Maureen Atieno

Experience

• 

  Airtel Kenya

  Apr 2010 - Apr 2011

  Credit Controller
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  East African Breweries Ltd

  Apr 2011 - Jan 2015

  Credit Controller

  My key role outcomes include:- Managed various internal processes including daily management of billings, collections; reconciliation, general ledger and month-end-closings for take home traders with the main focus on accounts receivable functions. - Maximized the business' cash flow by minimizing bad & old debt and managed customer ledger according to KPI’s. - Provided back office support for the customer teams and in the market, finance teams to ensure customer spend payments are processed on time- Managed credit risk, monitored customer payment behavior and recommended credit limit changes - Reconciled discrepancies to ensure accounts were organized and updated. - Oversaw the Tanzanian market and managed relationships with key stakeholders including clients, markets(account managers, credit risk manager, Finance manager) and internal customer service teams Show less

• 

  Diageo

  Feb 2015 - Jun 2021

  I offer strategic & operation insights to support business growth through business process improvement, managing risk and compliance, and debtor management. I manage a team of 7 & oversee markets across West & East Africa, and the Indian Ocean (Reunion, Seychelles). Reporting to the Head of Sales to Cash Manager. Key Achievements:- Championed business process improvement through the SAP Development & Training and implemented a simplified customer statements which reduced queries and enhanced debt collection boosting the working capital status- Improved Kenya & Uganda's order creation turnaround from 15 to 2 minutes by implementing a direct order capture that eliminated all existing hurdles resulting in efficiencies and reduction in FTE by 15 minutes- Led Kenya's withholding tax VAT automation resulting to process efficiency, data accuracy and saving 207 minutes of daily operation time- Improved my team's engagement index to 79% in 2019, an 18% increase from 2018 through relevant leadership approaches and workplace coaching leading to better work environment, improved business acumen and performance- Achieved 100% compliance on Code of Business Conduct, Diageo policies & standards and all audits by embedding compliance culture in my team through capacity building around key business controls - Managed the team's business risk by conducting successful business continuity (BCP) plan simulations through well-coordinated communication with all BCP champions guaranteeing successful fail-overs during failures and scheduled downtime- Improved collections and reduced the overdue debt to less than 2% through better vendor management practices, sharing of customer behaviour insights, relevant credit risk policies and standardized credit categorization in Africa- Embedded high performance culture within the firm's Enterprise Operations and its internal markets that I supported by developing content, facilitating training and standardizing all markets' processes Show less I was tasked to oversee the successful transition, uphold performance level and ensure performance improvement and visibility to the global environment for a new market that was being introduced into the shared service center with new ways of working. My Key Achievement include:- Strengthened the business working capital status by negotiating with vendors and reviewed their credit terms from 30 to 90 days and introduced them to the supplier financing facility to minimize credit-related challenges toward their transactions.- Streamlined the Source to Pay process through stakeholder engagements and improved the invoice Payment To Terms performance from 55% to 66%, decreased the aged open POs from 13% to 2%, and eliminated all aged debit items etc- Lowered operation costs and increased process efficiencies including Goods Receipt batch job, automation of remittance and purchase orders circulation, and regular updating of Purchase Information Record via a collaborative engagement with the South African market - Improved business working capital plan by enforcing the inclusion of all South Africa market vendors onto the standard payment terms thus achieved working capital and Weighted average payment days opportunity of GBP 110K and GBP 7K respectively.- Transitioned the SA market to shared centre by supporting balance handover, warranty and stabilization phases of key projects and also exiting these phases on time at zero costs Show less I managed client relationships, the market (Account Managers, Credit Risk Manager, and Finance Manager) and internal customer service functions within Kenya, Uganda and Seychelles markets. I provided a supervisory role with focus on process improvement initiatives. I reported to the Order to Cash Manager across the same markets My key achievement included:- Embedded business compliance culture to the credit team through regular sensitization and capacity building via training on key business controls leading to 100% compliance and satisfactory rating for Global Audit and Risk and Controls Assurance and Risk Management audits across all markets.- Managed credit risk, by analyzing customer payment patterns, proposed credit limit changes and reconciled discrepancies to ensure accounts were updated. - Turned around the status for A/c receivables for the 3 countries by analyzing market activities and sharing insights of the overdue items leading to a positive shift from GBP 1,328 to GBP -1,436- Enhanced client experience within the 3 countries' markets through quick turnaround on addressing customer queries and also reduced overdue by engaging markets to credit client accounts on time.- Spearheaded for the review of trade terms for each market prior to the approvals in order to match the trading scenarios and reduced the overdue volume by 87% through collaboration with Finance - Created processes and templates and facilitated over 95% right-first-time actions and reducing client claims resolution time, operating cost and improved the business’ competitive advantage- Stepped up in acting capacity and offered leadership to the credit-control team in the absence of the OTC team leader Show less The project covered three countries: Seychelles, Ethiopia and Kenya which were moving their operations into the shared service centre for standardization and automation, selling of raw material to farmers, and consolidating all customers and suppliers' information on a centralized platform. I was tasked as the SAP OTC Process Lead to map out the project in Kenya and determine the process flow, logistics, engage stakeholders, and determine timelines for different project phases;Key achievements and project outcomes include:- Oversaw a smooth and successful transition into shared service Centre and offered support in warranty and stabilization periods/phases for Seychelles and EAML market which reduced manual processes and enhanced visibility and process controls- Collaborated with various business groups to design and implement planning solutions, delivered data, audited automation and assisted business partners to define, interpret and implement SAP system enhancements.- Mapped out and built the project's critical areas and ensured it's compliance - Engaged and managed the project's internal and external stakeholders and secured their buy-ins into the new project including training farmers to create awareness and get their buy-in for the system interface and related data issues.- Offered subject matter expert guidance on key areas of the projects including providing Order to Cash expertise, reviewed credit policy and aligned it to the global framework and advised the Financial Director on the new trade terms Show less

  • Credit Manager - East Africa

    Oct 2017 - Jun 2021

  • Source to Pay Team Lead (South Africa)

    Apr 2016 - Oct 2017

  • Senior Credit Controller - Order to Cash

    Oct 2015 - Apr 2016

  • Order to Cash (OTC) Project Process Lead

    Feb 2015 - Oct 2015
• 

  Deloitte

  Jul 2021 - Mar 2024

  Partnered with all levels in the organization to complete various forecast and budget deliverables with a focus on inventory and logistics management.• For new projects, played a vital role in validating financial assumptions and information that form the basis for strategic business decisions.• Trained and educated business leaders on the financial aspects of their business, such as reading their P&L, interpreting financial and operational metrics.• Leveraged existing technology, fostered partnerships, and created new data models to deliver proactive, timely and insightful analysis and proposals. Show less

  • Compliance, Controls and Business Integrity Manager

    Aug 2023 - Mar 2024

  • SUPPLY FINANCE BUSINESS PARTNER

    Dec 2022 - Aug 2023

  • Finance Project Manager

    Jul 2021 - Dec 2022