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Professional Bio of Asif Nawaz
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Asif Nawaz holds extensive experience in Financial & Management Accounting, with a sharp mixture of Information Systems related skills, specializing in Business Resources Management & Marketing Consulting. Having worked in the US, Asia, Middle East and Europe, Nawaz possesses a unique fusion of business skills coupled with some serious hands on IT experience.
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Asif Nawaz Consulting
Owner / Consultant, January 2007-December 2007
Independent Consultancy to provide a wide array of business services (primarily Accounting, Information Technology, Management & Marketing) to businesses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates & London, UK. Dealing with only a small group of clients, the consultancy had two additional employees other than Asif Nawaz.
+ Conduct a Systems Analysis – For a specific client, a growing company in events management, marketing & media, identify and define the need for processes and systems automation to cut down costs and improve efficiency in the business processes.
+ Procure & Set up Hardware, Install Software – Research the market to search for the best, most cost-effective hardware and software to design a system that was not only cost-effective, but gave the business the flexibility to grow for up to 5 years at the existing growth rate. Microsoft Windows XP Server 2003 was procured and installed with a network of five Windows XP Pro machines, with an automated redundant backup.
+ Write & Deploy Accounting & Business Procedures – Drafted procedures & policies based on client’s business model for accounting purposes, automating the business process for smooth business functioning, easier management, and elimination of fraud due to negligence.
+ Install Peachtree Accounting, Streamline Books per UK GAAP & IFRS – Installed Peachtree Accounting on client machines, reconciled and assimilated over 4 years of spreadsheets, invoices, receipts, and bank statements and prepared UK GAAP & IFRS Compliant Financial Statements & Reports. Developed project/event costing model within Peachtree to track profitability and cash disbursement patterns per event. Liaisoned with auditors to get the client’s financial statements successfully audited.
+ Developed & Deployed an eCommerce Solution for Sales of Event Tickets Online – Based on PHP & MySQL, using modules from eCommerceTemplates, a shopping store was set up with seating charts of relevant venues across Dubai to sell tickets online. The system prepared reports in conjunction with the requirements of the procedures set forth to conduct a Cost-Benefit Analysis by Event.
Ingenium Partners FZE
Managing Partner, October 2005–December 2006
Ingenium Partners FZE, a UAE based company, was formed as a network of global consultants joined together to form one of the most dependable support networks available to businesses all over the world. The company turned over just under AED 1.5 million in its first year of business, and Asif Nawaz was in-charge of managing the team of 7 employees.
+ Prepare Business Plan, Define Market, and get Funding – Conducted Market Research on Businesses Finance and IT Methodologies and Requirements in the UAE Market. Defined market, set up business goals and wrote a comprehensive business plan. Identified a relevant market for a profitable business consulting model and managed to get four partners and investors to set up a company.
+ Strategic Planning & Implementation – Wrote & Managed strategic plan and goals for company, designing all marketing materials, including web sites, brochures, corporate write-ups, and procedures and policy manuals needed to meet the strategic plans and goals. Liaisoned with the Government (Economic Department & Immigration) to get appropriate licenses and permissions to conduct business based on the business plan.
+ Marketing & Sales of IT & Finance Related Products – Solicited business from a multitude of clients based on personal marketing and sales strategies and implementation along with a staff of 2 sales/marketing personnel. Within the first seven months, marketed services and engaged at least 5 different clients for IT related services.
+ Successful Business Management – Successfully deployed business plan and met goals to help company become profitable and expand into more office space in less than 7 months. Hired employees, conducted Board Meetings, and successfully met business goals of revenue and profitability.
+ Basic IT Setup for Business – Procured hardware and software; Installed and configured a Windows 2003 Server; set up a network of multiple computers and configured machines for use with the Microsoft .NET Platform, Microsoft SQL Server 2003, MySQL and PHP for product development. For finance and accounting services, configured multiple installations of Peachtree, SAGE, QuickBooks Pro, Microsoft Small Business Accounting and WebERP.
+ Project Management – Successfully managed over 9 major projects in the 15 months at Ingenium Partners & lead company to become a registered Partner and developer of the Microsoft Platform based applications.
+ Work Completed on Projects Relevant to IT:
+ Setting up & deploying multiple Windows 2003 Servers with Windows XP pro & Windows XP Home client machines.
