staicugeorge

My specific expertise covers the following areas: • institutional building of financial institutions (banks & MFIs) in less developed, post-conflict, developing or transition countries/ regions, covering the following areas: Ø corporate governance; Ø business strategy, forecasting, planning & budgeting; Ø micro & SME lending; Ø human resource management Ø reporting for internal and regulatory/donor/investor compliance purposes; Ø asset & liability management; Ø performance analysis & management; Ø branch management & bank branch network performance management/monitoring; Ø internal & external audits; Ø risk management [ (Basel II Accord – pillars 1, 2 and 3) credit risk, market risk, operational risk as well as strategy risk, compliance risk, technological risk, money laundering risk]; Ø advanced knowledge of GAAP, IFRS/IAS, CGAP microfinance principles, EU MiFID, US Sarbanes-Oxley, US FFIEC Uniform Bank Performance Report, US FFIEC Advanced Capital Adequacy Framework Regulatory Reporting Requirements, US FFIEC Market Risk Framework Regulatory Reporting Requirements, and IDA Credit Support Annex regulations; Ø knowledge of Basel II Accord risk management compliant software packages produced by Cognos, Business Objects, Sungard, SAS, SAP Algorithmics, Information Builders, Oracle, IBM etc; Ø Knowledge of the Committee Draft (issued in June 2007)of ISO 31000 “Risk management — Guidelines on principles and implementation of risk management”; Ø selection and implementation of banking software for banks and integrated software ( accounting, loan tracking, payroll, etc.) for MFIs; Ø knowledge of new technologies for bank management (CPM, BI, BPM, EWRM, EAI, CRM, ERP, SCM, Six Sigma, Hoshin Kanri, etc. developed by Cognos, SAS, Oracle/Siebel, SAP, Algorithmics, Business Object, Sungard, Hyperion etc) for regulatory and management reporting (including balance scorecards & dashboards), risk management, asset & liability management, planning, budgeting, forecasting, performance, branch, product& customer profitability and total quality management; Ø knowledge of the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) Ø Fund Transfer Pricing & Activity Based Costing methods for loans and savings costing and profitability analysis as well as for branch network performance and organizational analysis, management & restructuring; Ø drafting technical requirements pertaining to ToR / RFP for the procurement of modern bank management software applications (CPM, BI, EWRM, EAI, CRM, ERP, etc); Ø financial & managerial accounting; corporate finance; financial modeling & analysis; Ø lending and savings products and services; bank cards; Ø private banking & asset management; structured products (financial derivatives) ; Ø correspondent banking, cash management; Ø loan cash flow planning; Ø internal control systems; Ø internal audit (including IT audit also); Ø credit analysis; project financing; trade financing; Ø marketing management; customer relationship/profitability management; knowledge of Dynamic Digital Signage software (Info Channel by Scala). Ø human resources management; staff incentive schemes (including loan officers bonus schemes); Ø change management; Ø administration management; Ø micro-banking and microfinance products and services; Ø microfinance management; microfinance strategic planning; microfinance annual budgeting & operational planning; microfinance assets & liability management; microfinance financial analysis; microfinance internal & external audits; Ø good knowledge of MFI accounting, loan tracking, MIS and integrated software: Orbit, TEMENOS Emerge, TMS/Microfitsolution, SIEM 7.13, FAO/GTZ Microbanker, LOAN PERFORMER 7.04, Kredits 5.12, Bankers Realm MFO, Cubis 8, etc. Ø very good knowledge of MFI software for developing a business plan and financial projections - Microfin 4.0 Ø microfinance impact studies; microfinance donor fundraising and reporting microfinance administration management; Ø Member of the CGAP - Microfinance Gateway consultants pool ([login to view URL] ) Ø Member of the SEEP Network communities – ( [login to view URL] ) Ø Member of the US Wall Street Journal Communities ( [login to view URL] ) • Micro & SME: management/business planning / international business/legal & insurance/ risk management/finance/accounting/marketing & sales/ HR/IT; SME lending / cash-flow based lending; SME financing (external credit lines from International Financial Institutions on-lent to local banks); SME Credit scoring; SME Credit Guarantee Schemes/Funds; Credit bureaus; the Bologna charter on SME policies; Specifically , the following areas can be covered: Ø Designing/Refining of MSME lending policies and procedures Ø MSME lending strategies (Cash-flow based lending; Customer segmentation; Product differentiation; Formation of MSME clusters; Channel finance) ; Ø MSME financial & credit analysis (Credit culture; Steps in evaluating credit requests; Financial analysis - purpose and basics; Information for financial analysis; Standards for comparison; Tools of analysis; Horizontal analysis; Comparative statements; Trend analysis; Common-size statements; Ratio analysis; Liquidity and efficiency; Solvency; Profitability; The Du Pont system; Cash flow analysis; the C’s of credit analysis: Capital, Character, Capacity, Conditions, Collateral ; Credit assessment & Risk grading); Ø Identification of MSME risks (Financial risk; Management risk; Structural risk; Security/collateral risk; etc); Basel II Internal Based Rating implications on credit scoring and MSME lending; Ø MSME financing needs ( overdrafts; credit lines; working capital; trade finance; export credit insurance; term finance; supplier credits; venture capital; Factoring; Leasing ); Types of MSME loans (Loans for start-ups and existing MSMEs; Micro-finance type loans/micro-loans : group loans; individual loans; village banking; SME type loans; Working capital loans; investment loans, etc); Commercial banks microfinance programs; Ø Selection and training of MSME loan officers (including through the use of “assessment centers”) Ø MSME marketing (Marketing Management; Strategic Marketing; Market research; Market segmentation; Objectives of strategic planning; Annual marketing planning; Customer relationship management; Selling-cross-selling-up-selling); Ø Product Development for MSME (Product mix, Product design, Product development goals, Product life cycle, Product pricing policy, Product pricing objectives, Product base price, Product pricing strategies, Pricing examples from the field; Ø Bank products and services for MSME customers (Bank accounts and services; Investment services; Pension / Retirement products ; Online Banking ; Insurance services; Banking services for SME Human Resources area; Factoring; Leasing; Franchise financing; Small Business Resources center / Advisory services); Ø MSME credit guarantees schemes; Ø Credit Rating agencies. • Public finance management : Ø budgeting; state treasury organization and management; Ø financial management and control Ø internal control system Ø internal audit Ø internal/external public debt management, DMFAS program; Ø cash & debt management; fiscal policy & management; Ø anti - tax evasion policy & management; Ø customs policy and management; Ø