Finance Manager - Chartered Accountant (8+ Years)

*

EDEM KOJO SHINE DARKU

Accra, Ghana Tel: +233-***-***-*** Email: ***********@*****.***

Professional Summary:

Dedicated and seasoned accountant with over eight (8) years of progressive experience in financial management, reporting, and strategic planning. Proven expertise in budget analysis, cash flow forecasting, account reconciliation, and tax compliance. Strong organizational and leadership skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks to achieve organizational goals. Key Skills:

Budgeting and Forecasting

Financial Reporting and Analysis

Tax Planning and Compliance

Cash Flow Management

Reconciliations

Debtors & Credit Control

Project Management

Software: Excel, QuickBooks, Sage

Professional Experience:

Night Manager/ Auditor

Best Western Premier Airport Hotel, Accra

Mar 2025 – Dec 2025

Supervision of hotel staff performing night or holiday duties, reducing staff absenteeism by 98%

Daily audit of all sales transactions at the hotel’s restaurant, therefore exposing fraud and a 5% further reduction in errors

Audit of all cash deposits of the hotel’s sales made at the banks and the investigation of any suspicion aimed at ensuring 100% safety of the company’s funds

The audit of departmental store requisitions and the transfers of items made during holidays or the night shift. This reduced theft of the hotel items by 60%

Investigation and resolution of all complaints made by hotel guests or staff during holidays and the night shift, thus improving customer satisfaction further by 1%

Daily inspection of the security facilities on the hotel’s premises and the monitoring of adherence to all security protocols

The preparation and submission of the daily management reports by 6am highlighting daily sales, resources and issues identified during night duties or holidays for the attention of the hotel’s management

Perform other duties as assigned by the CEO

2

Assistant Finance Manager/Cost Controller

Best Western Premier Airport Hotel, Accra

Sep 2023 – Feb 2025

80% improvement in menu costing and the pricing of items on the food menu

Enhancement of the procurement process through effective team work and collaboration, thus eliminating ingredients shortages needed for the recipe of dishes on the menu of restaurants and a reduction in staff fraud by 10%

Daily audit of all sales transactions made by restaurants in the hotel, therefore exposing fraud and a further reduction in errors by 5%

Daily reconciliation of all cash, credit card and mobile money receipts thus ensuring 100% accountability

Monthly supervision of stock taking exercises performed at the hotel and the investigation of identified discrepancies followed by the preparation of a stock taking report. This has contributed to the reduction in fraud and breach of internal controls by 5%

A monthly performance assessment of Zara restaurant and Mmzara restaurant including the assessment of their cost to revenue ratios. This contributed to a 40% reduction in waste and efficiency improvement

The update and maintenance of fixed asset records, depreciation schedules, asset acquisitions, disposals followed by a quarterly audit of the physical existence of the fixed assets. This contributed to an 80% reduction in fixed asset thievery since the assumption of office

Debtor Management including the provision of weekly debtor reports to management, the recovery of overdue debt and the reconciliation of customers’ statements. Measures in place contributed to a 20% improvement in financial liquidity

Performed other duties as requested by the Finance Manager or Chief Executive Officer Finance Manager

Paradigm Security Services, Accra

Aug 2022 – May 2023

Preparation, reconciliation, submission and payment of monthly SSNIT contributions, VAT/NHIL returns and Withholding taxes as per the timelines and requirements of Ghana’s laws and regulations. There was a reduction in penalty payments by 90%

20% improvement in the supervision, Preparation, authorization and distribution of sales Invoices to clients.

Debtor Management and control including the provision of weekly debtor reports, reconciliation and chasing of all outstanding debts. About 20% improvement in debt repayment was the result

Reintroduced weekly bank reconciliations resulting in a 40% improvement in the identification and prompt rectification of accounting errors 3

Performed weekly cash flow analysis, forecasting and management thus improving financial liquidity by a further 10%

Monthly supervision, audit and authorization of the Payroll, thus contributing to the removal ghost names and a 5% cost savings to the company

Preparation of financial budgets, cash projections and performance assessments thus improving financial performance by 20%

Identification and implementation of robust internal controls, thus reducing revenue losses by10%

Performed other financial duties as requested by the Managing Director Finance Manager

