LEEZA GEORGE

Address: PO BOX 67909, Dubai, UAE

Phone: + (971) 50 217 9979

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leeza-george-37973a172

CFO | Head of Finance | Financial Controller| Senior Analyst
Chartered Accountant with 20+ years of excellent expertise in Finance Management Analysis Office Administration and Business Strategy development
An Accomplished senior financial management professional offering extensive experience in the areas of treasury operations, working capital management, ERP implementations, accounts payables and receivables, payroll processing, financial statements preparation and analysis and handling different types of auditing.
Proven record of effectively leading accounting and financial aspects in the previously held position as Head of Finance, further increasing revenues and business growth multi folds.
Successful in developing and implementing strong financial controls while being involved in strategic business decisions.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with strong belief in team work and always succeeded in promoting right attitude at work.
Studious, methodical, hardworking and a motivated self-starter
Areas of Expertise

❖      Treasury Operations Management

❖      Working Capital Funding Arrangements and Maintenance

❖      Relationship with Financial Institutions and Handling all reporting Requirements

❖      Monthly and Annual Financial Statements Reporting in line with IFRS and Ratio Analysis

❖      Project Costing and Revenue Accounting

❖      Trade Finance management

❖      Insurance Coverage Negotiations and Controls

❖      Budgeting Variance Analysis and Gatekeeping of Overheads

❖      ERP Implementations

❖      MIS Reports Development and Accurate Processing

❖      Payroll Process Design and WPS Administration

❖      Handling Transactional / Investors Audits

❖      VAT Invoicing Accounting and Returns

❖      Efficiency in Processes through IT Automation

❖      Revenue Generation/Profit Maximisation

❖      Department Restructuring and Development

❖      Office Administration and Performance Monitoring

❖      Training and Mentoring

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Head of Finance – Gulf Human Resources Development Est (GHRDC)
Aug 2006 – Sept 2018
GHRDC is a leading consultancy company based in Abu Dhabi offering oilfield services for last 30 years. As an approved consultant of ADNOC, GHRDC does recruitment and placement of technical manpower in oil companies and handles consultancy/ training services in many areas including HSE, Risk assessment and defensive driving. Clients of the company include NPCC, NMDC, TOTAL ABK and Petrofac.

Key Accomplishments:

❖      Developed and implemented an effective business strategy with innovative work practices in close conjunction with the CEO of the company, resulting in increasing annual turnover from AED 10M in 2006 to AED 75M in 2018.

❖      Professionally handled and controlled the project contracts from tendering stage through to final invoicing and managed funds with better terms with vendors and principal companies based in Europe.

❖      Defined and developed real time accounting system from scratch as well as introduced MIS reporting to meet challenging business needs.

❖      Collaborated with the senior management to take corrective and critical business decisions as per the financial condition of the company.

❖      Defined and implemented debt collection standards to determine outstanding payments from debtors using accurate and detailed reports; minimised debt payment cycle from 120-180 days to 30-45 days.

❖      Played a focal role in improving financial position of the company from zero funds to approx. AED 20M for working capital management by implementing necessary financial measures as well as establishing strong rapport with the higher authorities of three leading UAE banks.

❖      Developed a strong network of consultant principal companies based in UK and Europe. Acted as an agent between ADNOC and principal companies; handled billing and payments related to all service orders and minimised cashflow mismanagement using timely MIS reporting. Collected accurate payments from the oil companies and initiated a system of escrow type accounting to minimise financial issues.

❖      Successful in integrating an efficient accounting, reporting and auditing system within the company through effective implementation of Tally ERP software. Recorded all the financial transactions online and opened separate books of accounts for group companies, brought in drastic change in the timeframe of annual audit/financial reporting for every account.

Job content:

❖      Management of Treasury Operations, which consists of daily fund flow monitoring, management of overdraft utilization and monitoring interest costs, investment of surplus funds. Periodical preparation of MIS reports for credit evaluation/enhancement/renewals by three major UAE banks and liaising with them to ensure advantageous terms and conditions in banking tie ups.