public procurements; Ø local government structure and funding; Ø electronic payment/settlement system; Ø designing and implementation coordination of accounting/treasury software and MIS; • Drafting legal framework in the areas of: Ø banking, Ø microfinance, Ø commercial business, Ø public finance; Ø investments management, mutual funds, pension funds; • Investment management: good knowledge of stock-exchange organization, regulation & investments, East – European stock-exchanges, investment strategies, technical & fundamental analysis, stock-exchange indexes – NYSE composite, Dow Jones, S&P, FTSE, DAX, Nikkei, etc.; good knowledge of pension funds management; good knowledge of mutual funds management • Training seminars organization and presentation in the areas of retail banking, micro-banking, microfinance, MSME management, public finance, policy designing and implementation, global mobility and workforce relocation management and training, etc. The delivering of training seminars is based on the applied knowledge of pedagogical and mainly androgogical approaches to teaching and learning. (andragogy = art or science of helping adults learn – term introduced by Malcolm Knowles) ; Therefore the methods utilized during the training sessions takes into account several factors such as: role of the learner’s work experience and knowledge ; the learner’s readiness to learn, orientation and motivation for learning (adults decide for themselves what is important to be learned; adults have the need to validate the information presented based on their beliefs and experience; adults expect what they are learning to be immediately useful ; the adult learner is self-directed, responsible for his/her own learning; the adult learner brings a greater volume & quality of experience.; the adult learner’s self-evaluation is characteristic of this approach ;the adult learners want to perform a task, solve a problem, live in a more satisfying way; adult learning is organized around life/work situations rather that subject matter units; adult learners have specific internal motivators: self-esteem, recognition, better quality of life, self-confidence, self-actualization). Consequently the training seminars are designed and delivered based on the previously identified training needs (training needs assessments) and androgocical training methods are utilized in order to obtain a full satisfaction of the adult trainees. All of these are offered with the aim to contribute to the further business development and success of the respective financial/consulting/IT institution/company on the local and international markets. MAIN WORK EXPERIENCES Microfinance Financial & Risk Management Expert: June – November 2008 Project : Financial Management support to KosInvest-World Vision International - Kosovo (a Micro Finance Institution); Funding agency: European Fund for Southeast Europe Responsibilities: a) Coaching the management team (especially the CFO)in the areas of risk & financial management / modeling. b) Organize dedicated training on costing, risk & financial management / modeling to relevant staff; c) Install costing, financial management / modeling and controlling tools, including liquidity management; d) Install an extended ALCO and risk management policies and practices focusing on financial risks (review and upgrade of procedures and job descriptions, coaching of ALCO meetings) Finance Expert: January 2008 – March 2008 Project : Romanian Border Police (RBP) & Romanian National Custom Authority (RNCA) - RO2005/017-553.03.04.01.04 "Development of the Romanian Border Police (RBP) and National Customs Authority(NCA) Internal Control Function, Romania "; Funding agency: EU Phare Responsibilities a) support the border police and the customs authority in their long term objectives and to put in place the framework for ensuring the respective institutions’ self-sufficient sustainable capacity for designing and implementing a comprehensive and coherent strategy for the internal control function; b) increase the institutional capacity to realize an effective management of internal control as a management function. Banking expert – August 2006 – June 2007 Project: Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development - Intra-bank payment and customer accounting system phase 2, (IPCAS) ; funding: World Bank & the French Development Agency: Responsibilities: advise/support the Vietnamese Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development – Hanoi, in reviewing current business strategy; restructuring the HQ and branches in line with the new business strategy and the new banking application; defining reporting requirements that meet international best practices; advising on banking operations and bank internal regulations; providing recommendations for the bank modernization and international integration; preparing training assessment report; presenting seminars on Management of modern bank; Modern banking business; Advanced Technologies in Banking, Risk management (credit, market, operational, strategic, technological, compliance, money laundering risks) including Basel II Accord and Sarbanes –Oxley) Achievements: 1. Reviewed and refined the Technical Requirements of the draft Direct Contract related to the functionalities of the banking software to be purchased. The refinements were related to the areas of banking products and services, lending, savings, costing & pricing of bank products using ABC method, risk management, etc. as well as a substantial enhancements of the main reporting module based on the latest web-based banking technologies (Business Intelligence / Corporate Performance Management, Enterprise Wide Risk Management, Customer Relationship Management) and on the requirements pertaining to the Basel II Accord and IFRS / IAS. 2. Preparing recommendation reports on the following areas: a. business strategy b. restructuring the bank organization chart based on the lean principles, on the customer/market centric approach and on the integrated view of the risk management (which at that time in VBARD was partially non-functional, incomplete and traditionally silos based) as well as of the business strategy, planning/budgeting, monitoring and reporting processes. c. refinement of the corporate governance, risk management (including Basel II compliance), internal control systems , internal audit ( including the draft charts for the Group Risk Management Committee, Internal Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Corporate Governance & Nomination Committee) d. drafting the Asset & Liability Management and Investment policies e. bank products and services , bank cards f. bank staff training needs assessment g. IPCAS II Costs issues to be considered in the negotiations with Hyundai Information Technology h. strategic recommendations for negotiating with Hyundai Information Technology 3. Preparing and presenting banking training seminars Finance-Accounting & IT Expert – September 2005 – April 2006 Project: Improving the State Treasury management system of the Ministry of Public Finance -Romania ; funding: UE Phare/Europe Aid General responsibilities :diagnostic study of the State Treasury legal framework ,organization, IT systems, MIS, internal policies and procedures; improvement