Darsfield Village Farms and Outgrowers, Accra

Sep 2014 – Jul 2022

Implementation of a system for the preparation, reconciliation, submission and payment of Taxation and SSNIT resulting in a 70% savings in statutory penalty payments

Timely performance of bank reconciliations therefore reducing financial fraud and error by 30%

Drafting and monitoring of financial budgets and forecasts that contributed to the improvement of revenue by over 60%

Preparation of quarterly financial statements and variance reports to support financial strategy and management decision

Prompt processing of the payroll resulting in a 95% improvement in the punctual payment of salaries and allowances

Regular Inventory control and management thus reducing waste and pilfery by 20%

Performance of other financial duties assigned by the MD Finance Manager

Star Oil Ghana Limited, Accra

Jun 2013 – Aug 2014

10% improvement in the timely generation of monthly financial reports, budgets and forecast to support strategic decision making.

Monthly financial analysis showing variances or discrepancies and then identifying the root causes before making recommendations to management

Monthly supervision of fixed asset ledgers, depreciation schedules, the tracking asset acquisitions and audit of asset disposals

Management of all financial and taxation audits and the implementation of audit recommendations thus improving internal controls by 70%

Monthly supervision, reconciliation, timely submission and payment of SSNIT and taxation

4

Debtor Management including the reconciliation of customers’ statements and recovery of overdue debt resulting in a 60% improvement in cash inflow

Supervision of journal entries and ledgers reconciliation which reduced errors by 20%

Management and supervision of the payroll consequently paying 98% of salaries on the last Friday of every month

Regular training organized for finance staff aimed at raising awareness of financial risks and its mitigation

Any other job assigned by management

Accounting Officer (Part-time)

Darsfield Village Farms and Outgrowers, Accra

Jan 2010 – May 2013

Timely recording of transactions, making journal entries and adjustments

Prepared invoices, bills, expense reports, and other financial documents while ensuring proper authorization

Prepared and submitted weekly accounts payable reports

Weekly reconciliation of bank statements and account playable for approval by the finance manager

Made payment of SSNIT and income taxes as approved by the finance manager

The payment for goods and services in accordance with the approval of the finance manager

Loans Officer

Standard Chartered Bank, Accra

Jun 2006 – May 2013

Consistently exceeded the daily target of processing twenty (20) loan applications by at least 10%

Ensured daily compliance in line with the bank’s standards for the processing of loan applications as stated in the Product Approval Document thus contributing to a reduction of the loan default rate by 20%

Actively executed all directives within the timelines from the head of department to improve departmental efficiency and planning

Performed customer loan refunds and rescheduling for over 200 clients on a quarterly basis to reduce loans delinquency and the improvement customer satisfaction in accordance with the approval by the head of department

In relation to my position as the Business Continuity Plans (BCP) coordinator within the loans department, I conducted monthly business impact analysis along with quarterly evacuation drills and submitted the BCP reports accordingly. This reduced the risk of fire or other unforeseen events by over 80%

5

Regularly updated and implemented the call tree report for the loans department thus ensuring the welfare of staff and minimizing disruptions to departmental operations

Raised business recovery awareness of colleagues by 60% through regular training sessions as per the the directives of the head of department

The resolution of departmental operational issues by coordinating with officers or supervisors working within other sections of the bank

Regularly implemented and updated the Loan Centre's Departmental Operating Instructions (DOI) to streamline loan processing efficiency and operating standards Sales Officer

Stello & Co Enterprise, Accra

Jan 2004 – May 2006

Recorded sales transactions within the stipulated timelines

Organized and engaged in new customer campaigns as per the directives of the sales manager thus improving sales revenue by over 40%

Implemented systems or conditions to maintain the quality and condition of goods in stock

Facilitated timely delivery and the quality of sold items to customers by 80%

Active Resolution of customer complaints, thus contributing to the improvement of satisfaction rates by 10%

The generation of daily reports within the stipulated timelines showing the quantity, nature and condition of goods available for sale. This contributed to a reduction of waste by 30%

Education:

MBA, Finance — Coventry University, UK, Aug 2013

B.Sc. Accounting — Oxford Brookes University, UK, Jul 2008

ACCA Qualification — Association of Certified Accountants, UK, Jun 2007

HND, Computer Science — Plateau Polytechnic, Nigeria, Sep 2003 References:

Available upon request

Contact this candidate