Rahat - 79 connections

My name is Rahat Kazmi from London, but now live in Dublin. I am a Head-hunter and looking for Jobseekers/Contractors within Finance, Accounting, Banking, Financial Services and Management Consultancy for Ireland & UK specially and Europe in general. If you are interested for us to help you, please contact me Now:

Please visit our Jobsite (launched on 18th Sep 08), which also specialises in Finance & Consulting and operates within Ireland, UK and Europe. Currently we are offering 28 Days Free Trial to Employers and Recruitment Consultancies to post unlimited number of jobs for Finance & Consulting.

Prior to Monster Finance, work Histiry:
Assistant Financial Controller at Hochtief Facility Management, Ireland

(Facilities Services industry)

2007 – 2008 (1 year)

- I created Standard Operating Procedures for Hochtief. Reviewed Monthly business activity codes, G/L codes for WIPs, Accruals, Fees in Advance and Prepayments.
- I Performed selected due diligence of facility management deals,
- I oversaw Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Payroll and carry out Internal Audits in all facilities and head office for financial & operational policies and procedures. Reconciled Balance Sheet, Assets’ Register & other control accounts on monthly basis. Prepare and post month end journals for management accounts.
- Streamline procurement processes & introduce industry best practice where possible by liaising with contract managers to understand their requirements. Identify and Implement strategic purchasing programme. Analyse and evaluate the organisation's overall purchasing trends to identify areas where purchases could be made in bulk. Monitor all purchasing activity to ensure adherence to quality, timing, reliability and cost.


Group Internal Auditor at Carlton Hotels Group, Ireland

(Hospitality industry)

2006 – 2007 (1 year)

- I was responsible for internal audit of all the properties and supporting accounting teams of 7 hotels. Assist in co-ordinating and consolidating the provision of accurate, relevant and timely information to the Group to include monthly accounts, forecasting, annual budgets, annual statutory accounts, debtor control, cash forecasts and commentaries.
- Ensuring and implementing robust internal controls. I played a key role in setting up the new chart of accounts for whole group to unify the accounting information and he wrote the SOP manuals for Finance, Front Office, Reservations and Food & Beverage for the Carlton Group.
- Supplier Strategy, Planning and Relationship Management, including future savings plans, drafting Contracts for a wide variety of projects, understand each hotel’s budget requirements and structure effective plans accordingly, negotiate with suppliers and award contract following agreement with cross functional teams,


Interim Financial Controller/Assistant FC at The Clarence Hotel, Dublin

(Hospitality industry)

2005 – 2006 (1 year)

- I was responsible for supervision of Income Audit, Accounts Receivable, and Banking and bi-weekly payroll.
- I would also prepare monthly Bank Reconciliations and management accounts journals.
- I was responsible for VAT and PAYE/PRSI returns & payments.
- I was responsible to carry out Internal Audit and systems’ audit on regular basis to identify if all the revenues were polling across to Front Office Trial Balance. Managed hotel whenever required due to short of staff.
- While supervising the stores manager, manage and develop suppliers of purchasing function in line with Global Purchasing guidelines. To identify, target and deliver annual cost reduction for food & beverage for each outlet within the Clarence Hotel, To lead negotiations with a clear understanding of business strategy and objectives


Interim Financial Controller at The Vaults, Dublin

(Food & Beverages industry)

2005 – 2005 (less than a year)

- Preparation of management accounts, budgetary control, cash flow forecasting, Profit and Loss Analysis and general Financial Reporting,
- Coach senior management on cost management and forecasting as per the budgetary framework to manage their cost centres more cost effectively,
- Carry out regular stock takes to meet the supply and demand of different brands of food and beverage consumed in both Bars.
- Solely responsible for Internal Audit of two properties, Purchase Ledger, Credit Control, Banking, Payroll and Bank Reconciliation.
- Worked as manager on duty at least 5 times monthly running both bars.


Group Financial Controller at Moat House Hotels, Nottingham

(Hospitality industry)

January 2003 – December 2004 (2 years)

- Preparation of management accounts, budgetary control, cash flow forecasting & P&L Analysis.
- General Financial Re-engineering & TQC Analysis, Re-structure financial control procedures by training entire finance team.
- Carried out Internal Audit and POS systems’ audit to rectify higher long term deficit in stock control,
- Coached senior management on cost management & forecasting as per the budgetary framework to manage their cost centres more cost effectively,
- Continuously reviewing and implementing supply management best practices, including managing the formation & operations of cross functional teams within two hotels in Nottingham, both internally & externally, creating and driving a purchasing strategy within agreed guidelines and contribute to and support the company strategy.
- Strategic sourcing of high value items & services, including capital equipment, driving the negotiation process, getting best value for money by liaising with head office purchasing team.


Financial Analysts at Norwich Union

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; AV; Insurance industry)

2001 – 2002 (1 year)

- Supporting Business Solutions Manager with ad hoc projects on IT, Finance, Time Management, Cost- Benefit Analysis, Value Chain and Cost of Quality Analysis,
- Assisted the Integration Team to analyse the IT projects’ cost and savings to enable CGNU to move onto N201 and HUON systems instead of 200 systems used within the union before the mergers by Activity Base Costing models
- Worked with other teams on the head count and payroll expenses in various projects in the group and their cross charges and analysed direct costs and indirect costs,
- Prepare presentations for Business Solutions Manager to train Cost Centre Controllers on the understanding & management of Budgets and Cost Control.


Project Accountant at Giorgio Armani Emporio Armani, Metropolitan Hotel

(Retail industry)

1998 – 2001 (3 years)

- Preparation of annual & statutory accounts, budgetary control, cash flow forecasting and balance sheet reconciliation,
- Implemented major improvements to the cash flow system to reduce the time taken for payment reconciliation. This involved improving the processing of credit card transactions enabling daily processing of payments, Introduced a daily cash flow forecast cycle in place of the previous monthly cycle by re-engineering processes and eliminating time-consuming manual tasks
- I carried out Internal Audit and audited the current processes and systems to improve system interfaces and information flow to produce a matched Trial Balance and reliable revenue figures.
- I played a major role in assessment of IT needs, infrastructure, manpower, training needs, writing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Como Hotels and Nobu Restaurants worldwide.


Assistant Financial Controller at Hilton

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; HLT; Hospitality industry)

1990 – 1998 (8 years)

- Assisted in preparing historic monthly-centralized accounts, responsible for payroll, banking, commissions, Income Audit, A/C Payable and A/C Receivable etc.
- Upgraded old systems leading to a 90% time reduction in the production of financial reports & audits.
- Helped set-up JIT operational procedures to reduce breakfast customer queuing by introducing packed breakfast for early risers, reducing customer complaints.
- Instrumental in the achievement of ‘Investor in People Award’.
- Actively engaging with outlet managers to determine customers demands and fully satisfy their need within cost frameworks, continuously supporting the innovation process including the provision of ideas from suppliers, being an integral part of the development of sourcing strategies and planning including annual savings projections by working together with head office purchasing department.

My name is Rahat Kazmi. I am very ambitious and don't believe in the word "Impossible", as if someone else can do it, why can't I. At the same time I only take realistic challenges within my own interest and field. I have worked in Operations and then Finance for various multi nationals in UK, Ireland, Netherlands and Pakistan. I have lived in London, UK most of my life, then for little while in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Oslo, Toronto and now I live in Dublin, Ireland. I am also multi-lingual and understands various cultures. In my career cycle, it would be safe to say that "I have been round the block".