of the organization and performance of the treasury system through the strengthening of capacity to manage the State’s financial resources, according to European standards in force. Specific responsibilities -improving the legal framework in the field of treasury and public debt in order to manage with maximum efficiency and minimum risk the State’s financial resources -improving the management system of the State Treasury and of the public debt through the implementation of a reliable medium-term liquidity prognosis system which will provide information and analysis for deficit financing decision making process. - personnel training to improve the capacity for Treasury liquidity management, to optimise the financial flows and development of operations specific to the management of the single account of the State Treasury Achievements 1.Preparation of due diligence reports on the legal framework, internal procedures, internal control, financial control, accounting, IT & MIS systems, organizational structures and regulations regarding the following areas and institutions: a) Public finance budgeting, monitoring & execution b) Ministry of Public Finance c) State treasury management (cash and debt management , forecasting and reporting d) National Agency for Fiscal administration e) National Customs Authority f) Financial Guard g) Local municipalities / authorities powers, structure & funding h) Romanian electronic Payment Systems i) Romania’s financial markets 2. Participation in the drafting of a new legal framework for the public finance and debt management areas 3. Report assessment of the Ministry of Public Finance and the local districts General Directorates of Public Finance’s staff training needs in the areas of public finance and state treasury management 4. Organizing and presenting training seminars in the area of public finance and state treasury management 5. Member of the team experts in charge with the designing of a software application for the balance forecasting of the State treasury's single account's 6. Member of the team in charge with the preparation of the manual “Public Finance Treasury Management – best practices & standards” destined to the staff of the State Treasury Management Unit within the Romanian Ministry of Public Finance Kosovo Enterprise Program ( a Micro Finance Institution) – head office Finance and Administration Manager 14.07.2003 – 24 December 2004 Main responsibilities Reporting to the Executive Director and acting as the chief financial advisor for KEP, responsible for managing the financial statements, budgets of the 7 branch network including all aspects of planning and implementation of financial targets, reporting, institutional representation, support & advice to the Micro & SMEs lending operations; staff supervision & capacity building under the general framework of KEP’s business plan, organizing and presenting seminars at the Kosovo Enterprise Program’s Training Center . Specific responsibilities: • Articulate KEP’s financial vision and business strategy for developing a profitable micro finance institution in Kosovo . • Oversee the implementation of an accounting software to replace the existing Excel based accounting spreadsheets. • Support the Executive Director to maintain institutional linkages with local organizations, clients, donors and government departments. • Oversee the day to day financial & risk management of KEP’, supervise, guide and mentor local management staff. • Assist in the development / strengthening of KEP operational/lending structures and systems as part of the institutionalization process. • Improve and refine the existing financial reporting systems. • Designing and implementing the internal control and audit unit's terms of reference and the related functions and job descriptions • Coordinating the designing of the annual budgets and the related balance sheet, P&L and cash flow statements • Spearhead the development of additional loan packages in line with changing client needs and demand, to maintain / increase KEP’s competitiveness. • Undertake innovative measures to strengthen KEP’s business, reduce investment risks and increase competitive advantage while at the same time focusing on those customers who need but cannot access financial services from the mainstream financial institutions. • Coordinate the recruitment, training and development of local staff. • Undertake performance evaluation for local management staff. • Playing a leading role in developing, editing and organizing materials for KEP’s website in collaboration with the IT department. • Guide local managers, supervisors and other subordinates to undertake performance evaluations for all other operations staff. • Provide technical support to various management / board committees. • Make progress reports (monthly, quarterly, semi- annual and annual) to measure and review and inform on overall KEP’s performance. This includes preparing board papers / reports as needed. • Make statutory monthly portfolio reports. • Coordinate the operational logistics for external audit. • Participate in sourcing for additional funding. • Back up the executive director to conduct KEP’s annual performance review and planning. • Conduct in-house market surveys to guide new product development and or expansion for new branches. • Support the establishment of an in-house staff training school. Achievements 1. Drafting the Request for proposal for the purchasing of an accounting software for KEP, negotiating and concluding the technical and financial offer and the contract agreement with the software provider. Full implementation and functionality of the accounting software achieved in November 2004 covering financial statements and performance & risk management reports generation in full compliance with IFRS/IAS , GAAP standards and best practices of credit, market, operational, liquidity, compliance, technologic, strategic and money laundering risks. 2. Designing and implementing a fixed assets inventory procedure regarding the patrimony management control and safeguard. Organizing , coordinating and offering leadership on the fixed asset inventory of KEP; Undertaking the asset inventory for all the 7 branches 3. Redesigning and implementing the financial reporting formats based on the structural and trend analysis approach (managerial reports : actual/budget for current month /cumulated months; actual month /similar month previous year; weight and growth rates- on a monthly and cumulated basis) 4. Presenting seminars ( including work-group case-studies & games, preparation of handouts) on “Business planning (business strategy and operational planning/budgeting)”; “Business – microfinance concepts & terminology”, “MFI management”, “MFI products and services”, “MFI loan portfolio and risk management” ; “Loans marketing” “MFI Accounting and management information systems”, “Fundamentals of accounting [accounting principles, chart of accounts, accounting transactions journalizing (journal, general ledger, trial balance, adjustments to the trial balance, closing the accounts) balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity]”, “Financial – accounting”, “Financial statements analysis [ratios & credit analysis ( liquidity, efficiency, solvency, profitability)]” , “Financial mathematics[ time value of money (future & present value of single/multiple cash-flows, annuities/perpetuities ,effective interest rate , annual percentage rate, investment valuation etc.)]”, “Decentralization measures in the accounting and administration areas”, “Branch network performance management”. 