Nicole Abu-Ghannam
Project Controls Professional
Ashburn,VA
Summary
Project controls professional guiding budgeting, forecasting, strategic plan updates, and variance analysis across complex initiatives, completing 12+ variance analysis reviews per quarter. Delivers financial modeling, 5+ budget and forecast reports per month, and cost tracking that sharpen decision-making and improve budget clarity for business leaders. Supports 4+ regulatory and cross-functional stakeholder groups with reporting and cost updates that keep delivery aligned to financial targets.
Overview
1
1
Certification
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
MANAGER OF PROJECT CONTROLS - COST
EXELON
06.2019 - Current
- Lead annual budgeting, forecasting, and strategic plan updates, reducing operational costs by 10% through disciplined allocation.
- Support business leaders with plan and forecast reviews, improving forecast accuracy by 12% and strengthening variance analysis.
- Build financial models for digital initiatives, contributing to a 20% increase in ROI through stronger investment analysis.
- Collaborate with cross-functional finance teams to improve reporting processes, driving a 20% increase in budget clarity.
- Apply GAAP compliance standards while supporting accounting practices, regulatory engagements, and cost management across DC, MD, DE, PA, and IL.
- Analyze energy industry trends, market policies, and regulations across the mid-Atlantic, reducing operational costs by 15% while advancing sustainability goals.
- Develop internal business cases and portfolio analytics tools with third parties, improving data accuracy and analysis efficiency by 20%.
SENIOR PURCHASING ANALYST
LIDL US
03.2017 - 06.2018
- Led junior analysts and aligned team engagement with companywide goals.
- Drove profitability in eCommerce, delivering a 25% increase in revenue and a 15% gain in operational efficiency.
- Partnered with GMs and product leaders to identify opportunities that increased Grocery market share 25%.
- Built financial models, budgets, and forecasts; monitored expenses and delivered variance analysis to guide decisions.
- Prepared financial reports and presentations for senior leadership, translating analysis into clear business updates.
- Established KPIs, ran monthly, weekly, and quarterly reporting, and assessed performance through variance analysis and market data.
- Analyzed Nielsen and IRI data, generated portfolio reports, proposed cost-saving initiatives, tracked demand and stock levels, and liaised with suppliers and internal stakeholders on product development.
ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR
PROSHRED SECURITY
01.2014 - 08.2014
- Summarized financial status through balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and special reporting.
- Analyzed accounting options and recommended financial actions based on account trends and reconciliations.
- Reconciled discrepancies by researching account data and resolving mismatches across financial records.
- Maintained accounting controls by updating policies, following internal procedures, and protecting confidential information.
- Backed up financial data, answered procedure questions, and documented transactions for audit-ready records.
STORE ACCOUNTANT
HARRIS TEETER
02.2009 - 08.2011
- Established authorization controls and documentation checks to validate monetary transactions before posting.
- Performed daily, weekly, and monthly reconciliations to detect posting errors and correct variances promptly.
- Investigated missing transactions and vendor invoices to record expenses in Accounts Payable or Accrued Expenses.
- Verified monthly ending balances in Sales, COGS, Deposits-in-Transit, Accounts Payable, and Accruals through Sage reporting.
- Led recurring store reporting, training, and meetings with management to improve operations and collaboration.
Education
Master of Business Administration - Finance
American University
Washington, D.CBachelor of Science - Information Systems, Cyber Security
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VASkills
- Financial management
- Forecasting
- Financial modeling
- Budget tracking
- Cost analysis
- Project management
- Operations management
- Change management
- GAAP compliance
- Stakeholder management
- Primavera P6
- Resource loading
- Integrated master schedule
- Oracle database administration
- Urdu
- Hindi
- Arabic
Certification
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Technical Proficiencies: Microsoft Office Suite (Advanced Excel), Basic HTML, WPT, SAP, Oracle Hyperion, NetSuite, Oracle OBIEE, Primavera P6
Timeline
MANAGER OF PROJECT CONTROLS - COST
EXELON
06.2019 - Current
SENIOR PURCHASING ANALYST
LIDL US
03.2017 - 06.2018
ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR
PROSHRED SECURITY
01.2014 - 08.2014
STORE ACCOUNTANT
HARRIS TEETER
02.2009 - 08.2011
Bachelor of Science - Information Systems, Cyber Security
Virginia Commonwealth University
Master of Business Administration - Finance
American University