Management Accounting

ALI ATHAR

**** *********** ** • Katy, TX • *****

713-***-**** • ******@*******.***

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Self-motivated professional with 9 years of extensive and diverse Accounting experience in Oil &

Gas, including an expat assignment in Equatorial Guinea

Committed individual with technical, analytical, and decision making skills

Strong leadership and interpersonal skills with excellent oral and written communication

Exceptional attention to detail, highly organized, and proficient in team-oriented environment

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

MARATHON OIL CORPORATION [Apr, 2006 – Mar 2015]

Cost Control Supervisor (expat) – International Operations (Jun, 2013 – Mar 2015)

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

Lead a team of Equato-Guineans in coordination with western expats from Planning and

Production groups to develop complex multi-entity annual budgets

Generate $200 MM annual departmental budgets, including Offshore, Onshore, Maintenance,

Construction, HES, Engineering, Supply Chain, HR etc. (40 plus departments)

Calculate DD&A, royalties, dividends, and over-riding partner interests

Present budgets to Regional VP, Corporate Planning, and finally to EG Government and local

partners as a PowerPoint presentation during annual budget meetings

Review actuals with senior management monthly and adjust forecasts to ensure consistency

with organizational targets. At 2014 year-end, total actuals were 0.5% over budget

Fill in for senior managers during monthly forecast meetings with Regional VP

Participated in a complex unitization agreement between Marathon and partner, while offered

recommendations to account for DD&A and future project cost allocation methodology

Act as a liaison between Accounting and Operations for various issues including JIBs

Review and approve all CAPEX and OPEX project AFEs submitted by Project Controls for

Accounting classification, consistency with budgets, appropriate verbiage, and WBS set-up

Forecast cash-flows including price and dividends ($450 MM) for monthly financial statements

Research and report profit letter variances for management, Board of Directors, and SEC

required submissions

Provide ad-hoc support to all department managers e.g. calculating workboats usage and

reviewing bids from vendors that best suit our budget, diesel allocation etc.

Train and mentor national workforce to meet corporate goal of nationalizing expat positions

Set annual goals for my direct reports, and provide periodic feedback to warrant positive

reinforcement. Conduct annual performance reviews and appraisals

Accounting Analyst – North America Production Operations (Sep, 2011 – Jun, 2013)

Houston, Texas

Provided general accounting support for three assets (RMO, SWWY, and Permian) including

monthly, quarterly and annual close, book journal entries in SAP, and financial adjustments

Coordinated monthly close activities such as allocations, WBS settlement, and joint venture

cutback

Calculated and prepared monthly and quarterly revenue accruals for all domestic assets

Analyzed accruals vs. actuals for Natural gas and NGLs, and investigated any variances

Quarterly calculated DD&A, S&H, OPEX rates for all domestic assets

Collaborated with field engineers and booked all capital and expense project accruals

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ALI ATHAR

3502 Brackenfern Rd • Katy, TX • 77449

713-***-**** • ******@*******.***

Frequently used Business Warehouse to obtain P&L, and Cash Flow for Asset Teams

Analyzed assets under construction to determine the need and classification to be capitalized

Provided monthly expense reports with variance explanations to Asset Team Manager

Prepared critical and noncritical account reconciliations for >90 accounts each quarter

Visited field locations periodically to train and assist personnel understand Accounting policies

and procedures

Staff / Lead Auditor – Internal Control (Apr, 2006 – Aug, 2011)

Houston, Texas

Plan, Scope, and developed procedures for operational, revenue, financial, field office, vendor, FCPA,

and SOX audits for both domestic and international audits

Managed Staff of up to 8 auditors on time sensitive audits like the 10-K, 10-Q, and Proxy Statement

Presented final audit reports summarizing the testing conducted, conclusions, and recommended

actions to address any control deficiencies to senior management

Interviewed senior management from various organizations to assist audit management determine

high risk areas and develop audit schedule

Collaborated with PwC and performed process walkthroughs and risk assessments

Developed an audit program to test IT Reports that were used to generate information used in

conjunction with a manual key control, and piloted it in the Revenue Audit

Trained company’s upstream and downstream audit staff and management on the newly

implemented company-wide utilized system BWise, and was nominated the Subject Matter Expert

Documented and tested controls in compliance with Sarbanes Oxley 404

Reviewed compliance with contracts and procedures, and with SAS 99

Identified areas of potential operational improvement and provided value-added suggestions to

management

Developed standard audit programs to test Business Expense Reports, and conducted lunch n learns

for the audit department on newly implemented systems and programs

Conducted Joint Venture (JV) audits to ensure all charges were in accordance with contract terms

Assumed responsibility for the professional and technical development of new staff through on-the-

job-interaction, coaching, and lead in-house training

Participated in putting together training material for report writing and beginner auditor training

Accountant – Benefits & Compensation [Special Assignment] (Dec, 2009 – Apr, 2010)

Houston, Texas

Updated monthly Treasury Stock report and Performance Units report, journal entry processing in

SAP, accounting for pension related benefits (FAS 87, 106, and 112), and SAP general ledger

Assisted with 10-Q/10-K SEC reporting, PwC quarterly review, and quarterly pension footnote

Recorded monthly payroll-related expenses, pension fund administration, stock option processing,

critical account reconciliation, bonus accruals and reversals, and vacation and medical accruals

True-up SAP ledgers per Fidelity and Hewitt annual statements at year-end

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting

University of Houston – Downtown, TX [Aug, 2000 – Dec, 2005]

Graduated Cum Laude, Major G.P.A 3.6, Minor in Finance

CERTIFICATION

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ALI ATHAR

3502 Brackenfern Rd • Katy, TX • 77449

713-***-**** • ******@*******.***

CIA; successfully completed parts I & II

CPA Candidate

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Advanced skills in SAP R/3, TeamMate, Hyperion (Essbase, SmartView, HFP, WFP), Business Objects,

BWise, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Experience in SOX 404 assessment, implementation, and compliance

Technical knowledge of the COSO Internal Control framework

Strong knowledge of audit planning, sampling, and testing methodology

ORGANIZATIONS

President; Sigma Pi Fraternity at University of Houston-Downtown Chapter, Jan 2005 – Dec 2005

Member; Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), 2006 – Present

Social Committee Chair; Marathon Oil – Young Professionals Group (YPG), 2011 – 2012

Member; Marathon Oil – F&A Inclusion Committee, Mentoring Program, and Diversity Team, 2007 - 2013

VOLUNTEER

United Negro Collegiate Fund (UNCF), 2007 – 2013

YES Preparatory School, 2007 – 2013

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