5. Preparing the assumptions and documents format for the planning session regarding KEP’s 2004 budget; coordination of the 2004 operational plans prepared by the branches and by the head office units of the Kosovo Enterprise Program 6.Refining and improving the Excel based budget financial model for the 2004 and 2005 budget of KEP 7. Designing and implementing an Excel based model regarding the monthly bonus for the KEP’s staff ( lending and support staff) based on several general and compulsory variables (# and value of loans to first customers, to minorities, women, # and value of non performing loans, Portfolio at Risk, branch financial performance. Budget targets, minimum loan outstanding portfolio / loan officer, disciplinary sanctions, etc) 8. Providing recommendations and feedback regarding the analysis report on a market survey concerning the training and consulting needs in Kosovo 9. Coordinating the preparations for the 2003 IAS audit and acting as a liaison for the external auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers. KEP obtained an unqualified opinion for its 2003 financial statements. 10. Refining the policy manuals for business, consumer and agriculture lending 11. Reviewing and comprehensively developing the Finance manual (Accounting policies, GAAP, KEP Chart of accounts, KEP Financial statements (procedures for preparation and analysis of Balance Sheet, Income statement, Statement of Cash flow and the Statement of Changes in equity), General accounting procedures, Specific procedures for HQ and Regional centers finance –accounting staff; KEP financial management policy, Management of fixed assets, Management of Inter-branch transactions, Managerial reports Budget planning; Guide to financial performance analysis) 12 Reviewing and comprehensively developing the Administration manual ( procurement, expenditure budget control and monitoring, vehicle management policy, branch network’s offices set-up and outlook, security policy, communication policy, deadlines management policy, asset inventory and maintenance policy, etc) 13. Reviewing and refining the monthly cash-flow and loan planning and monitoring methodology and report. 14. Posting and maintaining the Kosovo Enterprise Program’ profile on the [login to view URL] web site for fundraising purposes 15. Coordinating the preparation of answers to the World Bank questionnaire on Kosovo business environment 16. Designing and implementing the methodology for local and national marketing strategy of the Kosovo Enterprise Program 17. Drafting the Internal Control policy manual 18. Drafting the Internal Audit policy manual (containing also the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing and the related Code of Ethics for Internal Audit) including the charts for the Audit Committee, for the Internal Audit Department and the Job descriptions for the related staff 19. Drafting the Decentralization plan and measures for the finance and administration areas 20. Preparing the 2003 and 2004 KEP’s Report to the Board. 21. Drafting KEP’s chart of accounts according to international standards ( IAS, CGAP) as a basis for customization of the accounting software . 22 . Contributions with financial data and other inputs to the fund raising applications prepared and transmitted to donors/ investors ( USAID, DANIDA, Medico del Mundo) based on which KEP managed to obtain more then 2 Mil EURO loan capital funds 23. Preparing suggestions for the refining of the Kredits Loan tracking software system designed by Technical Development Solutions ( USA) and for interfacing it with the new accounting software 24. Participation to the selection and recruitment committee for the areas of lending, finance and administration. 25. Designing proposals for the refinement of the Human Resource policy manual; All these achievements contributed to the further institutional development of KEP, to the streamlining of its policies and procedures , a better planning and monitoring of activities, an enhancement of KEP’s staff knowledge and awareness in the areas of accounting, financial and risk management, financial analysis and reporting, budgeting, monthly loans & cash flow planning and monitoring, expenditure control, better procurement decisions and to the strengthening of its internal control systems. As of December 2004 Kosovo Enterprise Program has an accounting software that is automatically generating the Income statement, Balance sheet, Cash flow statement and the Statement of Changes in Equity fully compatible with the International Financial Reporting Standards and International Accounting Standards as well as with the best practices of credit, market and operational risks. Also the software is automatically generating managerial reports that were personally designed by myself showing the current performance against the budget targets (on a monthly and cumulative basis) ; current performance against the same period of reference of the previous year; horizontal ( trend) and vertical (structural) analysis reports regarding the components of the balance-sheet and income statement; ratios report ( on a monthly and cumulative basis) - profitability, liquidity, solvency, etc. Also based on my directions the respective accounting software was liked via an accounting interface with another software ( Loan Tracking ) which allows for automated uploading of loans data (disbursements, repayments, penalties, etc) and generation of journal entries into the accounting system. The accounting interface allows also for automated reclassification of loans into short term and long term as well as for the automated calculation of loan loss reserve and loan loss provision in the balance sheet and in the income statement, respectively. The respective measures that were implemented determined also a complete use of the loan capital funds (eliminating the high volume of idle funds that were recorded during the months of the previous years) and thus KEP recorded a sharp increase (more then 1,000,000 euro ; 108.3%) of its outstanding loans portfolio during the December 2003 - December 2004 with no additional loan capital raised. The loan portfolio budget target was over-passed starting February 2004 and it maintained the same trend at the end of December 2004. During the same period the expenditures recorded 17% savings ( 72,000 euro)compared to the budget target while the revenues posted a 16% increase (+ 126,000 euro)on a year to year basis ( December 2003- December 2004). At the end of December 2004 KEP operational self-sufficiency reached 152% compared to 140% posted at the end of 2003. Romanian Savings Bank- head office Advisor – Strategy, Controlling (Financial Management) and Risk Division - 3/2002 – 11.07.2003 Responsibilities: Advising and designing reports in the areas of strategic planning, financial management, risk management (according to the best practices of