Nethmi Mendis

Treasury

• Reporting to Financial Controller and Global Treasury Operations of Unilever
• Led the treasury and insurance pillars for 4 legal entities under Unilever Sri Lanka
• Successfully navigated and managed the company's financial operations during Sri Lanka's FX crisis, ensuring effective management of foreign exchange exposure.
• Strategically handled the repayment of loans, dividends, and royalties, mitigating potential risks and optimizing financial outcomes.
• Managed daily cash positions, ensuring optimal liquidity for operational needs and investment opportunities while implementing proactive measures to address challenges posed by the FX crisis.
• Administered banking relationships, negotiating favorable terms and maintaining effective communication.
• Executed timely and cost-effective foreign exchange transactions to minimize currency-related losses.
• Collaborated with internal stakeholders to develop and implement strategies for optimizing cash flow and liquidity during challenging economic conditions.
• Negotiated with financial institutions to secure favorable terms for foreign exchange transactions and loan repayments.
• Prepared and presented financial reports to inform senior management and board of directors.
• Coordinated with external auditors to enforce compliance with financial regulations and standards.
• Completed journal entries, reconciliations, and account analysis to prepare quarterly financial documents and general account management.
• Created and distributed reports on internal and external finances, audits, and budgets.

Insurance

• Spearheaded insurance initiatives for an FMCG giant, overseeing property and personnel insurance portfolios with a focus on mitigating risks and ensuring comprehensive coverage.
• Led the insurance renewal process for four legal entities within the FMCG corporation, ensuring seamless transitions and compliance with all contractual obligations.
• Oversaw the management of personnel insurance portfolios, including health, life, and disability coverage for a diverse workforce.
• Implemented proactive measures to streamline the renewal process, enhancing efficiency and reducing administrative burdens.
• Prepared detailed reports on the renewal process, outlining key negotiations, policy adjustments, and cost savings achieved.

• Responsible for overseeing the accounts receivables function for both LK & SG entities
• Monitored the company's debtor position and cash in-flow and highlighted reasons for deviations and variances
• During the course was successful in reducing bad debtor provisioning by 40%
• And recovering more than 50% of provided debtors with mechanism implemented
• Analyze reports and credit history to better understand how much risk could be involved in extending credit to customers
• Confer with senior management and sales heads to better understand the potential risk associated with a customer
• Recommend methods and procedures to improve specific task-related activities and the functioning of the department
• Implementing debt collection policies and deadlines of the company and negotiating with customers in cases when non-payment occurs
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, annual and ad-hoc forecasting reports for BOD and Senior Management, Preparing and adhering by SLFRS 9 bad debt provisioning policies and procedures
• Ensuring that all accounts receivable procedures are in compliance with legal regulations Set objectives for the accounts receivable team that align with the accounting department’s goals

• Preparing AR aging and monitoring progress through weekly meetings conducted with sales teams and sales heads
• Prepare reports of regular intervals (monthly, quarterly and annual) making forecasts on cash in-flow
• Monitoring invoicing procedures and highlighting issues such a pre-milestone invoicing and tax compliance Resolving client issues by following up with neccessary internal teams on issues such a milestone completion, post delivery requirements, project related issues that would limit payment settlements
• Negotiate and settle non-payment disputes with clients efficiently
• Ensuring the payments are collected from clients on time
• Providing support to Accounts Receivable Clerks on their daily tasks

• Actively monitor and work with internal departments to resolve all outstanding invoices
• Work closely with Sales heads to ensure collection guidelines are adhered to and issues quickly resolved
• Responsible for flagging issues and taking neccesary action such as issuing credit / debit memos
• Manage day-to-day operations of the AR department; create, implement and maintain policies, procedures and controls
• Manage the monthly AR close process including reconciliation of AR sub-ledger to GL and preparation of AR month end schedules and reconciliation to GL and metrics used for internal reporting
• Manage information requests during year-end audits and respond to requests for information during internal audits Monitor aging balances and recommend write offs.

• VAT computation and reconciliation with general ledger Proper maintenance of all tax related documents for internal and external verification purposes Filling tax returns related to Inland revenue department requirements and ensuring timely tax payments (VAT, NBT, WHT, ESC & Stamp duty) Identifying, researching and accessing various tax related issues and liaising and rectifying same with tax consultant Maintaining a proper procedure manual for tax filing, reporting and reconciliation

• Finance Responsibilities Budget development and management of cash flow
• Managed specialized information, reports, forms dealing with fees, billing, tracking of projects etc.
• Conducted the Petty Cash management process Liaised with clients and ensuring that all expense claims are collated and paid on time Raising CAPEX and OPEX purchase requisitions
• Review monthly capex raised to ensure reporting is accurate and to monitor capex against budget
• Assisted in monthly and annual accounts preparations
• Carried out financial analysis for customized data and reports in a knowledgeable and flexible manner to aid in business decisions
• Stationery management Updated inventory with all new stationery and manuals delivered for central use and update stationary balances Filled in GRNS for stationery and other small assets and ensure copies are attached to payments Resolved administrative problems by coordinating preparation of reports, analyzing data, and identifying solutions