Qaiser Shahzad
St. Catharines,ON
Summary
A dynamic Senior Financial Analyst with extensive experience at Canadian Financial Sector, specializing in Project financial analysis and forecasting. Proven track record in budget management and cost control, enhancing operational efficiency. Adept at data visualization and effective communication, driving informed decision-making and stakeholder engagement. Recognized for delivering actionable insights that improved financial performance.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Financial Analyst (Contract)
BMO Financial Group
Toronto, Canada
05.2023 - 08.2024
- Managed the Marketing and Data Analytics Portfolio of BMO
- Preparation of Annual Plan for F24, discussions with managers/directors to finalize the Plan
- Presentation of the Plan to the Head of Departments / Senior Directors
- Review, analysis & tracked advertising and other expenses to identify variances and expected run-rates
- Processed and assisted in processing and tracking Invoices & Purchase Orders
- Finalized accruals and other adjusting entries, including aging of invoices
- Posted/processed contractor cross-charges & recoveries from various lines of businesses
- Discussed FTEs & contractors with their managers to forecast future employee spend
- Reviewed software costs each month to analyze planned vs unplanned spend
- Review and discussion advertising spend for the month, quarter, and year
- Participation and presented in monthly meetings with the leadership team to discuss Outlook / Trend for the remainder of the year
Financial Analyst, ITSS (Contract)
TD Bank
Toronto, Canada
01.2022 - 09.2022
- Analyzed financial results based on historical trends, provided explanations to variances and recommended corrective actions to influence future decisions
- Attended and presented in monthly meetings with senior managers and executives to review and discuss current spending and projected forecast
- Performed Sensitivity analysis on each engagement to validate variances
- Met with various business managers to discuss and update financial forecasts for their engagements
- Investigation of expenses in Clarity and General Ledger and recommending corrective measures
- Prepared monthly asset reports for active and fully depreciated assets for ITS Division of the bank, used VBA to minimize the process
- Presented, discussed and posted journal entries including of monthly accruals and adjustments with the Senior managers
- Documented, reviewed, and presented internal controls & SOPs for the ITSS department
- Prepared and processed Web ADIs / journal entries for various engagements in Employee engagement
- Prepared and processed Post Close Adjustments, including accruals for vendors and contractors
- Compiled month-end, plan and forecast deck templates for the Employee Enablement
- Processed chargebacks from balance sheet to correct cost centres for bank wide technology peripherals
- Met with Fixed Assets team to ensure balance sheet reflects correct and update figures for peripherals
- Trained new hires to process month-end activities
Senior Project Financial Analyst
CIBC
Toronto, Canada
09.2018 - 01.2022
- Managed and controlled all aspects of Technology & Infrastructure projects of the bank
- Developed and maintained comprehensive financial reports, including monthly, weekly, and ad-hoc reports, utilizing project management softwares
- Collaborated closely with internal and external stakeholders, business units, finance teams, and project managers, to ensure accurate data is captured and timely reporting of data
- Supported the forecasting and tracking of One-time, capitalization and amortization
- Managed all financial status meetings for assigned projects
- Provided support for invoice processing and tracking
- Managed reporting and tracking for FTE / contractors
- Proactively identified and mitigated project risks
- Ensured adherence to project timelines and budgets and / or provided explanation of variances
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively interact with stakeholders at all levels
- Resolved adhoc queries from various stakeholders
- Trained various PMs on understanding GL, forecasting and variance analysis
Financial Analyst (Contract)
Royal Bank of Canada
Toronto, Canada
12.2015 - 07.2018
- Prepared and compiled financial forecasts and budgets for a major division of RBC
- Evaluated and analyzed information from these reports using advanced excel skills and reported these to senior management for making informed decisions
- Performed and evaluated detailed variance analysis and accounts reconciliations
- Produced monthly, quarterly, and annual KPI's reviews and presentations of business performance for senior management
- Executed various excel functions (like macros, V lookup etc.) to compile various graphs and charts for management reporting purposes
- Played a pivotal role in implementation of Hyperion in the bank
- Maintained internal controls by recommending improvement in policies and procedures
- Performed in-depth reviews and summaries of financial data and analytics, scenario analysis and identified risks and opportunities to performance against pre-established targets