credit, market, operational, liquidity, compliance, technologic, strategic and money laundering risks) and branch network performance management; coordinator and contact person of the 2002 IAS/IFRS external audit of the bank; contact person for the European Savings Banks Group and World Savings Banks Institute; Head of the Commission for the assessment of the consulting services provided during 1997-2002 to the Romanian Savings Bank by external consultant international organizations and of the proposed consulting services for 2003-2004 Achievements Designing and implementing methodologies in the following areas: (a) the interest rate risk management based on gap management reports ( static, dynamic and duration gap reports).This implied the following: • the creation of the accounting information data base (the assets and liabilities products’ balances and related interest rates: loans, deposits, treasury ) • the design of the gap report format and of the matrix format based on which the 42 branches (managing more than 10,000 agencies) reported their assets and liabilities balances based on residual maturities /interest rates resetting dates(allotted on 0-30, 31-90, 91-180, 181-365 days, 1-3 years, 3-5 years, more then 5 years time buckets) ; • calculation of the individual and total gap and of the related interest rate risk ratios ( absolute gap: RSA/RSL; relative gap: absolute gap/total earning assets and capital interest rate risk ratio: absolute gap/total equity) • proposals formulation for interest rate risk strategies ( passive – zero gap, active: positive or negative gap depending on the market interest rate trend) • proposal for investments / loans and savings portfolio restructuring based on the related interest rate risk strategy • simulation of the gap reports based on the following drivers: changes in interest rates, changes in volumes, changes both in interests rates and volumes; changes of gap ( negative/positive/zero) (b) anti-money laundering management including bank customer classification based on the reputational risk approach using the International Monetary Fund, Basel Committee, European Commission, Swiss Federal Banking Commission, FTAF and the US Treasury documents , guidelines and recommendations (c) bank product costing and pricing based on the activity based costing management accounting approach (d) updating the assumptions for the business strategy 2003-2005 according to the latest internal and external developments (e) drafting the Annual report of the bank for 2002 (f) Reviewing and drafting proposals for the improvement of the internal organizational and operational regulation of the bank branches ( job descriptions for branch managers and deputy managers and for the branch and sub branch departments) (g) Coordinating and drafting the assessment report concerning the outcome of the consulting services provided to the bank by external consultants and the proposed areas of consulting for 2003 -2004 (h) Member of the negotiating team for the new 2003-2004 consulting agreement to be concluded between Romanian Savings Bank and German Savings Banks Foundation for international Cooperation (i) Drafting the text of the consulting agreement between Romanian Savings Bank and German Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation and of the related consulting services implementation plan Romanian Savings Bank - head office Director – Strategy and Controlling ( Financial management) Division - 8/1999 - 3/2002 Responsibilities: Managing, supervising and coaching 30-person division staff in the area of business strategy, asset & liability management, designing and operational plans implementation, drafting the annual consolidated budget and the branch network budgets, monitoring the bank risks (credit, market, operational, liquidity, compliance, technologic, strategic and money laundering risks), monitoring the financial and efficiency performance of the bank and of the branch network, designing bank products cost management accounting procedures etc. • coordinator of the Romanian Savings Bank-German Savings Bank Foundation for International Kooperation consulting project aimed at the on-going restructuring of the bank • member of the Steering Committee Romanian Savings Bank - ING Baring restructuring project (RO 9805.02.02.01) funded by PHARE and of the German Savings Bank Foundation for International Cooperation consulting project • counterpart of the ING Barings consultants in the area of strategy planning, financial analysis, financial management, risk management , branch and product profitability analysis, branch network restructuring, new bank product development; reviewer of the monthly, quarterly and Steering Committee draft reports prepared by the ING Barings consultants in order to acknowledge the activities performed by the consultants and to recommend the related payment of services • member of the executive team attending the meetings with the Ministry of Finance representatives concerning the future restructuring, institutional development and preparation for privatization of the Romanian Savings Bank • designer of the document regarding the strategic options for the Romanian Savings Bank • coordinating and negotiating the relationship with the IAS external auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers; • contact person for World Bank, IMF, USAID , EBRD, European Union , Romanian Ministry for European Integration, World Savings Banks Institute, Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau and the Eastern and Central Europe Banks Association; • coordinating the Romanian Savings Bank IT audits undertaken by IBM (2001) and , respectively Kirchman Corporation ( USA-2002); • attending international seminars and conferences organized abroad by the World Savings Banks Institute, European Savings Bank Group, and other organizations; • advising the head-office divisions and the bank branches on performance management and budget control issues; • attending meetings with VISA and Europay representatives in connection with the card implementation project in the Romanian Savings Bank • contact person and coordinator of the due diligences on the Romanian Savings Bank undertaken by VISA and Europay • member of the team in charge with the elaboration of the bank cards implementation strategy for Romanian Savings Bank • member of the joint team Romanian Savings Bank-Ministry of Finance- Ministry of Public Works-German Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation in charge with the elaboration of the draft law on savings and construction banks • coordinator of the Romanian Savings Bank team negotiating a EU funded SME credit line for 1 mil Euro (RO-9711) • coordinator of the Romanian Savings Bank team negotiating the terms and conditions for the agreement of the bank with the Romanian SME Loan Guarantee Fund • guest member of the Board of Administration and Management Committee meetings • member of the Asset and Liability, Credit and Risk Committees • mass media press releases and advertising materials • contact person for the Romanian and International mass-media Achievements: 1. development of the business strategy document and the related financial projections and action plans for 2002-2005 – first time ever after 1989 a long term strategy document