+ Designing, coding, and managing the development of several applications, content management systems & intranets in PHP & MySQL typically hosted on a Linux/UNIX Configuration.
+ Managing the development of multiple applications coded in ASP.Net & VB.Net with Microsoft SQL Server to be deployed in Windows 2003 Server environments.
+ Prepared multiple Requirement Specification Documents (RSD), Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERD), Workflows/Flowcharts, Data Flow Diagrams (DFD), Class Diagrams, Visual Tables of Contents (VTOC) and other documents after analysis of business requirements and existing systems for production of software and information systems.
+ Developed multiple Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) for several information systems to help reduce time spent performing a specific function using a particular piece of software.
+ Developed and trained employees and clients in Object Oriented Design Methodologies, interface design & management, database management and configuration and deploying windows based servers over networks using technologies like Microsoft SharePoint Services.
+ Deploy and configure multiple network based installations and configurations of Microsoft .NET, Microsoft SQL Server, PHP, MySQL and Rational Rose. Other software installed and configured includes, but is not limited to: Focus Accounting, SAGE Accounting, Peachtree Accounting, Microsoft Small Business Accounting, QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Enterprise Edition, and WebERP.
+ Reverse engineered existing open source PHP/MySQL software to customize & redesign interface and enhance functionality by adding modules as per project and client requirements.
+ Work Completed on Projects Relevant to Business & Finance: + Set up Accounting departments for multiple small business, configuring software, creating initial chart of accounts, and bringing up-to-date any transactions.
+ Managed the preparation of books of several businesses from creation and preparation of Ledgers to Financial & Management Reports.
+ Liaisoned with Managing Directors and management in various companies to collect information and write Accounting Policies and Procedures and deploy relevant internal Controls; oversaw deployment of controls, procedures and policies and change as necessary for smooth functioning of business processes.
+ Trained multiple accounting staff in-house and for clients to take over accounting departments.
+ Developed multiple business measurement, cash management, budgeting & forecasting, and project costing models to help businesses of all sizes better manage productivity and become more efficient in business planning and execution of relevant business processes. Such models were typically developed using business methodologies and deployed in Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets.
+ Consult with companies for product branding and marketing; define brand identity, create and design relevant, goal oriented logos, web sites and marketing materials that got across the right message.
+ Successfully helped multiple companies bring books in compliance with US GAAP, UK GAAP and IFRS for completion of audit and procurement of funding from banking institutions
TAEUS International
Corporation Financial Controller, July 2004 – September 2005
TAEUS is an engineering firm that helps clients make money from their patent portfolios. Our roots are in reverse engineering of integrated circuits (ICs) and other complex electronic systems to prove a patent’s use in electronic products including integrated circuits, whole electronic systems, radio (RF) devices and software systems. The customers are fortune 500 patent holders and their law firms.
Asif initially joined TAEUS as a Corporate Accountant in 2004, and was promoted to Financial Controller in March, 2005. The company almost doubled in employees in 12 months and grossed over US $ 7 million in revenue. At the age of 23, Nawaz was managing a corporate budget of over US $ 6 million and running the accounting department at a company that had a client portfolio which included the likes of Microsoft, Intel, HP, and Dolby. Asif managed permanent employee and several temporary employees at TAEUS.
+ Wrote Accounting Policies & Procedures – Wrote the company’s policies and procedure manual and designed documents for internal controls and audit trails. Implemented controls to control costs, better document expenses and spending and eliminate possibility of fraud.
+ Cash & Receivables Management – Developed and introduced cash management and debt collection strategies, lowering average monthly receivables from US $ 800,000.00 per month to under US $ 400,000.00.
+ Budgeting & Forecasting – Introduced new budgeting and forecasting methodologies to increase accountability amongst employees and managers and project profitability. An extensive budgeting model was developed based on several key variables in Microsoft Excel (using macros). Sales forecasts were introduced to forecast revenue and resulting growth and investments.
+ Project Costing – Developed a project based costing model to help Program Managers better manage projects. Costing method tested project efficiency and profitability across a variety of business and project dimensions.
+ Complete first ever US GAAP Compliant Statements & Audit – Prepared and managed the preparation of the company’s first ever US GAAP compliant financial statements, sorting through and reconciling 12 years of spreadsheets, invoices, and banks statements. Financial Statements were successfully audited and published.
