 Troubleshoot and resolution of any accounting or billing discrepancies.
 Preparation & execution of department budgets and expenses after prior forecasting.
 Conducted monthly meetings with department Heads to discuss departmental P&Ls, projects, and variance analysis, ensuring a focus on cost controls & budget management.
 Main point of contact for high level matters for all four of our companies, for both internal & external stakeholders.
 Preparation of comprehensive monthly & ad-hoc reports, used as basis for forecasting & strategy planning, supporting development of short & long-term business plans.
 Monitor & review company spending and authorize employee reimbursements.
 Monitor company petty cash, stationery, CAPEX & OPEX requirements, as well as accruals & prepayments.
 Conduct monthly, quarterly & year-end financial closing and reporting for all four group entities.
 Manage internal, external, and regulatory IFRS audit processes, travelling to Switzerland routinely for the foreign entities’ Swiss Audits.
 Establish & monitor the implementation of various control procedures within the department and across the organization, ensuring operational efficiency & optimal resource utilization.
 Help build partnerships with Travel Management Companies, Airlines, Car Rentals & hotel brands.
 Organizer for company celebrations and team events on a quarterly basis.

Career progression: Office Administrator to Office Manager

- Preparation of legal documentation, quotations, tenders, purchase orders, invoicing & payroll.
- Preparation & executing department budgets and expenses.
- Managing the day to day activities of the office & its requirements along with petty cash management.
- Liaison with suppliers, contractors, service providers & corresponding with clients across the globe.
- Monitor and track proceeds from earnings & ensure all payments made on time (AR & AP).
- Organizing meetings, supervising office operations, procedures & administrative personnel.
- Safeguard and maintenance of confidential files & records.
- Preparation of verified relevant information for management decision making.
- Identify and recommend opportunities for creating efficiency in the office procedures & systems.
- Responsible for visa and travel arrangements for all employee business travel.
- Responsible for the recruitment and selection process for job vacancies & resolving present employee grievances on work matters.
- Evaluate individual employee performance, providing feedback on areas of achievement, growth & development, along with continuous mentoring of Interns.
- Coordinated calendars, organized meetings, prepared agendas & minutes of the meetings.
- Basic Accounting, other Office Management, HR & Administrative functions.

This job has helped me learn how to multi-task effectively and develop leadership, active listening, speaking, motivation and persuasion skills through working hard under pressure.