Professional Experience
Group Finance Manager Feb’13 till DATE Al Fanar Gas Services, UAE
Key Responsibilities:
? Acting as a strategic advisor to the Management on all financial aspects to ensure financial resources are effectively utilized to achieve long and short-term goals with all legal and regulatory requirements.
? Spearheading finance function and engaged in overall accounting, taxation and costing activities.
? Oversee company financial internal controls, internal audits and investment decisions.
? Ensure the timely and accurate completion of monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports and forecasts for the organization to provide clear insight into its financial condition enabling high quality and agile decision making by the management.
? Monitor cash balances and cash forecasts and arrange for debt and equity financing.
? Establishing strong relationship with banks, financial institutions, rating agencies and other stakeholders in the financial community to ensure timely availability of financing at the most competitive terms.
? Direct and facilitate the preparation and consolidation of the annual and long-term capital, operating and revenue budgets and business plans.
? Preparing, validating and submitting all required VAT returns, supporting schedules and any documentation/responses as may be required by the Federal Tax Authority.
? Enhance, implement and monitor finance department policies and procedures to increase staff efficiency and effectiveness.
? Lead the internal preparation for all external audit assignments and work with external auditors to ensure successful and timely completion of audits.
? Establishing stable cash flow management policies & procedures to maintain operational & financial requirements, ensuring that sufficient cash resources are available to meet working capital requirements of the Group
? Evaluating and enhancing financial reporting systems, collection procedures, and make recommendations for changes to procedures, operating systems, budgets, and other financial control functions.
? Oversee the completion of tax returns and the compliance to regulations to identify gaps and take corrective actions accordingly.
? Administering the preparation of MIS Report and providing feedback to top management against budget and standard, debtors ageing, inventory ageing, product-wise profitability and customer-wise profitability.
? Supervising expense tracker on a daily basis to ensure planned profitability with co-ordination with Marketing and Operations Team to submit action plan to control variance.
? Analysing product costing and project feasibility report for management in order to take pricing decisions.
? Managing procedures and regulations relating to payroll operations and the efficient functioning of computerized payroll systems.
? Prepare and review of financial policies and manuals, to ensure timely recovery from debtors.
? Worked on projects with government organizations including ADNOC, ENEC Baraka, ADM, KIZAD, JAFZA, DIFC, RERA etc.
? Construct and monitor reliable control systems and ensure that record keeping meets the requirements of auditors.
? Ensure Finance functional objectives through the leadership of the Finance department, managing performance and motivating staff through formal and informal feedback in order to maximize subordinate and departmental performance.
Manager – Finance & Accounts May’12 – Jan’13 Ceco Electrical Industries, Pakistan
Key Responsibilities:
? Monitored the accounting, budgeting, financing, investing, funding, and reporting activities of the company
? Finalized trial balance with supporting schedules and provided timely & accurate financial information to the management.
? Monthly and yearly closing and timely submission of Management report to Directors / CEO. Finalization of all company accounts and intercompany transaction and consolidation of account.
? Ensured accuracy of information contained in financial reports & their compliance with statutory requirements
? Managed the invoice generation operation & credit control; ensured general ledger entries were accurate and were in line with company procedures & international accounting standards
? Developing and maintaining systems of internal control to protect company assets. Ensure that policies and procedures are implemented properly to systematize processes.
? Developed and implemented finance, accounting, billing and auditing procedures.
? Oversee employee and future employee compensations and benefits plans, with an emphasis on maximizing a cost effective benefit package and attracting and retaining qualified individuals
? Evaluating financial reporting systems, collection procedures, and make recommendations for changes to procedures, operating systems, budgets, and other financial control functions.
? Maintained property plant & equipment movement schedule on a monthly basis and ensured effective fixed assets & inventory control was applied.
Audit Executive Sep’08 – Apr’12 Grant Thornton UAE and Pakistan
Key Responsibilities:
? Planned, conducted, and finalized external audit assignments as per GTI new worldwide Horizon Audit approach in a fully computerized environment
? Prepared management letters and performed internal control diagnostic reviews including documentation of client systems and cycles through flow charts
? Performed detailed evaluations of manual and computerized accounting systems including evaluations of entity level controls, IT controls and operational controls by using GTI developed Computer Assisted Audit Technique (CAATS), ‘Audit CARE’ and ‘Voyager’ based on COSO components
? Allocated work to team members and discussed critical areas and audit strategy with them
? Ensured satisfactory clearance of audit engagements from GTs Engagement Quality Control Review; confirmed the timely completion of audit work in line with GT Standards / ISAs
? Coordinated with different levels of management of the clients including CEO, CFO and Directors and other "officials about financial and regulatory matters
Accounts Officer Jan’07 – Aug’08 Rawail Builders, Pakistan
Key Responsibilities:
? Processed the accounts payable after thorough checking of GRN and purchase orders and forwarded the creditors list with the amounts due for payment
? Maintained the accounts and closed them on a monthly basis including the reconciliation of bank, creditors as well as inter project accounts
? Prepared Payroll for around 100 employees after checking thoroughly their daily punching records as well as calculating overtime; monitored the availed bank facilities and their maturity dates for payments
? Assisted in the budget analysis and forecasting for all departments.
? Analysed, review and update processes in accounts to attempt to improve work flow and current processes for a more efficient department
Education & Credentials
? BBA Honors (Accounting & Finance) from University of Central Punjab, Pakistan.
? Associate Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) from Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
? Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) from The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Pakistan.
? Fellow Member Institute of Public Accountants- (FIPA) Australia
? Fellow Member-Institute of Financial Accountants-(FFA) Australia
? UAE chartered Accountant (UAECA) from UAE Accountants and Auditors Association (AAA)s
Distinguished Accomplishments across the Career
? Performed External Audits for more than 50 organizations as per the requirements of the international accounting standards IAS, International Financial Reporting Standards - IFRS, local laws and regulations. These audits include multiple sectors like retail, manufacturing, banks, insurance, brokerage house, construction, distribution & Non-profit organizations.
? Analysed and conducted audit for Allied Bank Employee Funds which was a well renowned financial institution of Pakistan with more than 700 branches and 8000 employees - the employee fund included Pension Fund, Provident Fund, Staff Welfare Fund, Staff Benevolent Fund and Gratuity Fund
? Recognized for supervising the billing and collection for high profile projects of Al Bustan, Etihad Tower and Reem Island where new billing and collection strategies like Smart Metering System, Automatic Reading (AMR), self-reading, online payment, and payment partner were introduced for more than 10000 tenants
? Engaged in performing Internal Audit of Eden Homes at Lake City (a joint venture of Eden Builders Limited and Lake City Holdings) and Internal Audit of Bahria Town (Pvt.) Ltd. one of the major business leaders in Real Estate & Construction industry of Pakistan
? Attended Baluchistan Rural Support Program (Business Process Re-engineering) and reviewed the existing policies, SOPs, operational manuals and philosophy of BRSP with a view to suggest comprehensive and detailed operational manual for BRSP compatible with ERP
? Contributed in Eden Housing Limited EHL (Receivable Verification) to give a reasonable assurance against the debtors appearing in the accounts of EHL- the detailed verification of accounts receivables were conducted to ensure the completeness, existence and obligation along with valuation at the closing date of the financial year
? Supervised an assignment of Physical Inventory Count of PEPSI COLA International and drafted report for identifying itemized list of stock and obsolete stock
? Successfully developed and implemented new smart payment options for utility billing which reduce the collection period cycle from 120 days to 30 days
? Successful implementation of an ERP in the organization after extensive study of the company needs which resulted in efficient work flows ultimately reduced payroll cost
? Reduce the administrative and operational cost of the company by 15 % by successful implementation of the budgeting process
? Designed real time Cash Flow Report for management using online shared google sheets which helps the management to access cash flow updates from anywhere any time
? Reduced the finance cost of the company by successfully negotiating and reducing the interest rates with the financial institutions
? Reduce the banking exposure in central bank to 50% by correctly analysing the company needs and realigning the facilities structure as per the company requirements.
Trainings and Seminars:
Some of the prominent trainings and seminars I have attended are listed below:
? “Grant Thornton International Audit Approach, review of internal controls, audit techniques, accounting & auditing standards”.
? “Leading at all Levels" by Ros Leah Head of Professional Development ACCA
? "Emotional Intelligence at work" by Ros Leah Head of Professional Development ACCA
? "Give investors what they need" by Accounting and Business ACCA Global
? "Transparency and the consistent application of IFRS in financial reporting" by Accounting and Business ACCA Global
? "UAE commercial companies’ law and its practical implications" Hamad Haider Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers
? "VAT in GCC-update and key consideration for business" by Nadine Basil Director Indirect Tax at PricewaterhouseCoopers
? "Global trends in Trade and its impact on corporates" by Vincent O’Brien Director Market Intelligence, International Chamber of Commerce
? "Managing risk and hedging exposure in uncertain times" by Wayne Andrews Managing Director at Treasury Tutor
? "Implementation of VAT in the GCC" by PricewaterhouseCoopers Middle East LLP
? "Outlook on the currency markets and interest rate environment" by Ian Groome Senior Treasury Specialist Thomson Reuters
? "Update on statutory changes in the UAE" by Hamad Haider PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal Middle East LLP
Technical and Soft Skills:
? Good Knowledge in Accounting Platforms like SAP, Oracle Financial System, , Peachtree, Tally 9.0, Sage Line 50, Microsoft Office Suite as well as MS Access Accounting Software
? Strong knowledge of standard business process flows in any ERP (General Ledger, AR, AP, FA & CM) and related modules.
? In-depth understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
? Excellent numerical and analytical skills.
? Polished communication and interpersonal skills.
Personal Details
? Date of Birth: Sep-1983
? Passport Details: No. AD7676202 (Valid Till: February 17th 2023)
? Nationality: Pakistan
? Driving License: UAE & Pakistan