College of Business, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Webmaster / Lab Instructor of Information Systems, January 2003 – June 2004
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, along with the College of Business & Administration, was established in 1965. It is the fastest growing campus in the University of Colorado System and is home to over 7,500+ students. The College of Business offers Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Business Administration Degrees, both of which are accredited by Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
+ Systems Analysis & Design – Completed a year long process of interviews, polls and surveys to collect information from staff, faculty and students to gather requirements and prepare Requirement Specification Documents and build a plan to design and deploy a web site with a functional intranet.
+ Designed Interface and Structure – Worked with co-webmaster and Program Director to produce the site design for the College of Business Web site and the interface for the back end content management system and intranet.
+ Specify & configure web server – Configured Windows 2000 professional web server for hosting of web site and intranet, which were to be coded and run on PHP & MySQL.
+ Design Course Syllabus – As lab instructor, work with full time professors to prepare and write syllabus for Information Systems Classes, prepare exercises and lecture notes to be discussed with students during class. As of 2004, Nawaz was the only undergraduate student to substitute for professors during lectures.
+ Train Students on Microsoft Office Applications- As Lab Instructor train and instruct students on the use of Microsoft, Word, Excel & Access, along with Windows 2000 and Windows XP functionality. Also trained students in the basics of HTML web design & concepts as an introduction to more advanced Information Systems Courses.
EDUCATION
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Bsc. Business Administration (1st Class (GPA 3.67), Honours: Cum Laude)
Area of Emphasis I: Accounting
Area of Emphasis II: Information Systems
+ With special permission from the Dean of the College of Business, Asif was the only student to complete a four year degree with a double major in two years and nine months. Advanced coursework and training included:
+ Web Sever Design & Implementation
+ Managing Cisco Networks
+ Database Concepts & Applications
+ Systems Analysis & Design
+ Information Systems Project Management
+ Advanced Financial Accounting: Mergers & Acquisitions
+ Integrated Skills for Management
OTHER POSITIONS
+ Expert- EValueServe Circle of Experts
+ Registered Partner – Microsoft Corporation
+ Member – Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)
+ Member/Student – Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (USA)
+ Alumni – Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)
+ Alumni – University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
SELECTED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
+ Pre-Collegiate Development Program, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
+ SIFE Annuals, 2004
OTHER WORKS + Developed a Search Engine Optimized Online Store in PHP/MySQL with a comprehensive back end content management system compatible with client’s credit card vendor and design for Scandinavian Food & Gift Retailer in Seattle, Washington, USA
+ Researching various Search Engine Optimization Methodologies with personal blog/site that receives over 5,000 unique hits per month
+ Developing an Amazon.com model based web site using PHP, MySQL, AJAX & XML for the online sale of Ceramics & Pottery by the name of Designer Pottery (http://www.designerpottery.com). Extensive market research was conducted and data gathered before proceeding with this project which is currently a work in progress.
Curriculum Vitae of Asif Nawaz
OBJECTIVE
Seeking a long-term opportunity within the business community in London as a corporate / financial / management accountant where my extensive professional experience and education would be advantageous to the growth of the employer and myself, while furthering my educational qualifications to become a fully qualified CIMA Professional.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS
FINANCIAL CONSULTANT
January 2007–December 2007
Self employed, Dubai, UAE, http://www.asifnawaz.net/consulting
SIAN Dubai Marketing Consultancy, Dubai, UAE, http://www.siandubai.com
SIAN Dubai was originally established in the UK in 1978. An up market event company and event service provider now based in Dubai, UAE, SIAN specializes in: Theatre Show Production & Management, Corporate Events, Company & Product Launches, and Sports Events Management. (Turnover: GBP 1,000,000+) • Reconciled 4 years worth of receipts, bank statements and invoices to bring books up to date and prepare financial statements and reports in compliance with the IFRS
• Deployed Peachtree Accounting; upgraded and merged over data to SAGE; finally upgraded and merged over data QuickBooks Pro
• Created a project costing & coding system where a cost/benefit report was generated for each project at month end
• Act as financial accountant: engage & liaison with the auditors for the successful completion of the first ever financial audit
• Streamlined cash flow and set up a system to separate owner’s personal expenses from company expenses
• Trained 2 staff members to take over day to day accounting
MANAGING PARTNER
October 2005- December 2006
Ingenium Partners FZE, Dubai, UAE
Ingenium Partners was formed as a network of consultants joined together to form a dependable support network available to businesses in the UAE. The company offered a broad array of business services in fields of Accounting and Information Technology.
