Candidate Profile

ANGELA OKWARE

Address: P.O. Box 1484, Jinja-Uganda

Email: angelokware@yahoo.com | Telephone: +256772869422

 

PERSONAL STATEMENT

A motivated finance and accounting professional with 12 years’ work experience in challenging and dynamic work environments in a global organization. I have gained experience in costing, budgeting, reporting, effectively managed teams and company monies all the while analyzing financial data. I am flexible, always focused and maintain a calm and professional demeanor, even when working under pressure and now looking to further my knowledge and take on new responsibilities and challenges. I am confident that with my skills and experience, I would make an excellent member of your team. I am looking forward to moving up to the next phase of my career and I feel that I have gained enough experience to date to be able to accomplish this. I am dedicated and keen on learning new skills to improve any experience for my benefit and the company that I work for.

 

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

April 2022 – To date

Financial Controller – Stores Operations, Carrefour Uganda MAF

In this role, l am responsible for establishing a reliable financial reporting system in compliance with company guidelines and procedures and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), month end closing and reporting, budgeting and profit forecasting, internal controls and audits, analyzing data and providing management with relevant financial data for the decision-making process. I am also responsible for recommending areas of improvement in order to achieve targets and financial management of the Stores Operations in Uganda.

I oversee the Financial Operations for Retail Business for all the Business Units in Uganda at Country Level.

My duties are to:

• Oversee cost management and value realization on Business Units spend while enforcing budget discipline at all levels.
• Manage the Budgeting & Forecasting process and approval of funds as per Delegation of Authority guidelines.
• Maintain an appropriate and sound control environment for the business, in accordance with the entity-wide risk frameworks.
• Delivery of accurate and timely financial information including Income Statements and Business Analyses for the Business Units for consolidation purposes
• Approval of Purchase Orders and Payment of staff and suppliers within agreed SLA timelines through timely approval of Invoices and Payroll.
• Managing the financial aspects of Back Office – Central Cash Offices for the Business Units.
• Ensure effective selection, development, deployment and retention of world class talent in the Financial Control Team.
• Prepare business presentations and reports for management periodically and on adhoc basis when required.
• Providing summary of asset information to the management regularly and ensure Fixed Assets Tagging and Tracking is properly done and the fixed asset register is properly maintained.
• Monthly financial closing (budgetary control, P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow)
• Manage Inventory including Stock Counts, Monitoring of stock-checks, sleeping stocks, receiving controls and analysis of shrinkage results.

 

April 2020 – March 2022

Finance Consultant, Private Consultant

• Developed various business models to forecast operating expenses and revenue.
• Developed budget plans and reports for new and prospective clients.
• Cultivated relationships with new clients and educated clients on account services and capabilities.
• Partnered with local organizations to identify opportunities specialized financial planning support.
• Providing advice on Investment solutions like Fixed Income and Forex Trading.
• Developing and designing Reporting Tools and Costing modules.

 

April 2017 – March 2020

Budget Manager – Zero Based Budgeting Manager, Nile Breweries Limited, AB Inbev

In this role, I was responsible for the country budgeting business cycle and quantifying cost elimination opportunities across the corporation in order to achieve savings for the company.

I managed an Annual Budget of USD 25 Million.

My duties were to prepare budgets, prepare variance analysis reports, provide service, ensure Expenditure Controls are adhered to, managing compliance initiatives, check cost center approvals for all funds, check compliance to Budget policies, challenge assumptions and ensure spend and initiatives are aligned to strategic goals, and work closely with the team to ensure the program status is tracked, monitored and reported in accordance with the program plan.

As a company authorized signatory, l was in charge of authorizing cash at bank, CAPEX Requisitions, Payables, Accounts Receivables (Imprests and Loans), Staff Debtor Accounts and stocked and non-stocked requisitions.

More still, I was Acting Internal Controls manager for a month when the position fell vacant, and submitted both The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Minimum Internal Controls (MICS) for the period.