was developed for the Romanian Savings Bank 2. developing the draft document concerning the shareholders’ strategic options concerning the future positioning of the bank on the Romanian banking market 3. drafting designing and improving the format of the annual budgets 4. improving the monthly reports for the Board of Directors, Board of Administration and ALCO concerning the financial performance of the bank and of the bank's branch network (profitability, productivity, liquidity, capital adequacy, asset quality, bank and branch break –even analysis) 5. performing geographical (urban/rural) reports of funds attracted /invested from /to the banks’ customers in order to better position the bank products - first time ever after 1989 6. designing the procedure for bank product cost management 7. introducing, drafting and improving macroeconomic analysis and forecasts reports in order to induce a sound basis for developing strategic business options 8. co-drafter of the bank card business strategy 9. designing the structure of the IT financial model (balance sheet and P&L account) used for the long term financial projections and the annual budget and the long term strategy 10. co-designer of the project financing procedures 11. initiator of the first Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau SME’s credit line amounting 2 mil DEM extended to the Romanian Savings Bank; member of the negotiation team concerning the terms and conditions of the credit line contract; member of the Romanian Savings Bank- International Projekt Consult (the consulting firm selected by Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau for the provision of technical assistance) in charge with the selection and recruitment of the loan officers for the respective SME credit line project 12. co-designer of the SME lending procedures manual for the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau credit line 13. team member of the Romanian Savings Bank-Finlombarda ( Italy) project (RO-9711) for the SME credit line funded by EU Phare program 14. designing and implementing the procedure and Excel financial model for revenues transfer to the branches based on the Internal Fund Transfer Pricing ; designing and implementing the procedure for the branch and sub-branch network performance assessment report 15. Co-authoring of the proposal approved by the bank Board regarding the equity investment of the Romanian Savings Bank to the capital of the Romanian SME Loan Guarantee Fund 16. Reviewing and refining the draft contract regarding the cooperation of the Romanian Savings Bank with the Romanian SME Loan Guarantee Fund 17. elaboration of the 1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002 annual reports 18. coordinating the design of the monthly report concerning the branch network performance analysis 19. member of the team in charge with the Basel I Accord implementation project 20. coordinating the design and implementation of the Excel financial model and of the monthly reports analysis of the bank performance and risk key ratios and of two branches that were presented to the Management Committee meetings ( profitability, credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk, efficiency, productivity), local market share development, local market potential analysis, customer relationship management effectiveness, number of branch and subordinated units employees, employees work load, transactions time-tracking, control system effectiveness, customer base development, product and services developments, loan portfolio quality ( loan provisioning, loan work-outs, etc.) and development , customer data base segmentation management, effectiveness of marketing expenditures, operational cost management and development; proposing measures for business and performance improvements, 21. contributor to the draft law on savings and construction bank 22. quarterly on-site inspections of branches and presenting the analysis report to the Management Committee . Romanian Savings Bank-head office 7/1998 - 8/1999 Advisor to the president Responsibilities: Advising the bank president on the following issues: • strategy and financial planning • preparing studies concerning the competition analysis, international market trends, EU directives for the financial-banking sector • meetings with World Bank, IMF, EBRD, EU and other international and local banks and institutions (contact person) • developing operating and financial costs structure analysis reports • bank's staff analysis reports • attending the Board of Administration and the Management Committee meetings • elaboration of the 1998 annual report • contact person for the Romanian and International mass-media • mass media press releases and advertising materials • designing the terms of reference based on which a 2 Mil EUR non-reimbursable EU PHARE funds were obtained for the restructuring project of the bank – first time ever after 1989 • Designing the terms of reference for the selection of the external IAS auditor - first time ever after 1989; organizing the tender and the evaluation process; counterpart of PricewaterhouseCoopers for the auditing process of the bank • initiating and organizing – first time ever after 1989 - a World Bank free of charge seminar for the bank head office and branch staff on SME lending (credit analysis, collateral assessment, loan administration, non-performant loans management, loans work-out, risks associated with lending, collateral enforcement) including a personal paper on corporate strategic planning • preparing Romanian Savings Bank’s presentation materials for several local and international publications: Piata Financiara ( the Financial Market) , Capital, and the Euromoney, Forbes , Leaders, Le Monde, respectively. ROMANIAN SAVINGS BANK - head office 5/1998 - 7/1998 Director – Human resources Division (delegated position) Responsibilities Supervising, managing and coaching a 50-person office staff in the following areas: • human resources management, • branch network administration • payroll management; • advising the head-office divisions and the bank branches on HR related issues; • attending the Board of Administration and Management Committee meetings • mass media press releases and advertising materials • contact person for the Romanian and International mass-media Achievements: 1. Developing and improving the Human Resource development strategy and policy documents 2. Initiating and organizing new international and local training programs for the bank staff 3. Developing, improving and implementing procedures for branch network administration used in grounding the decision process for establishing new branches and agencies and/or closing down the current ones 4. Coordinating the studies concerning the performance of the staff, adequacy of staff and of staff salaries 5. Initiator of a new staff recruitment & selection procedure (including psychometric evaluations) Romanian Savings Bank-head office 11/1997 – 5/1998 Advisor to the president Responsibilities advising the bank president on the following issues: • strategy and financial planning • preparing studies concerning the competition analysis, international market trends, EU directives for the financial-banking sector • attending meetings