• Manage Finance & IT Projects, engage clients, and work on projects as needed
• Liaison with government, economic department, & immigration as needed for legal compliance
• Established company from scratch & grew to a team of over ten employees
• Developed, designed, & authored all marketing materials and web site for company. (Print brochure is available for download on http://www.asifnawaz.net/ingenium-uae.com/Corporate_Brochure.pdf)
• Streamlined cash flow to manage company expenses & salaries within the allotted budged of US $ 40,000/- & made company profitable within 7 months
• Lead company to become a Registered Microsoft Partner and noted developer of MS Platform based applications
• Oversaw preparation of US GAAP compliant Financial Statements in Microsoft Office Accounting
• Managed a team of 2 book-keepers/junior accountants
o Accounting Procedures & Corporate policy
o Cash Budgeting & Management
o IFRS, US & UK GAAP Compliance
o Preparation of Financial Statements & Reporting
o Accounting and Financial Management Software (SAGE, Peachtree, QuickBooks, WebERP)
o Object Oriented Software Design
o Development of RSDs, ERDs, Class Diagrams and VTOCs
o Database Technologies (Access, MySQL, SQL Server)
o Systems Analysis & Information System Design
Among others, worked for the following clients:
• Team One Real Estate Brokerage:
o Wrote comprehensive Accounting Procedures & Policies Manual, covering internal controls, travel, expense reimbursement, incentives and vacation & holidays
o Designed MS Excel macro enabled forms for implementation of Internal Controls & Procedures
o Deployed Peachtree Accounting (Installation, Chart of Accounts, General Ledger, Sales & Purchase Ledger)
o Prepared IFRS compliant Financial Statements & Reports using Peachtree Accounting
o Prepared sales forecast, relevant budget, and pro forma financial statements
o Trained 2 staff members to take over day to day accounting
o Specified, Installed and Configured hardware, software, and network on Windows XP Pro Machines
o Developed site with complete Content Management System for property management in PHP/MySQL
• Inter Cast Forge & Industry (Manufacturer of Metal Grills and Gates. Turnover: GBP 1,300,000+):
o Reconciled 6 years worth of excel spreadsheets, invoices, and bank statements for preparation of audit trail and entry into QuickBooks Pro
o Deployed QuickBooks Pro (Installation, Chart of Accounts, General Ledger, Sales & Purchase Ledger)
o Prepared Manufacturing Accounts, Financial Statements & Reports (IFRS Compliant) for 6 years using QuickBooks Pro
• Cheriton Investments FZCO (Consulting Group specializing communications, civil, and environmental engineering. Turnover: GBP 600,000+)
o Prepared company’s multi-currency 2005 & 2006 Financial Statements in compliance with US GAAP using QuickBooks Pro
o Act as financial accountant: engage & liaison with the auditors for the successful completion of audits for fiscal years 2005 & 2006
• Al Imran A/C Spare Parts Co. (Import/Export/Retail electronic parts. Turnover: GBP 5,000,000+):
o Conducted analysis of accounting procedures and requirements to advise on creation of customized central accounting system across multiple retail outlets and warehousing facilities
o Oversaw implementation of new accounting system; managed downtime, transition phase, and moved/merged data over from existing accounting system to new accounting system
o Wrote inventory control and stock management procedures to prevent excessive or late purchase of products and efficient management of cash flow
• Al Jufri International (Importer of Cosmetics into UAE & Saudi Arabia. Turnover: GBP 1,700,000+):
o Re-prepared IFRS compliant Financial Statements for completion of audit and compliance with banks’ loan issuing policy
o Act as Financial Accountant & liaison with the auditor for successful completion of financial audit
o Act as Financial Accountant & liaison with bank to successfully double Line of Credit
• SIAN Dubai Marketing Consultancy:
o Designed and deployed web based system for online ticketing and event ticket sales in conjunction with the accounting system using ASP/Access
FINANCIAL CONTROLLER
March 2005-Sept. 2005
TAEUS International Corporation, Colorado Springs, CO – USA, http://www.taeus.com
TAEUS is an engineering firm that helps clients make money from their patent portfolios. The company’s roots are in reverse engineering of integrated circuits (ICs) and other complex electronic systems to prove a patent’s use in electronic products including integrated circuits, whole electronic systems, radio (RF) devices and software systems. Customers include fortune 500 patent holders and their law firms. (Turnover: GBP 3,000,000+)
