Arun Shivakumar

Strategic Leadership:

• Defined and executed the strategic roadmap for Finance Shared Services, aligned with global finance transformation objectives.
• Spearheading end-to-end finance operations within the Shared Services Center, including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, Fixed Assets, and Intercompany Accounting.
• Driving standardization, automation, and continuous improvement across finance processes to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and service delivery.
• Leading a cross-functional team of finance professionals, fostering a high-performance culture with a strong focus on KPIs, SLAs, and process excellence.
• Collaborating closely with business units, the CFO, and global finance stakeholders to align shared service operations with strategic objectives.
• Implementing process optimization and digital transformation initiatives.
• Managing the monthly and annual financial closing cycles, providing accurate, timely, and insightful financial reporting, and analysis.
• Overseeing the transition and migration of finance processes to shared services from multiple geographies or business units.

Key Achievements:

• Successfully centralized and standardized finance operations across 10 entities.
• Achieved improvement in process turnaround time through automation and lean initiatives.

• Established Shared Services governance frameworks with clear SLAs, KPIs, and stakeholder engagement models.
• Delivered high-quality monthly dashboards, variance analysis, and cost-saving reports to the CFO and senior management.

• Leading a team of 72 members, provided excellent leadership, fostered teamwork and encouraged work/life balance.
• Took part in brainstorming sessions with operations and technology teams to analyse current business processes and systems and map their functionalities.
• Monitored standards and policies in order to ensure adherence to GAAP, agreed global procedures, regional business requirements, statutory governmental regulations, SOX, and SAS70 requirements to minimize liability and risk.
• Complete Contract Management of client which includes ramp up, pricing, negotiation & renewal.
• Took on a challenging role primarily for ensuring smooth facilitation of cargo revenue accounting services.
• End to end business solution including Cargo billing, dispute manage with resolutions & collections.
• Involved in cargo and mail revenue accounting which includes net data capture, cargo billing and processing, cargo interline, billing support and mail revenue accounting.
• Handled Accounts Payable (Vendor Master Set-up, Invoice Processing, Vendor Payments, Reporting), Accounts Receivable (Credit Management, Cash Application and Collections) and General Ledger (Accruals, Journals, Reconciliation).
• Associated as the focal point of contact for dispatching, accounting, inventory management of all receipt, storage, internal handling, and fuel usage.
• Managed for all accounting functions needed for proper inventory management, to include ordering product receipts, inputting all fuel movements, tracking tank inventories and maintaining a ledger for reporting.
• Provided key insights including trends, opportunities, risks, and concerns. involved in financial planning and analysis organization in a high impact role designed to help drive cost improvements throughout the enterprise.
• Prepared and peer-reviewed journal entries, balance sheet reconciliations and complex monthly ad-hoc reports.
• Coordinated all accounting issues like cheque collecting, maintaining statement of accounts, timely submission of reports to head office and transactions are verified and recorded in line with financial policies and procedures.
• In-charge of control inventory of cargo, courier and mail accountable documents as well as maintaining proper verifiable records to ensure availability and security.
• Handled fuel accounting activities for multiple locations with a holistic view of team impact and performance.
• Conducted detailed process review for fund accounting, custody, and asset servicing processes and identifying solutions for process re-engineering.
• Actively engaged in billing various grants, performing general ledger account and bank statement reconciliation.
• Ensured all transactions from the G/L and subledger are entered, identified balance sheet accounts to be reconciled and source documentation/system to reconcile against.
• Reviewed the account balance from the general ledger with source documentation/system based on reconciliation type.
• Tracked details of assets and liabilities (Accounts Payable, Accrued Payroll, Accrued Liabilities, Accrued Vacation & Benefits, Taxes Payable, Loans and Notes Payable) in details.
• Prepared SOP for business processes by analysing process flows and ensuring proper controls along with the checklist.
• Maintained strong relationships with geographic finance teams to ensure quality deliverables and proper information flow.
• Handled daily GL posting of settlements which includes liaising with chargeback team for disputes and treasury team for rates.
• Ensure the chargeback is processed for legitimate disputes on cards.
• Prepared end-to-end process maps for 'current' and 'end state'.
• Handled timely, accurate monthly financial statements along with variance analysis and comprehensive executive level explanations of differences and maintenance of the cash waterfalls and incentive fee.

• Prepared presentations and key reporting presentations and communications that summarize information concisely for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Led a team of 58 members, steered activities for preparing financial reports and interpreting financial information to managerial staff while recommending solutions.
• Extended support in evaluating financial reporting systems, accounting and collection procedures, made recommendations for changes to procedures, budgets and other financial control functions.
• Conducted regular weekly finance department meetings, ensured property policies are administered fairly and consistently.

• Individual contributor ensured all financial documentations filed correctly, prepared files and paperwork for financial inspections.
• Participated in multifaceted duties related to the preparation and analysis of financial information to record transactions, prepare financial reports and review and verify accuracy.

• Led a team of 11 members, provided analytical rigor and strategic ideas to the revenue and cost drivers of the business.
• Developed and evolved scalable processes to effectively manage financial performance, and improve forecast accuracy.
• Handled overall financial management requirements, reviewed annual budgets, monthly forecasts and operating results.
• Verified all financial reports and ensuring that all transactions are accurate and in compliance with local government regulations.
• Ensured P&L are documented accurately, monitored hotels operation costs, profitability and manage business risks.

• Handled internal IBM accounts across 11 countries, developed and monitored critical success metrics, and communicated insights across the departments.
• Presented the financials of the contracts in the monthly reviews to clients across the globe.
• Generated internal reports and management information and ensured that contract list are kept up-to date.
• Maintained all legal records and files, coordinating with the billings department to ensure timely payments and monetary disbursements, provides daily contractual correspondences.
• Prepared financial and operational forecasts, cost/benefit comparisons, and assisted with decision making and measuring financial impact related to expansion, capital structure, and new products.