Finance and Grants management

Saruda Simonson

** ******** *****, *****, ************* 01240

Mobile phone: 516-***-****, Email: ad24ez@r.postjobfree.com. Selected Career Highlights:

• Launched assessment tools for monitoring sub-recipients to ensure compliance with USAID rules and regulations.

• Improved financial management at multiple NGOs, enabling more efficient fund allocation and ensuring compliance with program donor requirements.

• Demonstrated strong expertise in navigating development project grant requirements from the World Bank, USAID, UN and EU.

• Compiled financial reports for international donors, monitored budgets and forecasted financial trends for Regional Directors and country program management, and advised country offices on fund utilization.

• Hired and trained finance officers and finance managers for country offices Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Bangladesh.

• Led annual finance conferences featuring technical workshops to help program managers integrate improvements in financial management.

• Assisted the regional director to set up financial operations systems in the country offices, designed purchase order, payment vouchers and other financial templates and training newly recruited finance officers in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan.

Work Experience

Grants Contractor – Part Time

School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York

(Nov 2021-Jun 2023)

• Reviewed all new grant proposals and awards and communicated essential terms of the grants to staff.

• Assisted with pre- and post-awards activities for research and service projects and ensured compliance with sponsor and institutional policies and regulations.

• Reviewed, analyzed, and submitted budgets and expense reports, ensuring accuracy and alignment of expenses with the budgets, and performed quarterly financial reports.

• Reviewed and validated purchase requisitions and ensuring compliance with the university’s policies align with the budget availabilities.

• Created and maintained comprehensive records and systems of information related to proposals.

Program Finance Contractor

Charity Water, New York

(January 2020-March 2020)

• Travelled to Uganda to conduct financial vetting of the partners in financial management and procurement prior to funding.

• Assisted partners to create financial policies to improve transparency and strengthen its internal control and meet donor’s requirements.

• Reviewed and approved water grants from proposal to completion. Grants and Contracts Manager

Action Against Hunger USA

(August 2014-December 2015)

• Managed DFID contracts and 30 USAID grants executed by the New York Office and distributed to sub-contract/grants, including updating grants and contract files, assuring appropriate documents were, and corresponding with donors.

• Monitored spending performance, performed monthly reconciliation, and ensured compliance with funding agency regulations (USAID,UN,DFID,SIDA,EU etc.) and submitted quarterly reports with allowable indirect cost rates in a timely manner.

• Prepared proposal budgets to international donors and reviewed USAID proposal budgets and narratives from other AAH international offices and made recommendations prior to submission.

• Successfully launched a proposal budget checklist as a guideline to ensure that other international offices understand and meet requirements in submitting US grant proposals.

• Worked closely with project coordinator and program officers on all issues related to budget management and finance.

Asia Area Finance Manager

World Concern Asia, Bangkok & New York

(November 2011-May 2014)

• Standardized policies for procurement, inventory, and accounting records improved operations and increased transparency for 5 country offices to fulfilled requirements of international donors and strengthen internal control.

• Monitored budgets for all country offices, analyzed and adjusted fund allocations for country offices, and reconciled fund balance.

• Oversaw monthly financial transactions, managed all grant budgets, and conducted the annual budgeting process for WC’s Asia.

• Consolidated and reviewed monthly financial reports for submission to headquarters in Seattle and made recommendations for cost allocation and accounting code use to country offices and regional offices.

• Developed financial management and operations strategies for country offices in Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh to ensured WC Asia’s compliance with its internal financial policies, national laws, and donor requirements.

• Reshaped Vietnam's country office to improve segregation of duties to manage World Bank contract and took the lead on budget management and operations in the long-term absence of a Vietnam country director.

• Supervised the senior accountant and accounting staff, reviewed, and approved disbursements, bank reconciliations, and monthly tax reports for Asia Regional Office. Serve as the primary contact for annual audit and provided response to external auditor.

• Provided training and technical support for ACCPAC users approximately 14 finance staff In Laos, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, which empowered field finance staff to submit accurately and timely reports. Finance Manager

Academy for Educational Development, Bangkok (FHI 360)

(June 2010-August 2011)

• Prepared monthly financial reports, financial pipeline projections, and accrual reports for USAID and project end-users.

• Monitored budget and provided monthly/quarterly analysis to regional director about project performance. Forecasted monthly expenses to ensure cash for office operation costs.

• Developed field budgets for management and USAID, monitored and maintained quarterly and annual project budgets, and prepared budget modifications for country and regional programs as needed.

• Held responsibility for financial activities in the field, including acquisition of goods and services, and approved budgets for sub-agreements, task orders, purchase orders, and consultants to ensure accuracy and compliance with AED and USAID requirements.

• Ensured project accounting transactions were entered into QuickBooks and project financial files, allowing complete and proper backup/audit documentation.

• Worked closely with AED’s Washington DC headquarters to support Asia regional proposals, providing budget and financial technical assistance on regional bids and proposals.

Regional Finance Officer, Asia

Right To Play Asia, Bangkok

(October 2006-April 2010)

• Held overall financial responsibility for Right To Play accounts in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan and Azerbaijan – which were focused for Refugee programs and posted-affected Tsunami programs in Asia 2004.

• Monitored compliance on cash flow management, budgeting, consolidation of accounting information, internal controls, financial reporting, financial record- keeping, and grant management in the Asia Regional Office and Asia Country Offices in accordance with the Right To Play Field financial manual and donor regulations.

• Reviewed and consolidated monthly financial reports for all Asia country offices into ACCPAC system

• Oversaw USAID, RNMFA, UNHCR and UNICEF grant portfolios in Asia, and guided country-level spending to ensure that it was aligned with the approved budgets and for submission to headquarters in Canada.

• Hired and supervised country Finance Officers in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Azerbaijan, and maintained strong relationships with donors to ensure accountability for grant compliance and the production of accurate reports.

• Worked closely with country directors and project managers for solving financial issues such as monthly financial reports, tracking cash flows, and cash and bank reconciliations.

• Prepared for the annual audit and met with external auditors to provide all financial transactions needed and led the team to correct action from auditor recommendations.

Japanese Corporate Business Officer (Credit Analyst) UFJ Bank Limited

(May 2003- March 2006)

• Gathered and analyzed financial status and credit-related data, and established plans to achieve funding targets in line with bank policies.

• Wrote credit applications for automobile industry clients including company background, business plan, and business performance by analyzing income statements and balance sheets, cash flow analysis and company outlook.

• Analyzed business performances through cash flow, sale volume, business costs, marketing plan to support client’s source of fund to repay loans.

• Reviewed clients’ credit ratings and composed reports to HQ in Japan providing recommendations to improve credit ratings.

• Visited clients frequently to maintain relationships, collect data from business’s plan to support credit analysis.

Education

• Year 2005-2007 : Master’s Degree in Business Administration – Finance Assumption University Bangkok, Thailand

• Year 2000-2003 : Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Major in Finance and Banking

Assumption University Bangkok, Thailand

• Year 1998-2000 : Higher Vocational School.

Major in Accounting

Darasamutr Business Administration Scho

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