Neethu Narayanan
Dubai,United Arab Emirates
Summary
Accomplished finance professional with expertise in financial management, analysis, and forecasting. Proven ability to evaluate profit and loss while managing teams effectively. Strong attention to detail and commitment to leveraging financial skills to drive organizational success and achieve strategic objectives.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
19
19
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Finance Partner – dnata FP&A (dnata Travel)
The Emirates Group
Dubai
2025.04 - Current
- Financial Planning & Budgeting: Led end-to-end departmental budget consolidation, built simulated actuals for predictive forecasting, and coordinated system-wide uploads while ensuring seamless distribution to line managers.
- Cost Control & Performance Analysis: Monitored business KPIs, overheads, and Direct Operating Costs (DOC) across operational sites; identified exceptional cost/income trends to provide line managers with actionable performance insights.
- Strategic Decision Support: Evaluated commercial contracts, pricing models, business cases, and joint venture proposals while conducting rigorous post-commitment reviews on large-scale capital expenditures (CapEx).
- Reporting & Compliance: Managed monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial closures and critical account reconciliations, generating accurate ad-hoc reporting packs and audit schedules.
Finance Specialist – Group Accounts Payable Services
The Emirates Group
Dubai
2021.11 - 2025.03
- Managed a team of four accounts payable professionals responsible for review and reconciliation of 20+ balance sheet nominals with over 0.5M+ line level reconciliations on a periodic basis.
- Performed reconciliation activities to ensure accurate financial reporting and compliance with regulations.
- Identified and mitigated financial risks by implementing automated solutions for write-back reversals in IMPACT.
- Analysed root causes and engaged stakeholders to discuss reconciliation outcomes, providing recommendations for upstream process improvements.
- Implemented process improvements that resulted in zero touch points for GAPS (EKH-CGS billing project)
- Trained and mentored team members, enhancing their knowledge and skills to support departmental goals.
Finance Officer – Group Accounts Payable Services
The Emirates Group
Dubai
2018.02 - 2021.11
- Integrated end-to-end setting up of the new payable team in HO for project "yalago", a finance initiative to set up a leisure bed-bank in the UAE which manages 0.5M travel bookings per year.
- Engaged with external service providers to implement Virtual Credit Card (VCC) as an additional form of payment for the Emirates Group Entities.
- Creating process documents for various complex data migration strategies, VCC procedures, supplier communication post migration and future work processes.
- Travel
Finance Supervisor – Group Accounts Payable Services
The Emirates Group
Dubai
2014.04 - 2018.02
- Process freight invoices into Oracle by checking contracts and agreed rates daily.
- Clear invoices in Agile e-workflow for approval each working day.
- Reconcile key suppliers monthly and post balances to the financial system.
- Provide finance controller with KPI reports for senior management and discount calculations.
- Reconcile year-end and month-end nominal entries using supplier statements and trends.
- Monitor invoice ageing in Agile e-workflow and notify departments for action.
- Handle miscellaneous team tasks to support day-to-day finance operations.
Senior Finance Assistant – Group Accounts Payable Services
The Emirates Group
Dubai
2011.09 - 2014.03
- Manage travel-related vendors through day-to-day supplier coordination and records.
- Support business development managers on new supplier visits and contract setup.
- Reconcile supplier accounts and schedule timely payments to protect relationships.
- Calculate approximate accruals by liaising with business units and ERP posting.
- Test new feeder system changes and complete UAT for planned releases.
- Visit business units onsite regularly to keep supplier payments running smoothly.
- Provide vendor portal presentation guidelines and training to vendors.
- Support team lead on vendor portal enhancements for destination leisure teams.
Finance Assistant – Credit Card & E-Payment Management
The Emirates Group
Dubai
2008.03 - 2011.08
- Ensuring timely billing of various credit cards (Visa, Master, and Amex & Diners Club) for both passenger tickets & In-flight sale vouchers.
- Processing refunds for all credit cards for both passenger & IFS vouchers.
- Disputing & providing appropriate supports for all kinds of tickets purchased using credit cards for Chargeback queries and corresponding with the various acquiring banks and highlighting the potential fraudulent transactions to the group security team.
- Fraud Prevention
Documents Clerk – Group Revenue & Customer Services
The Emirates Group
Dubai
2007.09 - 2008.03
- Prepare documentation for the flight coupons for Cyprus Airways & Olympic Airlines.
- Clear the rejections for Malaysian Airlines for the flight coupons captured by the system.
- Assist various internal departments with queries related to the ticket batches.
Customer Service & Telemarketing agent
Access Computers LLC
Dubai
2007.07 - 2007.08
- Conducted calls and arranged meetings to drive future sales opportunities
- Answered incoming calls from prospective customers to provide information and support
- Maintained records of calls and sales, ensuring accurate and organised information management
Education
MBA - Finance
Bharatiyar University
India 2012.01 - 2014.01
B.Com - Finance & Marketing
Annamalai University
India 2007.01 - 2010.01
Higher Secondary - undefined
Our Own Indian School
Dubai, UAE 1993.01 - 2007.01
Skills
- Finance management and planning
- Financial analysis and forecasting
- Profit and loss evaluation
- People management
- Attention to detail
Languages
English
Fluent
Malayalam
Native
Accomplishments
Recognized for knowledge & understanding of the business requirement and setting up an entire new payable function for a migrated dnata travel Brand in Dubai
Timeline
Finance Partner – dnata FP&A (dnata Travel)
The Emirates Group
2025.04 - Current
Finance Specialist – Group Accounts Payable Services
The Emirates Group
2021.11 - 2025.03
Finance Officer – Group Accounts Payable Services
The Emirates Group
2018.02 - 2021.11
Finance Supervisor – Group Accounts Payable Services
The Emirates Group
2014.04 - 2018.02
MBA - Finance
Bharatiyar University
2012.01 - 2014.01
Senior Finance Assistant – Group Accounts Payable Services
The Emirates Group
2011.09 - 2014.03
Finance Assistant – Credit Card & E-Payment Management
The Emirates Group
2008.03 - 2011.08
Documents Clerk – Group Revenue & Customer Services
The Emirates Group
2007.09 - 2008.03
Customer Service & Telemarketing agent
Access Computers LLC
2007.07 - 2007.08
B.Com - Finance & Marketing
Annamalai University
2007.01 - 2010.01
Higher Secondary - undefined
Our Own Indian School
1993.01 - 2007.01