Michael Benitez Email and Phone Number

- Responsible for cross functional project management for site changes impacting accounting and treasury process flows. Overseeing the financial aspects of a project as itprogresses.- Project cost reporting and analysis by project with timely monthly financial reporting and budgets, as well as project forecasts.- Provide seamless support to treasury, finance, operations, overseas office, and special teams.- Streamline financial processes to ensure the timely and efficient completion of projects.- Ensuring operational excellence, quarterbacking / supporting operations teams and acting as the immediate point of contact with project accounting, including review of invoices to contract terms.- Drive improvement in internal controls, streamline financial processes to ensure the timely and efficient completion of projects.- Consolidated Monthly reporting analysis by Business units.- Cost center controls / analysis (budget / forecast / actuals).

- Oversee and advise on the Business Resilience (Enterprise Risk Management and Business Continuity Planning) process and reporting of the company.- Performing continuous enterprise risk assessment with different area owners of the smelter to identify key risks ranging from strategic business risks to geo-political and natural phenomenon risks; evaluate risk exposures and develop appropriate risk treatment plans.- Prepares and reviews together with the Business Resilience Management Committee (BRMC) the Qatalum Business Resilience Report that communicated to the Board of Directors.- Developed, educated, and trained C-Suite personnel, Department Managers, Heads and superintendents in the ERM and BCP process.

- Responsible for delivering 77$/ton of cash cost improvements starting from 2020.- Led the Project Management Office (PMO), with Process Improvement Specialists and Financial Controllers supporting the PMO (indirectly reporting to the Program Manager).- Developed the Qatalum Improvement Program III (QIP III) governance and reporting structure.- Dealt with owners and board of directors with on yearly QIP plans of the company. Provided quarterly updates on the status of the Improvement Program.- Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the Business Resilience of the company (Enterprise Risk Management and Business Continuity Planning) and improved the reporting of the Business Resilience quarterly reports starting from October 2020.

- Oversee and advise over $45 million of yearly budget for the Reduction / Electrolysis group. Improved the reporting of costs such as maintenance cost, consumables and CAPEXs of the Reduction group by feeding the group manager and his department managers with automated reports sent at regular intervals through SAP Business Objects.- Supported the group in acquiring CAPEX funds for Industry 4.0 projects, one of the firsts in the company. These Industry 4.0 projects were very profitable and had a payback period of less than 1 year.- Actively challenged and supported groups in their technical or financial plans, whether they be ahead of plans (or financial savings) or behind plans (or financial overruns).- Supported the group on its strategic planning activity and risk management to ensure alignment with the company’s strategic objectives.

- Overall, in-charge of the company process of consolidating and reporting the annual business plan and budget of the company and served as the focal point of the Finance and Commercial Committee, Board of Directors and Owners on queries regarding financial and operational results of the company.- Developed automated reports through various systems for monthly reporting of Technical and Financial reports for the company sent to Senior Management, Board of Directors, and owners.- Improved the reporting of the Qatalum Management Report with the support and acceptance of owners.- Provided yearly scenarios or sensitivity analyses to senior management regarding profitability, cash generation to aid them in their decision making. Such reports were particularly useful during the company’s Plan B and Plan C initiative in 2016 when the LME prices of Aluminium were sharply declining. Qatalum survived the global recession and generated net income and positive cash while other smelters in the world started curtailing production while absorbing heavy losses.- Overall responsible for the financial controlling of the administrative section of the company.

- Oversaw and advised over $32 million of the Technical group’s yearly budget.- Supported the group in delivering one of the biggest fixed cost reductions in the company with a net annual cost savings of more than $11 million.- Lead Financial Controller in developing, standardizing and improving the cost reporting of the company on maintenance cost.- Facilitated the financial controlling activities of five different areas with distinct services to the company during this period: IS/IT, Engineering, Central Maintenance, Port & Utilities and Plant Infrastructure departments.- Improved the reporting of costs for the group and its departments using SAP Business Objects.

- Improved the process and formulated budgeting guidelines on annual Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of the company. This was to ensure that the CAPEX proposals were in accordance with IFRS and established company policy or procedures (i.e., Table of Financial Authority).- Played a dual role as a member of the Business Planning and Reporting team and the Financial Controller for some of the administration areas such as HR and Admin, Procurement and Communications department.- Provided information to the consultant hired by the company in establishing the first Qatalum Improvement Program (QIP I) with a target of 150$/ton of cash cost improvements.- Established a standard way of reporting group and department performance reviews to ensure consistency and uniformity among groups or departments.

- Responsible for Qatalum payments to vendors such as raw materials, services and employees totaling $100 million per month and in addition, also facilitated the monthly withholding tax remittances of the company to the Ministry of Finance in Qatar.- Responsible for Qatalum receivables on metal sales of almost $120 million per month.- Member of the Project Control and Accounting department of the Qatalum project team responsible for almost $2 billion of the total $6 billion project budget.- Managed reports such as vendor reconciliation, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) reports and financial close-out of contracts.- In-charge of the overall cost recovery of the Qatalum project.

- Installed and implemented the accounting system (Peachtree) and procedures of the company.- Dealt other responsibilities such as administration and procurement of the firm.- As a new company, I have assisted the General Manager concerning financials for potential investors (Business Plans) which have been presented to potential partners or investors.

- Focal point between the site office and AirProducts headquarters in the UK on Progress Payment Certificates and Invoices.- Audited and verified Construction Change Orders and Variation Notices sent by the contractor.- Responsible for the petty cash of the project team.- Managed the documentation control of the project team.

- Facilitated the financial recording up to the filing of taxes for several large and medium sized companies through the firm’s accounting system (Platinum for Windows).- Participated in auditing companies who were levied tax assessments imposed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.- Oversaw and discussed accounting procedures and accounting transactions with clients when needed in their offices.