Umesh Kotwani (CMA)

Mobile: +971*********

Email: ad2vfn@r.postjobfree.com

A competent professional with over 18 years of opulent experience in finance & accounting, statutory compliance, proven ability to ameliorate operations, internal controls & productivity (in various industries like F&B, FMCG and Retail), strives for a challenging position that would facilitate the utmost deployment and application of broad skills and expertise in making a positive difference to the organization. Professional experience:

Demind Group, Dubai, UAE (F&B Brands: Bagatelle, OPA, La Nina & Myrra) Designation: Finance Manager from Jul 2021 to Sep 2023 Reporting to: Owners & Group CFO

Direct reports / Supervising: Supervising staff of five Key responsibilities:

Prepared, reviewed, analyzed and presented accurate financial reports - Balance Sheet, Income statement, Cash Flow statements.

Monitored the income and expenses versus budget, tracked the variances, recommend corrective actions and followed-up on remedial actions to ensure the adherence to the budget.

Ensured due compliance in accordance with financial control parameters accountable for Internal Control System.

Delivered set standards of MIS reports for various departments, ensured timely preparation and presentation of periodic MIS and interpreted data to suggest ways of cost optimization and store performance improvements.

Developed and maintained systems for prompt and accurate collection of financial and accounting information.

Evaluated and presented feasibility of new projects and assessed the financial implications of new or existing stores/ventures.

Processed group payroll through WPS & bank transfers.

Reviewed, monitored franchise agreements, lease contracts / AMC’s / TL / insurance of various brands.

Disseminated tasks as per cost centers to the reporting staff.

Provided ad-hoc reports on timely manner.

Gargash Group (Food & Beverage division), Dubai, UAE Designation: Finance Manager from Aug 2018 to Jul 2021 Reporting to: Group CFO

Direct reports / Supervising: Supervising staff of four Key responsibilities:

Presenting accurate and timely financial position of the company. Preparing and submitting Profit & Loss statement, Statement of Comprehensive Income, Cash Flow statement and Balance Sheet including comparison with actual, historical and budgeted figures to the management including shareholders.

Maintaining proper books of accounts.

Preparing yearly Budgets and forecasting Revenues.

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• Maintaining adequate Working Capital with forecasting of Cash Inflows and Cash Outflows.

Costing of all food and beverage items and providing variance analysis for ideal vs actual cost.

Performing perpetual inventory audits.

Preparing, reviewing and filing of Value Added Tax (VAT) returns before the due dates.

Maintaining Fixed Assets by adding & disposing assets and passing depreciation entries and capitalization of assets.

Defining policies and procedures while leading the finance team.

Providing feasibility reports and risk analysis to the management for the new capital expenditure projects.

Providing Ratio Analysis on the profitability, efficiency, liquidity and solvency of the company.

Liaising with the auditors and finalizing the annual audits. Key achievements:

Generated idle cash by negotiating credit terms with suppliers ultimately increasing Current Ratio

Perfected / Reconciled inappropriate balances in Cash, Bank, vendor & inter-company accounts

Stringently controlled & aligned expenses with budgeted figures and reported variances

Setup procedures, formats and cutoff dates for reporting monthly financials to management Capital Group, Dubai, UAE

Designation: Assistant Manager - Finance from Nov 2015 to Jul 2018 Reported to: Group CEO and Head of Finance

Direct reports / Supervision: Supervised staff of two Key responsibilities:

Maintained proper accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R) ledgers. Prepared and issued payments to suppliers as per the agreed credit terms. Responsible for maintaining proper books of accounts.

Prepared and presented Profit & Loss statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statements and presented to the management.

Prepared Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly budgets and forecasted cash flows based on projected revenues.

Reconciled inter-company, Bank, Credit Card and Cash accounts.

Directed and supervised financial & accounting actions across the company and defined accounting policies & procedures with strict adherence.

Prepared and presented feasibility analysis reports for Capex projects.

Maintained ideal cash and minimized Working Capital.

Costing of main, sub and batch recipes for all menu items. Conducted inventory checks and submitted variance reports of actual consumption along with wastages.

Conducted Financial due diligence for subsidiary business unit.

Ratio analysis of Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet components for better understanding of financial position of the company i.e. Profitability, Liquidity and Leverage ratios.

Arranged and acquired additional sources of finance from Banks, Financial institutions, Trade Credits and Overdraft facilities with competitive interest rates.

Assisted the IT team in successful implementation of new ERP Accounting Software with parallel run and smooth transition.

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Capitalized Assets, passed depreciation entries, maintained Fixed Assets register.

Finalized accounts, completed statutory audits, obtained and reviewed audited financials. Key achievements:

Assisted the IT team in successful implementation of new ERP system with smooth transition.

Executed Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to cut labor-intensive and monotonous work.

Meticulously controlled inventory by perpetual and surprise stock audits. National Trading & Developing Est. (NTDE), Dubai, UAE Designation: Senior Accountant from Jun 2004 to Nov 2015 Reporting to: Group CFO, Finance Manager and Assistant Manager - Finance Key responsibilities:

Costing of local and international purchases of the organization. Costing of wide range of SKU’s in Food and Non-Food items.

Finalized monthly, quarterly and yearly Profit & Loss statements. Examined, evaluated and presented Profit & Loss statements.

Maintained Books of Accounts with proper filing of documents.

Processed accounts payable, accounts receivable, and cash receipts in the G/L along with Petty Cash reimbursements. Booked supplier invoices and employee expense claims and deductions to the ledgers. Prepared, checked and disbursed payments, after authorization, to local and international vendors as per their creditors age through cheques and bank transfers.

Rectified discrepancies after reconciliation of Cash, Credit Card and Bank Accounts and investigated cause of discrepancies.

Adhered to the policies and procedures and maintained accounting standards.

Capitalized Assets from Cost Work in Progress (CWIP) account to Fixed Assets upon completion of the projects. Passed monthly entries for Depreciation and Amortization. Verified and booked Capex invoices, asset additions & disposals and asset adjustments after obtaining proper authorizations. Maintained fixed assets ledger and passed gain and loss on asset entries in the accounting system.

Liaised with auditors, completed internal and external statutory audits as per schedules.

Executed perpetual inventory audits and passed necessary adjustment entries for the variance due to excess and shortages.

Academics:

- Currently pursuing ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)

- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

Extra-curricular:

Personal Vitae:

Been a Team Leader at Zabeel International Institute of Management and Technology. Organizing PowerPoint presentations, seminars & workshops.

Successfully completed project on ‘Working Capital Management’ in the final year of BBA.

Nationality : Indian

Visa status : Residence visa

Date of Birth : 16th Day of October 1981

Marital Status : Married

Driving License : Valid UAE Driver’s License

Key strengths : Self-motivated, An eye for detail and Optimistic Languages Known:

English Sindhi

Marathi Hindi

Skills:

- Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

- Enterprise Resource Planning (EPR)

- Data analysis and visualization (Excel & Power BI)

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