Management Accountant - Al-Futtaim 

Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group’s entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate. 

By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day

Overview of the role

Responsible for providing financial and administrative support in order to ensure effective, efficient and accurate financial and administrative operations. Including processing and monitoring payments and expenditures, supporting expansion team, ensuring that AL Futtaim policies are adhered, highlighting variations to plan and liaising with finance shared services.

What you will do

Management Information Support

• Support in the routine finance issues, and
• Support and guide the team to ensure that the policies and the law of the land are adhered.
• Reporting: Manage the pre-operative expenses, Capital expenditure and prepare various reports for all stores (sales, performance, FLASH, management meeting pack, etc.) and submit to management for review & action.
• Margin Analysis: prepare periodic margin analysis report & submit to management for review & action
• Markdown Sales Analysis: prepare weekly markdown sales analysis report & submit to management for review

BPC

• Support the annual manpower planning process by working with HR Manager to ensure that the system is running correctly and pre-requisites are adhered to
• Check SAP Data upload and work with HR Manager to ensure correctly classified and anomalies are corrected in line with the management proposed budget.
• Load Data into BPC including Movement type and Trading Partner Classification.

Pre-Opening / Capital Expenses (Existing and new projects)

• Ensure that preopening expenses are tracked / accounted and informed to the management on a monthly basis.
• Provide insight and explanations for discrepancies working with relevant line managers to support amends/justifications

Submission of Tax Returns

• Provide expert knowledge to the business on taxation issues and how best to plan & prepare for costs
• Coordinate with Shared services and support to ensure that all submission to Govt authorities are done on time.
• Support the management to ensure the compliance of Govt and Al Futtaim policies.

Budgeting/Latest Estimate (LE)

• Prepare & compile previous years (LY) budgeted & actual business figures,
• Carry out logical analysis and submit to relevant line managers requesting for current budgets –
• Support the budgeting process by consolidating reports and analysis and prepare the budget/LE summary by division/store/location
• submit for management approval – providing rationale and detailed information to provide guided business decision
• Once budgets approved, carry out the phasing of the budgets for the year and upload information into business system
• Communicate to the relevant parties their budgeted amounts

Audit/Review

• Work with the internal & external auditors to provide the relevant documents ensuring that all queries are accurately advised.
• Carry out own internal audits to ensure safeguarding of relevant policies & processes, providing full written statement and appropriate business actions where necessary
• Carry out a quarterly query of inventory that are aged over 1 year - prepare and submit a report showing cost, original retail, existing retail to the buyers. 
• Download by account codes from the system and scrutinize G/L entries for preparation of various schedules

Business Continuity

• Support role to the Finance Manager with ad hoc project management and necessary reports to support the finance function and relevant business information including preliminary workings for the capital requirements for New store expansions.
• Ensure that Navision is operational at all times and monitoring of system, working with IT manager to ensure business continuity
• Ensure the SAP, ERP and Navision interlink and develop a good understanding of system usage and potential of the system
• Ensure the accuracy of the trial balance to reflect the real picture of the company financial position. And prepare monthly Balance Sheet analysis
• At the same time ensuring adequate controls have to be built in into the daily processes to have complete control in the custodial function of the finance function
• Own & manage the SOPs working with the store Cash team for Petty Cash and the cash admin function in general ensuring synergy with current store processes

Required Skills to be successful

• Analytical skills,
• Financial modeling skills,
• Good communication skills and
• Problem solving skills.

Behavioural Competencies:

Must have the ability to create an environment where the IKEA values are a strong and living reality that embraces the diversity of co-workers and visitors

• Customer Focus
• Individual Accountability
• Continuous Improvement
• Personal Leadership
• Team work

What equips you for the role

• Commerce Graduate with experience MS Office and SAP& Navision Preferred.
• 5 years’ experience in a similar role.
• Previous retail or E-commerce experience preferred.
• Previous experience of complex operations