with World Bank, IMF, EBRD, and other international and local banks and institutions (contact person) • developing financial and operating costs structure analysis reports • bank's staff analysis reports • attending the Board of Administration and the Management Committee meetings • elaboration of the 1997 annual report • mass media press releases and advertising materials • contact person for the Romanian and International mass-media • preparing Romanian Savings Bank’s presentation materials for local and international publications: Piata Financiara ( the Financial Market) , Capital, and the Euromoney, Forbes , Leaders, Le Monde, respectively. ROMANIAN SAVINGS BANK-head office 11/1996 - 11/1997 Head of the Marketing and international relations dept. Responsibilities: Coordinating a 10 person office staff in the following areas: • strategic marketing and marketing planning • product and services development and monitoring • product and services costing and pricing • customer relationship management • market research • mass-media relationship management • attending meetings with Europay and Visa representatives within the area of bank card business • contact person for the World Bank, IMF, EBRD, and other international and local banks and institutions Achievements: 1. designing the marketing strategy and action plans 2. developing and monitoring the marketing budgets for the head office and the branches- first time ever after 1989 3. monitoring the assets and liability customer products accounts ( loans –deposits) and drafting the related reports 4. designing the customer relationship management procedures 5. developing cross-selling strategies and procedures 6. initiator of the IT customer database structure of the bank 7. preparing customer and product segmentation analysis reports 8. preparing market analysis and competition analysis reports 9. developing new products and services (CEC anniversary deposit, deposits for young people, safe deposit box services, etc.) 10. Organizing customer surveys with a specialized poll agency IRSOP (first time ever after 1989) 11. designing the new logo for the bank- first time ever after 1989 12. organizing press conferences of the bank and international workshops sponsored by the bank – in 1997 an international seminar on ‘ Private banking and mobilization of savings’ was initiated by me and organized in Bucharest jointly with the World Savings Banks institute- first time ever after 1989) 13. initiating and writing promotional articles for the bank in international magazines like: Financial Times, Euromoney, Forbes, Leaders, Le Monde - first time ever after 1989 - and for local financial magazines Piata Financiara ( the Financial Market) and Capital 14. elaboration of the 1996 annual report 15. coordinating the bank automation study undertaken by the VISA aimed to assess the IT system status and the requirements for the bank card business implementation EDUCATION Academy for Economics - Finance accounting faculty , Bucharest, Romania Graduated: 1987; Title: Master of Science degree in finance and accounting. Coursework included: financial mathematics, bank management, insurance companies management, corporate accounting and finance, international finance, contract negotiation, international law, software programming, statistics, macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, foreign trade accounting, corporate and banking budgeting, etc. Master thesis dissertation: IT software for automated Finished goods management accounting Student conferences paper: IT software for automated library management SCHOLARSHIPS AND TRAINING RECEIVED Scholarships a) Turkish Banks Association - Istanbul, May 18th - November 9th , 1993 – Certificate of achievement six months English theoretical banking training in the following areas: macroeconomics, microeconomics, international economics, bank management, asset and liability management, strategy planning, bank marketing, customer relationship management, bank products and services, international trade products and instruments, correspondent banking, trade finance, general accounting, advanced accounting, bank financial and risk analysis, branch network management and performance analysis, corporate financial and credit analysis, lending, capital markets, project analysis, etc b)United States Agency for International Development January 17th- May 14th, 1995- Certificate of achievement - four months on the job training in US financial-banking institutions : 1 commercial bank, 1 federal savings bank, 3 credit unions and 1 investment company in the following areas: bank strategy and planning, budgeting, marketing, asset and liability management, commercial and consumer lending, loan administration and work-outs, savings and deposit products, relationship management, marketing, financial & management accounting, bankruptcy proceedings, risk management, credit and financial analysis, derivatives, trade finance, capital markets, internal audit, banking software ( accounting, lending & savings, fixed assets, payroll ,etc) etc bankruptcy and Court proceedings, mortgage lending, loan marketing . c) Credit Union National Association USA ( 1995) Graduate (certificates of achievements) of the following stages of the Staff Training and Recognition Program (STAR) : Credit Union Orientation , Member relations, Credit Union Security, Negotiable instruments, Member services, Cross selling, Loan interviewing, Loan processing, Collections, Basic accounting, Accounting for credit unions and Credit union financial analysis. Training seminars attended ROMANIAN BANKING INSTITUTE, Bucharest Romania a) Financial and credit analysis - 1992 Traintheme PLC, UK - one week seminar b) Computerized cash-flow analysis - 1992 - DC Gardner - UK - one week seminar c) Bank customer care - 1993 Barclays Bank- one week seminar d) Project evaluation - 1994 - EC PHARE train the trainer two weeks seminar e) Asset and liability management- 1999- one week seminar jointly organized with the Georgetown University - USA – (The East Central European Scholarship Program) ANGLO-ROMANIAN BANK, Bucharest Branch, Romania 1997 Trade finance - two weeks on the job training WORLD BANK , Bucharest , Romania 1997 World Bank procurement service procedures- one week seminar NATIONAL BANK OF AUSTRIA, Wien , 1992 Marketing and new product development - one week seminar META GROUP –Vienna , Austria 1997 –1999 One week seminar on IT business solutions for the financial-banking industries attended by several IT business solution providers like IBM, Compaq, Midas Kapitti, Sun System, Computer associates, etc. ROMANIAN SAVINGS BANK , Bucharest , Romania - 1998 World Bank one week seminar on bank strategic planning and SME lending (credit analysis, collateral assessment, loan administration, non-performant loan management, loans work-out, risks associated with lending, collateral enforcement) GREEK BANKING INSTITUTE- Athens, Greece 2000 - Bank management- two weeks seminar SUNGARD BANKWARE – Bucharest Romania - 2000 Three days seminar on IT solutions for bank asset and liability management, customer and product profitability management BAYERISCHE LANDESBAUSPARKASSE –Munchen -2000 One week seminar on the “bausparkasse” concept (savings for housing construction) and