• Hired and supervised accounting staff. Managed permanent employees temporary accounting staff at year end as needed
• Engaged auditors, managed, and successfully completed the company’s first financial audit (in compliance with SOX) for private companies in over 12 years
• Liaison with UMB Bank in connection with issuance of company’s first ever line of credit
• Reduced average receivables from approx. US $ 850,000/- to US $ 350,000/- per month
• Streamlined cash flow and collected written off debts to help management make growth investment decisions
• Prepared Sales Forecasts, Capital, & Operational Budgets
• Wrote Accounting Procedures and Policies, including Expense, Reimbursement and Vacation Policies
• Oversaw preparation of monthly financial statements, generated financial reports, and consolidated the books of the UK subsidiary with the US parent company
CORPORATE ACCOUNTANT
July 2004-March 2005
TAEUS International Corporation, Colorado Springs, CO – USA, http://www.taeus.com
• Liaison with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for completion of audit and tax filings
• Moved and merged data over from home grown database system in FileMaker Pro to Peachtree Accounting
• Backtracked and reconciled excel spreadsheets, invoices, and bank statements from past 12 years of existing business documents to create the company’s first-time US GAAP compliant financial statements
• Developed new project costing model for reverse engineering & patent review projects in MS Excel to assist project management teams to help keep costs under control and projects profitable
• Prepared Monthly General Ledger, Sales Ledger, Purchase Ledger and Financial Statements and Reports
WEBMASTER & INSTRUCTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
January 2003-July 2004
College of Business, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, USA http://business.uccs.edu
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, along with the College of Business & Administration, was established in 1965. The campus is the fastest growing of the four in the University of Colorado system.
• Analyse requirements of new website and prepare requirement specification documents to get approval for new web site and information system design and model
• Liaison and work with co-webmaster, program director, and faculty to successfully design, code, and implement the new web site and intranet
• Conduct classes to instruct and train students in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and basic web design terminologies
• Develop coursework to teach freshman students the Microsoft Office Suite and web design concepts
• Substitute in absence of faculty to teach Freshman Business Information Systems Course
ACCOUNTANT
June 2001-March 2006
Neat Consultants, Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA
• Provided accounting services in connection with disposal of restaurant outlet in Colorado, USA in 2001
• Provided accounting services in connection with acquisition of and set up of retail outlet in Texas, USA in 2002
• Completed monthly payroll accounting and filed quarterly payroll tax returns
• Filed annual financial statements and reports along with annual income tax returns
• Managed conversion of and filed all appropriate documentation to convert company from a C-Corporation to an S-Corporation to avail tax benefits
• Provided accounting services and completed paperwork in connection with disposal of retail outlet in 2006
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Registered Expert – E Value Serve Circle of Experts
Student – Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA, UK)
(Estimated Completion of Business Accounting Certificate – March, 2008)
Member – Institute of Management Accountants (IMA, USA)
B.Sc. in Business Administration
Graduated Equivalent of 1st Class with Honours (Cum Laude)
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (USA, 2004) [AACSB Accredited]
Area of Emphasis I : Accounting
Area of Emphasis II: Information Systems
(Outstanding undergraduate in Information Systems)
Various courses at university supplement my extensive hands-on experience:-
Accounting Systems, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Mergers & Acquisitions, Fund Accounting for Governmental and Non-profit Entities, Income Taxes, Systems Analysis & Design, and Information Systems Project Management.
Computer Software:
Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, Project, Access, Office Accounting Professional 2008; Peachtree Accounting; SAGE Accounting; Intuit QuickBooks & Quicken; Oracle Financials; Adobe Flash, Photoshop & Dreamweaver; IBM Rational Rose; MS SQL Server; MySQL; PHP; ASP; Visual Basic.NET
Languages: Fluent in English, Urdu, & Punjabi