Rustam Aghayev

Saved around $788k per year by automating processes, analyzing and eliminating unnecessary costs. Decreased admin expenses by 22% over 3 quarters, without any harm to the daily operations

• Closely working with operations to determine budgets and financial plans and forecasts of projects
• Reviewing operations, procurement and human resources and recommending new productivity or cost saving initiatives
• Leading a transition from SAP to Oracle
• Summarize current financial status by collecting information, preparing balance sheet, profit and loss statement and other reports
• Administration of Blackline period close end software
• Utilizing Tableau and Adaptive Insights for data visualization
• Working on various initiatives on cost optimization through automation and presenting them to the higher management
• Analyze historical results against budgets and forecasts, and performing variance analysis to explain changes in performance and make suggestions for improvements going forward
• Monitor accrual and deferral entries, installation in progress entries, asset capitalization and disposal entries
• Estimate the company’s overall financial health, mainly by using key financial ratios
• Preparing internal reports for executives to support decision making
• Closely work with OPS on the projects FP&A and cost tracking
• Substantiate financial transactions by auditing documents
• Maintain accounting controls by preparing and recommending policies and procedures
• Secure financial information by completing database backups on enterprise level
• Work with software development team to maintain the quality and viability of the software
• Produce error-free accounting reports and present their results to management and stakeholders
• Review and recommend modifications to accounting systems and procedures
• Participate in financial standards setting and in forecast process
• Ensure the compliance with SOX and GAAP
• Oversee the Intercompany Accounting
• Prepare financial statements and produce budget according to schedule
• Direct internal and external audits to ensure compliance
• Support month-end, quarter end and year-end close process

Raised $7mln in equity from individual investors and VC firms. Raised total of $5mln in variety of loan products (SBA, equipment financing and working capital)

• Prepare asset, liability and capital account entries to the SAP by compiling and analyzing account information
• Intensive use of VLOOKUP and pivot tables
• Reviewing operations, procurement and human resources and recommending new productivity or cost saving initiatives
• Leading transition from QuickBooks to Oracle NetSuite
• Utilizing Tableau and Adaptive Insights for data visualization
• Managing cash flow activities, vendor payments, federal and local tax filings, and outside CPAs
• Managing entire process of obtaining working capital loans, equipment financing and SBA financing
• Raising equity financing and investor relations
• Recommend financial actions by analyzing accounting options
• Summarize current financial status by collecting information, preparing balance sheet, profit and loss statement and other reports
• Substantiate financial transactions by auditing documents
• Maintain accounting controls by preparing and recommending policies and procedures
• Reconcile financial discrepancies by collecting and analyzing account information
• Secure financial information by completing database backups
• Work with software development team to maintain the quality and viability of the software
• Review and recommend modifications to accounting systems and procedures
• Participate in financial standards setting and in forecast process
• Ensure the compliance with SOX and GAAP
• Prepare financial statements and produce budget according to schedule
• Direct internal and external audits to ensure compliance
• Plan, assign and review staff's work (in house staff and outsourced professionals)
• Support month-end, quarter end and year-end close process

Decreased month end close process from 8 to 5 days by changing the processes and re-allocating/ prioritizing team's tasks

• Supervise all regular accounting processes such as AP, AR and Journal Entries plus monthly closure accounts
• Monitor accrual and deferral entries
• Organize all company financial programs and ensure compliance to budgetary requirements
• Analyze and forecast financial requirements for organization
• Implementation of VBA and Macros to optimize the processes
• Supervise and ensure efficient working of all financial transactions in organization
• Monitor and implement all accounts payable check activation and wire transactions
• Assist departments in account reconciliation process on monthly basis
• Monitor authorized account reconciliation process
• Administer all bank transactions and oversee data recording procedures monthly
• Provide support to auxiliary schedules for auditing purposes as per assigned work
• Analyze different general ledger accounts regularly in the SAP and QuickBooks
• Prepare journal entries and synthesize common ledger for subsidiary accounts
• Collate bank statements on monthly basis.

Cost optimization of around $3.3mln annually within procurement, operations, HR and admin departments of multi billion dollar client company

• Assessment of companies' internal control system over financial reporting process as well as over other key business processes (procurement, inventory management, etc) in oil-and-gas sector
• Assessment of performance and creating solutions for cost optimization
• Assessment of companies' organizational structure and its effectiveness
• Driving effective solutions for reduction of costs, performance improvement,
• Implementing Lean Six Sigma guidelines within operations
• Discussing the present management style and suggest some positive changes, if found appropriate
• Suggesting tips so that goals and directions can be conveyed to the employees
• Improving the communication level between managerial staff and employees
• Recognizing the structure of the company
• Suggesting new trends that can be incorporated to the managerial functions for boosting the company profit
• Bring about leadership traits in the employees thereby encouraging them to work as a team rather than as an individual.