Sara Molavi Email & Phone Number

Australia

Australia

Partnering with the CEO and founders of a high-growth company with an existing portfolio to design and lead the finance department, establish the finance function, improve internal controls, and provide strategic and commercial support to the executive team and managing director. Responsible for managing a $42M P&L, as well as all accounting functions, including balance sheet management, cash flow, and legal and financial reporting to the Board. Building the finance department by hiring new staff. Forged influential relationships with the board of directors, COO, regional delivery team, and heads of sales and HR. Led the audit and investment due diligence to attract investors.

Leading the Umlaut finance department during its transition to Accenture following the acquisition by facilitating communication between the HQ and Accenture finance teams.Engaged as the region’s first head of finance to design, operationalize, and mature the finance function, I focused on elevating team performance, maximizing financial health, and enhancing strategic and commercial decision support for the executive team and the Managing Director. I was responsible for managing a €20M P&L and overseeing all accounting functions, including balance sheet management, cash flow, legal and audit aspects, and financial reporting. I provided leadership to a lean team of three accountants and one analyst. Additionally, I forged influential relationships with leaders across the company, including those in the delivery team, heads of sales, and HR, while reporting directly to the Managing Director.

As the region’s first head of finance, I have created the finance function from the ground up. Supporting the company’s growth with full P&L accountability, I have played a key role in supporting a recent acquisition by Accenture, managing all accounting functions, including balance sheet, cash flow, legal and audit aspects and financial reporting. I have defined all roles and responsibilities, along with clear structure and accountabilities for the finance division, creating a number of strategies to improve cash flow and transparency, gained full control over working capital, facilitated exceeding targets for sales and margins by 21% and 10% respectively, and assisting the Philippines office to improve performance and exceed its targets by 20%.

Sydney, Australia

During a time of 500+% business growth during a transition period and merger with Alcatel-Lucent, I provided oversight and financial control across 9-figures of customer transactions, managing financial performance and compliance matters, including SOX issues and preparing for audits. Creating a robust financial business partner capability, establishing customer accounts financial reporting and 100s of accounts and streamlining payments to support business growth, I delivered a BI-based financial reporting regime that consolidated information, clarified processes and improved information sharing. I also improved team performance and unity through targeted activities to support team cohesion that helped our team to provide top performance throughout the pandemic.

Australia

Engaged to provide financial leadership to the Vodafone customer team by overseeing P&L management, cost control, cash flow, budgeting and forecasting, I volunteered to lead the set-up of the dollar Optus contract in mid 2015. Requiring the establishment of a full financial management framework, I have worked with Optus and the business to facilitate smooth contract delivery from back office. As a SAP key user for Nokia Australia and New Zealand, I hold responsibility for all financial data and also manage the general training requirements of the team to develop their knowledge base. I maintain full financial control duties to monitor progress, control costs and mitigate risks across the contract.• Reduced variance from plan significantly as a result of tighter financial control and increased business partnering and planning activities;• Enabled cost savings by preparing a business case to bring previously outsourced vendor activities back in house;• Introduced a new invoicing system, solving legacy issues and improving visibility in the invoicing process;• Prepared an induction document to train new systems users which has now been rolled out globally.

Tehran Province, Iran

Reporting to the CFO and with full financial control for operations across the Siemens Network cluster, I was responsible for the financial control of contracts, on a national basis. I identified opportunities to drive profit through improved control of cost centres and strategies to deal with FX fluctuations, in addition to overseeing complex accounting activities and reporting. I managed a team of 7 Financial Controllers and trained new team members to ensure a consistent knowledge base and performance level, with a focus on driving smart working.• Facilitated external audits by partnering with the external Auditors to help the process run more smoothly;• Took a strong leadership role in managing any customer or contract issues, including working with legal teams to identify solutions and protect the company from penalties/financial exposure.

Tehran Province, Iran

Financial Controller for major client, MTN Group, I provided full spectrum financial management including cash flow management, budgeting and forecasting. I was responsible for all governance and compliance including Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) as well as negotiating commercial contracts with vendors to maximise margin through pricing structures and sourcing strategies. I established a billing framework for contracts to align contractual obligations with customer expectation and managed internal cost-control measures. • Promoted to Senior Financial Controller as the project scaled, growing the team from 2 to 5 direct reports;• Generated a 7-8% reduction in taxation payments through deep dive analysis;• Realised considerable efficiencies in equipment costs through effective negotiation with the vendor

Tehran Province, Iran

Beginning as an Audit Assistant, I quickly progressed to Auditor and then Senior Auditor working with large multinational companies to lead the end to end planning process for audit delivery including setting timescales and budgets and selecting a project team. I built strong relationships with clients to overcome any issues such as SOX compliance failures and developed an advanced knowledge of Iranian tax legislation as a result. • Reviewed financial statements, M&A activities (due diligence) and records to identify compliance issues and present recommendations to client-side executive teams;• Led up to 7 auditors to deliver consistently high-quality standards across a range of audit projects

Iran

Recording of daily financial accounts in accounting software and also Doing book keeping and Recording of weekly petty cashes, bank reconciliation , inventory & account payable & receivable , also preparing tax return for company

Education record

Education record

Education record