Leading the finance department for the Sanipex Group (www.sanipexgroup.com) which provides high quality sanitaryware products, outdoor furniture, tiles, lighting and kitchen appliances to the worldwide market.In addition to being a preferred distributor for leading boutique brands from around the world, we are especially proud of our own brands which range from the well-renowned BAGNODESIGN bathroom, competitive commercial washroom & plumbing solutions, with SURFACES by BAGNODESIGN providing trendy tiles and slabs, to AQUAZONE, leading AQUADRAIN. More recently, GYMKHANA and BYSTRO have joined our own brand stable to offer outdoor furniture, lighting and kitchen appliances.With numerous retail and A&D showrooms located in some key cities in Europe, Asia and Africa we also continue to strengthen our position as the market leader in our traditional Middle East markets with an extensive and exclusive product portfolio and an unrivalled supply chain capability to give customers exactly what they want in their specific timeframes. The launch of our ecommerce website has further extended our reach to our clients based all over the world.The role serves as a key advisor to the other company Directors in areas such as business development, M&A and involves long term business modelling and forecasting as well as production of monthly and statutory Group accounts to International Audit Standards.There are further crucial requirements such as developing BI and MI to suit the needs of the business, to build the strategic finance picture for the Sanipex Group and to establish the risk policy and to ensure appropriate controls are identified and enacted.General finance responsibilities including liaising with key internal and external stakeholders such as banks, managing a large and dedicated team of finance professionals and ensuring the strong performance of the treasury function within the group.

Working for Gulf Greetings LLC which has operated for over 30 years and is now a multi-site, multi-channel retail and wholesale group with over 60 retail stores, 400 employees and a presence in multiple countries that specialises in the sale of greetings cards, gifts, wrapping paper, a wide range of toys and other products. Gulf Greetings LLC, with its distinctive and specialist branded stores- ‘Hallmark’ (for greetings cards, gifts and plush toys) and ‘The Toy Store’ (for an unrivalled selection of toys for target markets such as boys, girls, indoor, outdoor, specialist, educational, DVDs and baby toys) is now the UAE’s market leader and is undergoing further expansion to solidify its current position.Authority for overseeing the financial accounts team and the commercial finance team for the business which includes managing the various team members and driving improvements across both teams whilst keeping the company goals in mind.Key duties include preparing and reporting on the monthly management accounts board pack which includes group monthly income statement, balance sheet, cash flows, KPIs, facility usage and updating banking covenants. Preparation of group budgets and forecasts for all areas of the business. Cash flow projections for the group have become vital to ensure the group can meet its growth and profitability objectives.Account management of key suppliers to ensure continuous supply of exclusive products at the strongest margins available.Accountable for the completion of the statutory audited accounts for all of the group companies under IFRS.Ensuring the internal controls are adequate and infrastructure in place for growth for the business both in the UAE region and other countries in the Middle East such as Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Dealing with new company set up and administrative duties to change ownership of current companies to newly established group companies.

Part of the senior management team of a multinational manufacturing company reporting to the C.E.O., the role included the management of the Finance & Controlling, IT, Purchasing and HR departments for the company which experienced tremendous growth, going from turnover of €33m in 2007 to €70m in 2010 and from 12 employees in 2007 to over 60 by the end of 2011. Specifically, this included the timely and accurate production and presentation of the management accounts to the German parent company by working day 3, setting the annual budget for each department manager, biannual re-forecasting of budget, forecasting and updating the 3 year rolling operating plan, preparing the statutory accounts within strict deadlines, undertaking the biennial internal audit with the parent company. Also, there was a need to conduct feasibility studies into expansion plans, leading the project to implement a new accounting system, dealing with transfer pricing issues concerning trade with German parent company, all HMRC returns for the company, cash flow forecasts/ analysis, treasury and tax planning, authorising supplier payments, assisting with company pension scheme and bank reconciliations for 3 different currency accounts.There was also the opportunity to lead the strategically important project to consolidate the company into the parent group accounts and the move from UK GAAP to IFRS reporting for the whole company. The core finance duties were supplemented by other tasks such as managing and performing appraisals on a team of people across 4 departments, authorising the monthly company payroll and implementing and overseeing the centralised purchasing function within the company.

Detailed weekly sales consolidating and reporting for 74 stores with a total turnover of £12m p.a. (includes consolidated sales reports to directors and key external stakeholders (Fuji & Kodak), posting and reconciling the weekly sales figures, specific KPI calculations distributed to area managers and directors, maintaining company sales database, 4 & 10 week comparative reports).Helping to integrate new store openings into existing accounts reporting methods, assisted in bringing the store cash handling function for all the stores in-house, monthly management accounts preparation and submission to directors, assisting with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Claims recoveries, preparing monthly reports for Unilever Plc, bank reconciliations, posting and reconciling the company payroll, providing the marketing department financial information on company promotions using Crystal Reports XI, preparation of the statutory accounts.

Role included - Bank reconciliations; constructing cash flow forecasts for company with turnover of more than £10m; assisting with preparation of monthly management accounts; implementing new purchase order systems; assisting with year end accounts; controlling the purchase ledger; training and supervising purchase ledger assistant; petty cash; maintaining sales ledger; credit control.

Purchase and sales ledgers, bank reconciliations, credit control, petty cash, reporting figures to M.D. and Board of Directors in America, transferring assets due to company closure.