❖      Responsible for month end payroll of approx. 300 employees through the Wages Protection System (WPS) of the labour department ensuring accuracy and timely delivery

❖      Ensuring data integrity in the invoicing for projects related to consultancy as well as the seconded manpower supply and implementing internal control procedures and policies in the Finance dept.

❖      Responsible for all the Payables and Receivables including timely collections, follow ups, negotiation of better credit terms and periodic MIS reports associated with AP and AR. Also, in charge of all payments to creditors and principal companies.

❖      Principal companies accounting and monthly MIS reporting to their head offices in Europe.

❖      GHRDC uses Tally ERP 9 and expertise in developing chart of accounts, data processing, and designing/processing of all necessary reports from Tally.

❖      In charge of managing Trade Finance facilities (bank guarantees) – preparation and tracking of bid and performance bonds and monitoring the associated costs.

❖      Preparation of monthly quarterly and annual consolidated Financial Statements of all group companies and timely conduct of Annual Audit.

❖      Management of VAT registration, submission of VAT returns by processing of input and output taxes ensuring accurate net payment to Federal Tax Authority.

EARLIER CAREER
Feasibility Study | BNP Paribas, Abu Dhabi
May 2006 – Jun 2006
❖      Conducted market study relating to prospect of setting up a fleet management company in the UAE.

❖      Performed macro analysis of the UAE economy SWOT analysis of the auto industry across UAE as well as growth analysis of operational leasing industry with its future prospects in market.

Sr. Accountant | 4×4 Motors, Dubai
Oct 2005 – Mar 2006
❖      Performed work related to general accounting, reconciliations, MIS reporting and financial statement auditing.

Sr. Accountant – ERP Implementation | Asmak PJSC, Dubai
Jun 2003 – Apr 2004
❖      Proactively involved in implementing an ERP package (Orion by ICICI InfoTech); managed coordination between system provider and user team.

❖      Effectively analysed and evaluated the entire business operations, automated the business process, determined customisation requirements and ensured implementation in line with the applicable standards and requirements.

Accounts Executive | Federal Express, Dubai
May 2002 – Aug 2002
❖      Handled activities pertaining to account reconciliations, employee payments processing and franchisee commission verifications while maintaining close communication with the creditors.

Asst. Manager Finance | Indus-League Clothing Ltd, Bangalore, India
Aug 1999 – Jul 2001
❖      Undertook responsibility of spearheading treasury operations in addition to monitoring currency risk exposure, maintaining strong banking relations, planning budget and managing accounts payable.

❖      Overseen and controlled fixed assets expenditures, consolidated accounts, managed trade financing of import operations and customised ERP implementation process.

Executive Finance | Madura Coats Ltd, Bangalore
Sep 1997 – Aug 1999
❖      Provided required assistance and support in daily funds management, reporting forex risk, leading control operations, handling export collections, releasing service bills and finalising the consolidated accounts of company.

❖      Closely collaborated with the banks/RBI/DGFT authorities pertaining to working capital facilities.

❖      Served as an integral member of the team and implemented ERP solutions across all divisions of MCL in 1998-99.

❖      Contributed in developing and implementing a customised treasury module.

Accounts Officer | Lovelock and Lewis Services Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore
Sep 1995 – Oct 1996
❖      Worked in the credit card centre of Standard Chartered Bank in Bangalore; undertook responsibility of data transfer, data integrity and reconciliations of the related control and bank accounts.

Previous experience of working as an apprentice for three years with M/S. Suri & Co. in Chennai (India); attained extensive audit experience and knowledge.

EDUCATION
1997              Chartered Accountant (ACA), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)

1991              Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), Calicut University, India

PERSONAL DETAILS
Nationality: Indian | Visa Status: Resident visa under spouse sponsorship

Driver’s Licence: UAE | Languages: English, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil