Apr 2022 – Feb 2023 · 10 mos · Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• Worked as Finance Business Partner (Customer Development Finance) for Out of Home (Arabia) and Retail (Gulf) for Tea Division
• Key Responsibilities:
• Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A); including sales and operational planning, forecasting, monthly variance analysis
• Maintaining correct price structures for different SKUs
• Managing Trade Term Structure (TTS) provisions and ensuring these are in line with budgets
• Partnering with sales team to enhance profitability.
• Assisting Financial Controller in implementing VAT and Controls

Nov 2019 – Apr 2022 · 2 yrs 5 mos · Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• Worked as Chief Accountant, with FP&A responsibilities for YAP (Fintech & digital banking startup)
• Key Responsibilities included the below
• Leading the accounting function at group level, including consolidation (team of 3)
• Managing payroll
• Monthly reporting of results to management
• Preparing business plans/financial models to support fundraising and business expansion
• Managing cashflow and burn rate for the startup
• Liasing with external auditors
• VAT filing and compliance
• Key Achievements:
• ‐ Set up the finance department of the newly established company and implemented all the policies and controls
• ‐ Implemented the accounting system Xero across three group entities
• ‐ Developed business plans for different countries across South Asia and MENA to help raise funding for the business
• ‐ Achieved cost savings in excess of AED 120k per year via negotiating exchange rates
• ‐ Developed group wide policies to ensure smooth flow of work

Sep 2016 – Aug 2019 · 2 yrs 11 mos · Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• Headed the finance department (team of 3) for a Publishing and Events Company.
• Key Responsibilities:
• Monthly reporting to management and board, including regular accounting
• Preparing annual budgets and monthly variance analysis
• Managing Accounts Receivables and Payables
• Managing all banking related transactions and correspondence (Emirates NBD)
• Working with sales team to achieve targets
• Managing payroll, staff expenses and sales commissions
• Editorial support; doing financial analysis of the banking industry to support awards program for flagship titles Banker Middle East and Islamic Business & Finance
• Managing company's sales database
• Key Achievements:
• Slashed costs of the company in excess of AED 100k per year through negotiation of prices, FX Rates, research with vendors and detailed cost analysis
• Drafted and implemented policies and SOPs for expenses, sales, procurement, commissions &
• payroll to ensure smooth flow of work
• Revamped the financial analysis and ranking process of financial institutions based on their financial statements to support editorial team and the awards programme associated with the magazine
• Developed Sales database that enables to do detailed assessment of company sales by product,
• variances against budget and prior years, managing performance of sales team against their targets, sales breakdown by country and so on, enabling the Sales Director and CEO to take more informed decisions with regards to sales
• Promoted in one year’s time and allotted the data management portfolio

Jul 2014 – Aug 2016 · 2 yrs 1 mo · Dubai

• Handled Accounting and Finance function for Dubai office
• Key Responsibilities:
• Suggesting areas of improvement in internal control, accounts and finance work flow
• Handling all suppliers’ payments, negotiating payment and LC terms
• Ensuring compliance with IFRS
• Recording of all transactions in Microsoft AX Dynamics
• Liaising with External Auditors
• Managing office cash flow
• Invoicing clients and following up for payments
• Payroll Processing
• All banks’ correspondence related to the company including issuance of bank guarantees and LCs.
• Achievements:
• Achieved significant cost savings for the company through better negotiation with vendors and banks for FX rates
• Significantly Improved recording of transactions details and allocation to correct accounting
• heads to ensure better reports
• Set up internal controls and procedures for smooth flow of work and to ensure transparency
• Obtained good credit terms with vendors to ensure better cash flow

Aug 2012 – Jun 2014 · 1 yr 10 mos · Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• Main Responsibilities
• Creating and handling weekly and monthly sales reports for all divisions
• Handling PnLs for all divisions
• Entering data in the system like sales orders, receipts and other journal entries etc.
• Handling employee commissions and employee advances
• Ensuring compliance with IFRS
• Implementation of bad debt write offs
• Raising invoices for all divisions
• Sending out invoices to the clients and following up on payments
• Having weekly finance meetings with partners
• Advising on proper accounting treatments and practices
• Timely financial analysis of the actual results and variance analysis with budgets.

May 2010 – Jul 2012 · 2 yrs 2 mos · Karachi

• Key responsibilities
• Participation and execution in assurance engagements as a team member (as per the requirements of the International Standards on Auditing)
• Providing Support
• Carrying out timely work while maintaining client communication
• I’ve had the experience of taking full responsibility for an entire audit including the preparation of
• financial statements and concluding on the work performed. I’ve also had vast experience of dealing with clients independently, managing my time and work pressure and effectively meeting deadlines.
• I’ve had vast exposure of preparation/verification of debtor/supplier/bank reconciliations, maintenance of fixed assets in various ERP systems, documentation, using analytics and test of details to verify individual ledger balances, verification of income and expenses including payroll and cost of sales, suggesting corrective accounting treatment and entries (as per IFRS), testing system of posting entries, testing of controls over entire accounting cycles and various other audit and accountancy related tasks including physical counts of inventories and reconciliation
• Performed audit of clients of various industries such as Textile, Pharmaceutical, Insurance, Provident Fund, Gratuity Fund, Not-for-profit organization & brokerage house.
• Performed performed Quality Control Review of the entire audit files which includes reviewing of
• planning documents, setting all the working papers and appropriately linking and referencing them, filled QCR checklists to ensure that all requirements of the quality control have been fulfilled.