- Performed reconciliation and worked on extensive data and analytics by using advanced Excel tools like Pivot & V-lookup
- Liaised with Internal & External Auditors, Legal Advisors and Compliance Officers
- Provided recommendations for improvement on policies and procedures
- Prepared consolidated monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports and delivered effective PowerPoint Presentations to senior executives
- Actively participated in the improvement of financial operations of the division
- Coordinated with the external reporting team for finalization of Regulatory OSFI reporting requirements and compiling schedules under Canadian reporting requirements
Financial Analyst (Contract)
Bell Canada
Toronto, Canada
06.2013 - 12.2015
- Responsible for ensuring that major asset and liabilities categories are accurately reflected on Bell’s balance sheet
- Performed month over month and quarter over quarter analysis of major changes in various Balance sheet categories such as Warranty Obligations, Inventory etc
- Analysed sales and performance records and recommended promotion or change of personnel in under-performing departments
- Developed and reviewed sales budget and rolling sales forecast including sales to budget variance analysis and previous forecast
- Guided and coached sales team in entering an accurate forecast in company's CRM tool, generated reports for forecast, and collaborated forecasts into weekly-monthly reports
- Generated ad hoc reporting for Sales, Marketing, Pricing, Business Planning and Product Management
- Prepared proposal drafts for large projects and ensured that content met client' requirements, and legal standards
- Provided customised reporting and recommendations to support business decisions
Senior Financial Analyst
HSBC (Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation)
01.2009 - 11.2012
- Designed dashboards and KPI metrics for operations division of HSBC
- Demonstrated strong business acumen by providing robust commentaries and analysis for monthly results
- Provided insightful variance analysis and presentations to facilitate meaningful dialogue between LOB’s and finance
- Led the annual budgeting cycle of the bank for operations division
- Created a chargeback recovery model to allocate operations costs to lines of business’
- Provided strong cost center management to executives and investigated key variances against budget
- Played a pivotal role in implementation of Hyperion in the bank
- Participated in various ad-hoc projects providing financial modeling and what-if analysis related to new initiatives, product development and Capex expenditures
Auditor
Deloitte, Pakistan
04.2006 - 12.2008
- Led audit teams to conduct statutory audits of a diverse range of clients from multiple industries which included banking, telecom, oil & gas and government agencies
- Conducted end-to-end audit of blue-chip clients
- This included planning, program development, performance, and post audit quality assurance review
- Performed a thorough compliance review of internal controls related to financial reporting and risk
- Presented detailed findings and recommendations to audit partners and clients
- Conducted due-diligence and other accounting-related assignments
- Prepared financial statements based on IFRS and US GAAP reporting frameworks
- Assisted clients in preparation of MD&A and Notes section
- Developed Microsoft Excel based templates to help clients in their financial reporting
- Conducted forensic audits for tier-1 clients and provided case reports, analysis and recommendations about issues involving fraud, conflicts of interest and negligence
Education
CPA - Accounting And Finance
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
PakistanMaster of Business Administration (MBA) -
Hamdard University
PakistanSkills
- Financial analysis
- Budgeting and Planning
- Forecasting
- Data visualization
- Project Financial Management
- Cost control and process improvement
- Cost-benefit analysis
- Scenario analysis
- Financial model creation
- Effective communication
Computer Literacy
SAP, Oracle, MS Excel, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Outlook, MS Project, Essbase, Tableau, Clarity, Business Intelligence, Hyperion, Tableau, Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI), Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC)
Languages
English
Professional
Timeline
Senior Financial Analyst (Contract)
BMO Financial Group
05.2023 - 08.2024
Financial Analyst, ITSS (Contract)
TD Bank
01.2022 - 09.2022
Senior Project Financial Analyst
CIBC
09.2018 - 01.2022
Financial Analyst (Contract)
Royal Bank of Canada
12.2015 - 07.2018
Financial Analyst (Contract)
Bell Canada
06.2013 - 12.2015
Senior Financial Analyst
HSBC (Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation)
01.2009 - 11.2012
Auditor
Deloitte, Pakistan
04.2006 - 12.2008
CPA - Accounting And Finance
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
Master of Business Administration (MBA) -
Hamdard University
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