• Launched Zero Based Budgeting in Uganda as a Zero-Based Budgeting Champion which resulted into new and improved method of Budgeting with costs justification from a zero base.
• Migrated Accounting Data from Old Company SAB Codes to New Company AB Inbev Charter of Accounts following the take-over, managed Month End and Year End Closure processes and performed Balance Sheet Reconciliations.
• Championed the successful launch of Fixed Costs Initiatives regarding Travel, Maintenance and Utilities amongst others. As a result, there was costs savings of USD 2,100,000 in 2017 and USD 400,000 in 2018.
• Spearheaded the sales and marketing packages local roll out and sensitisation on working money and non- working money spend and its relevance in the business. This led to better sales and marketing coverage and emphasis of working money spent which enables business to connect with consumers at the point of purchase.
• Led the localisation of Budgeting Policies which resulted into global policies being tailor made for local conditions which fostered faster implementation of policies.
• Implemented changes to Budget cycle with added monitoring and control process checks hence internal controls instilled in the Budget Approval and Review of Costs process.
• Evaluate business results and serve as a functional expert to the business client to provide strategic guidance and insights during the analysis process.
• Interpret and evaluate monthly analyses of business trends, including variance to plan of financial results and Key Performance Indicators to identify areas of risk and opportunities and provide recommendations.
• Ensure alignment of targets, initiatives and budgets with business transformation teams and define processes, timelines and requirements across the enterprise.

 

September 2012 – March 2017

Cost Accountant – Distribution & Operations, Nile Breweries Limited, AB Inbev

While here, I was responsible for determining the actual costs of distribution, Income statement reporting, scrutinizing associated company expense and analyzing Profitability. My duties were to conduct an alliance of all costs, prepare Budgets, participate in stock counts and approve stock takes, take part in Internal audits especially in instances of fraud, ensure process control flows are adhered to, support external audits, participate in the costing of new transport rates, and participate in the company wide reporting process.

• Championed Initiatives in the model of Distribution of Products which led to cost Savings of USD 665,000 that was used to fund Distribution Management System.
• Spearheaded route optimisation and warehouse efficiencies by fully utilising Own Company Trucks and keeping Warehouse loss costs at a minimum through stock takes. As a result, Uganda had the best performance in Africa with the Lowest Cost of Distribution in the Zone.
• Designed Income Statement Reports for the Sales Districts to measure relative performance versus Budget and Prior Year for Gross profit and Net Profit Analysis. This improved performance in the Sales Districts through benchmarking with better planning to ensure better bottom line leading to EBITDA growth.
• Derived the Supplier Rates for Transporters and reconciled Payments made to Suppliers which ensued good rates for both Suppliers and the Company based on Kilometres travelled and Volumes of Product sold and good start to the Procurement Process.
• Approved Stock takes and also participated in stock taking and reconciliation of movement of goods which improved Control environment.
• Collected cost information and maintained an expenses database and constructed data accumulation systems.
• Determined fixed costs (e.g. salaries, rent and insurance) as well as planned and recorded variable costs (e.g. raw material and operations costs).
• Reviewed standard and actual costs for inaccuracies in addition to preparing budgeting reports (for the company and for each department).
• Analyzed and reported profit margins, prepared (monthly, quarterly and annual) cost forecasts, assisted in month-end and year-end closing as well as identify and recommend cost-effective solutions.

 

 

 

September 2010 – August 2012

Cost Accountant – Manufacturing, Nile Breweries Limited, AB Inbev

My duties while here were to prepare, analyze and report on gross margin performance, prepare budgets, approve stock takes, analyze process flows for Inventory and Work In progress to ensure Internal controls are adhered to, participate in Internal audits especially in the instances of frauds, prepare and update bills of materials, assist in month-end closing, support external audits, prepare journal entries as necessary, analyze inventory valuation and prepare reports.