legislation including visit to the Bayerische Landesbausparkasse branches BELGIAN BANKERS ACADEMY- Bucharest - 2001 Bank branch network performance management -one week seminar SARA MERKUR SA INSURANCE COMPANY ROMANIA – Bucharest, Romania December 2002-January 2003 – Seminar on Insurance financial management; insurance products; selling and cross-selling techniques Deloitte & Touche LLP - 18 September 2007 - Options Deloitte & Touche LLP - 20 September 2007 - Managing Capital Project Risk in the Power and Utilities Sector Deloitte & Touche LLP - 24 September 2007 - FIN 48: Setting Your Sights on the Long Term Deloitte & Touche LLP - 26 September 2007 - Beyond Information Quality to Information Value Deloitte & Touche LLP - 26 September 2007 - SaaS - Integrating On-premise and On-Demand software applications Deloitte & Touche LLP - 27 September 2007 - Automated Continuous Control Monitoring & testing Deloitte & Touche LLP - 02 October 2007 - International Large Position Reporting for Global Asset Managers Deloitte & Touche LLP - 03 October 2007 - Deferred Compensation Arrangements Quantifying the Financial Statement Impact Deloitte & Touche LLP - 03 October 2007 - 404 Non-Accelerated Filers How to Implement a Top-Down, Risk-Based Approach Deloitte & Touche LLP - 09 October 2007 - Quarterly Accounting Roundup -An Update of Important Developments Deloitte & Touche LLP - 17 October 2007 -The CFO’s Next Challenge: Applying Finance Talent to Create Enterprise Value Deloitte & Touche LLP - 25 October 2007 -Section 404 for Non-Accelerated Filers: How to Identify and Evaluate Controls Deloitte & Touche LLP - 07 November 2007 - Shifting Your Focus to Long-Term Performance Deloitte & Touche LLP - 09 November 2007 - The State of the Credit Market and its Impact on Financial Reporting Deloitte & Touche LLP - 13 November 2007 - Internal Audit-The Growing Importance in Asset Management Deloitte & Touche LLP - 13 November 2007 - Capital Asset Efficiency - Managing the Big Spend Deloitte & Touche LLP - 13 November 2007 - Transfer Pricing Across Europe - Supply Chain Initiatives Deloitte & Touche LLP - 28 November 2007 - Integrated Performance Management - A Critical Lever Deloitte & Touche LLP - 29 November 2007 - The Supply Chain Side of Governance, Risk, and Compliance Deloitte & Touche LLP - 05 December 2007 - Preparing for an IPO or Strategic Sale - First Impression Deloitte & Touche LLP - 05 December 2007 - Setting Strategy-How Should the Board Be Involved Deloitte & Touche LLP - 11 December 2007 - Internal Audit: The Growing Importance Within Asset Management Firms Deloitte & Touche LLP - 17 December 2007 - Accounting for Business Combinations and Noncontrolling Interests Deloitte & Touche LLP - 20 December 2007 - The Impact of Governance Risk, and Compliance on IT Deloitte & Touche LLP - 15 January 2008 - Quarterly Accounting Roundup- Update Developments Deloitte & Touche LLP - 16 January 2008 - Ten Things About Fraud Control- Closing the Fraud Control Gap Deloitte & Touche LLP - 19 June 2009 - Enterprise Cost Management - Downturn Survival strategies Deloitte & Touche LLP - 30 June 2009 - Gaining Perspective in the New Financial Services Marketplace Deloitte & Touche LLP - 08 July 2009 - The Latest Trends in Corporate Governance TRAINER EXPERIENCE (TRAINING SEMINARS DELIVERED) Romanian Banking institute: 1994 - lecturer on Project evaluation seminar 1995 - lecturer on Project evaluation seminar 1996 - lecturer on Corporate Financial and credit analysis seminar 1996 - partner in the designing of the Distance Learning Program in the area of bank management (project sponsored by , UK DFID - Know-How Fund) Romanian Savings Bank (Casa de Economii si Consemnatiuni - CEC) 1998 - World Bank & CEC joint training seminar – one week seminar jointly on bank strategic planning and SME lending (credit analysis, collateral assessment, loan administration, on-performant loan management, loans work-out, risks associated with lending, collateral enforcement) Kosovo Enterprise Program – Internal Training Unit 2003 – September – lecturer on Business planning (Business strategy and operational planning/budgeting), Financial Mathematics , Fundamental of Accounting, Financial analysis and Credit analysis; Loan Portfolio management; Loan administration; Non-performing loans management seminar 2003 October - lecturer on Business – microfinance concepts & terminology, MFI management; MFI products and services, Loans marketing, Loan Portfolio management; Loan administration; Non-performing loans management seminar 2003 November lecturer on Fundamental of Accounting & Finance, Financial statements analysis [ratios & credit analysis (liquidity, efficiency, solvency, profitability)], Loan Portfolio management; Loan administration; Non-performing loans management seminar 2003 –December - lecturer on Financial Mathematics, Fundamental of Accounting[accounting principles-GAAP, chart of accounts, accounting transactions journalizing (journal, general ledger, trial balance, adjustments to the trial balance, closing the accounts) balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity], MFI Accounting and management information systems, Financial analysis and Credit analysis, Loan Portfolio management; Loan administration; Non-performing loans management seminar 2004- January – lecturer on Decentralization of the Finance and Administration areas in MFIs seminar 2004 – March - lecturer on Financial Mathematics, Fundamental of Accounting, Financial analysis and Credit analysis; Loan Portfolio management; Loan administration; Non-performing loans management seminar 2004 June - lecturer on Financial Mathematics, Fundamental of Accounting, Financial analysis and Credit analysis; Loan Portfolio management; Loan administration; Non-performing loans management seminar 2004 August – lecturer on Business strategy and operational planning/budgeting; branch network performance management seminar 2004 September - lecturer on Financial Mathematics, Fundamental of Accounting, Financial analysis and Credit analysis seminar; Loan Portfolio management; Loan administration; Non-performing loans management 2004 October - lecturer on Decentralization of the Finance and Administration areas in MFIs seminar 2004 November - lecturer on Financial Mathematics, Fundamental of Accounting, Financial analysis and Credit analysis seminar UE Phare/Europe Aid project: Improving the State Treasury management system of the Ministry of Public Finance –Romania – 2005 December - lecturer on Public Finance and State Treasury management, seminar 2006 January - lecturer on Public Finance and State Treasury management seminar World Bank & the French Development Agency - Intra-bank payment and customer accounting system phase 2, (IPCAS) – Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development 2006 – September –training seminar on Bank strategic planning. European Fund for Southeast Europe 2008 – July – training seminar on Asset & Liability Management for Micro Finance Institutions (Liquidity & Interest rate risks management) – KosInvest (a Kosovo Micro Finance Institution) – Pristina - Kosovo 2008 – November – training seminar on Financial Management for Micro Finance Institutions – KosInvest (a Kosovo Micro Finance Institution) – Pristina – Kosovo