• Updated new bills of materials and codes for new products. As a result, there was seamless introduction of new products and trials for the production and sales teams. Designed and produced performance tracking reports for fixed and variable costs which resulted into better monitoring of costs and alignment to set targets.
• Championed the roll out of Online filling of VAT and Excise Returns on the URA Portal and as a result, the business was aligned to new filling of taxes requirements set by Uganda Revenue Authority.
• Closed manufacturing jobs and reviewed recipes used versus Budget hence the identification of losses and gains at the different stages of Production leading to better efficiencies.
• As the the 5S and Health and Safety representative for Finance – l trained Finance Jinja in emergency preparedness and response to Fire Drills and held meetings to identify safety concern areas and housekeeping. This improved Health and Safety with an Updated Toolkit and Register for Finance Department.
• Coordinated with IT department for system issues, maintenance and development such as production, purchasing, import/export, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and other.
• Analyzed cost accounting data and assisted with cycle count/physical inventories in addition to maintaining internal control documentation and test internal controls.
• Prepared detailed account analysis and reconciled sales, cost and inventory, asset accounts by General Ledger code descriptions.
• Reviewed and analyzed inventory and margin reports, conducted research and performed analytical studies in regards to cost analyses and profitability.
• Supported and assisted internal department reporting requirements such as audit schedules, tax schedules and others whilst ensuring timely submission, accuracy and validity of inventory, gross margin schedules to management.

August 2009 – August 2010

Cost Accountant Trainee, Nile Breweries Limited, AB Inbev

During my tenure here, I worked with several corporate departments and production personnel in order to gather and analyze cost information for thousands of products used by consumers around the country.

• Gained familiarity with the company’s methodologies and strategies for product costing, budgeting as well as the company’s products and production processes.
• CAPEX Reconciliations for CWIP.
• Worked with Engineering, Production, Finance, and other personnel to gather and validate information used for product costing.
• Verified the accuracy of cost calculations by investigating large changes or unexpected results.
• Collaborated with other employees on the Technical Management team to complete the company’s annual Product Costing for the respective brands.
• Provided analytical support to others in the department by completing a variety of special projects.

December 2007 – July 2009

Administrative Accountant, Nile Breweries Limited, AB Inbev

While here, I provided financial assistance to the organization’s accounting department as well as performing basic accounting functions in Syspro ERP.

• Performed Capital Expenditure Reconciliation for CAPEX Projects hence true and fair representation of amounts in capital work in progress accounts.
• Performed Fixed Assets Reconciliation for some classes of Fixed Assets.
• Booked loans, advances and imprest on Staff Debtor Accounts which improved Accounts Receivables with timely update of Debtors in ERP.
• Conducted the seamless integration of newly designed Online Banking from cheque-based system of payment. As a result, there was Payment of Suppliers online using Online Bank Platforms leading to shorter payment processing times.
• Customer Relationship Management hence timely Payment of Suppliers and interaction with internal and external customers.
• Organised and Budgeted for Team Building for Finance Team hence more employee engagement from the Team.
• Managed the depot petty cash postings of deposits and accountabilities in the cash ledger.

 

 

EDUCATION

2012-2014

Master of Business Administration

Heriot Watt University, United Kingdom

2010-2012

Bachelor of Science in Applied Accounting

Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom

2007-2011

ACCA Member

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – ACCA, United Kingdom

2003 – 2006

Bachelor of Human Resource Management Degree

Makerere University Business School, Uganda

CERTIFICATES ATTAINED

• CPA Uganda Certificate
• ACCA Uganda Certificate

 

 

REFEREES

 

1. Stella Musisi

Financial Controller

Standard Chartered Bank

P.O Box 7111 Kampala

+256772820021

Stella.Musisi@sc.com

 

1. Alfred Balikagira- Former Director

Supply Chain Director

Uganda Breweries Limited

+256772437283

Alfred.Balikagira@diageo.com

 

3. Audrey Angela Bayiga

Dealer

Bank of Uganda

Money Market Portfolio

Reserves and Investment Management Operations

+256793882721

abayiga@gmail.com