Saeed Daryabeygi

Accomplished finance leader with over 15 years of experience managing finance strategy and operations for multi-site companies across diversified industries. Track record of leadership across planning, forecasting, financial reporting, cost optimization, audit compliance, and cross-functional partnering. Effective communication, analytical, and strategic thinking skills. Passionate about driving organizational success through financial stewardship and business partnership.

• Expertise in IFRS reporting, financial statement preparation, ERP implementations, and consolidation of multi-entity financials.
• Successful track record driving process improvements, enhancing internal controls, and implementing ERP systems to improve efficiency.
• Strong business acumen with experience partnering with business leaders across functions to provide actionable financial insights and support strategic decision-making.
• Proficient in data analysis and modelling to inform forecasts, budgets, and long-term plans. Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities. Experienced leading teams and cross-functional projects with complex stakeholder groups.
• Hardworking self-starter known for a results-oriented mindset, strong work ethic, and willingness to take on new challenges.
• Skilled at quickly analyzing problems, developing solutions, and implementing changes to continuously improve processes and performance.

Head of Finance, Region CAC (Central Asia and Caucasus), Unilever (Apr 2022 - Present) - Istanbul/Remote

Key achievements and responsibilities:

• Manage financial operations spanning nine countries in CAC (Central Asia and the Caucasus) Region
  • Oversee all core finance functions including controllership, FP&A, treasury, internal controls, and external reporting.
  • Managed the crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, swiftly adapting financial sources and activities to restore normal business performance in the second half of 2022.
  • Partner with country and functional leadership on pricing, profitability analysis, and financial modelling to inform strategic decisions.
  • Provide actionable insights to sales, marketing, and supply chain teams through dashboards, KPI analysis, and financial modelling to aid strategy development, across different countries, and product groups.
  • Improved cash management, resulting in a 350-basis point increase in the dividend payout ratio.
  • Successfully achieved zero overdue accounts receivable at the end of 2022.

Country Financial Controller, Unilever (Apr 2019 - Mar 2022) – Tehran, Iran

Joined Unilever as a Financial Controller, overseeing a team of thirty-seven people, including six direct reports:
 Key achievements and responsibilities:

• Led finance team of thirty-seven with five direct reports, covering all core accounting, controlling, reporting, audit, and tax functions for the Iran market.
• Partnered with sales leadership to shift the distribution model in three regions, leading to a 300-basis point improvement in gross margin.
• Restructured the finance department, reducing departmental costs by €50K within the first year.
• Fostered relationships with external stakeholders, such as banks, to obtain competitive interest rates on deposits, resulting in an increase in the average interest rate on total bank deposits from 18% to 22%.
• Executed capital increase projects to fund growth plans and provide a buffer against currency volatility. Developed hedging strategies mitigating FX exposure.
• Reduced internal control deficiencies and rectified forty-five identified deficiencies out of fifty-four in one year and initiated an ERP upgrade to address the remaining issues.
• Led and managed various audits, including SSO audits, tax audits, sanction compliance audits, and financial audits, and received an unqualified audit opinion for all years.
• Decreased the ratio of paid tax to declared tax from 118% to 105%
• Led the implementation of IFRS 9, 16, and IAS  29
  
   

CFO, Sayesaman Distribution Co. (Mar 2016 - Apr 2019) - Tehran, Iran

SayeSaman Co. is a leading food and beverage product distributor operating through twenty-eight branches and warehouses across Iran. As the Head of Finance, I managed the entire finance function of the company.

Key achievements and responsibilities:

• Served as Chief Financial Officer leading a team of 120 (including Branch accountants), of which six one direct report across accounting, controlling, treasury, and internal audit.
• Directed implementation of SAP ERP across twenty-eight branches and warehouses to enable integrated management of financials, inventory, and logistics. (SD, MM, and FICO)
• Led working capital optimization initiatives improving DSO by 40 days and DPO by 17 days, reducing reliance on short-term financing.
• Analyzed customer segmentation, risk, and profitability to refine credit policies and approval limits; lowered bad debt provision from 0.7% to 0.3% of sales.
• Optimized relationships with banks, reducing the number of active bank accounts from almost 220 to 18.
• Partnered with banks to implement auto-reconciliation of customer payments and established auto-clearing of customer payments in the ERP.
• Conducted comprehensive vendor reconciliation with Nestle, identifying and correcting $300K in erroneous accruals.
  
   

Chief Financial Officer, Marinasun Cellulose Industry (Jun 2011 – Mar 2016) - Tehran, Iran

Marinasun is a leading manufacturer of cellulose products. As the Chief Financial Officer, I oversaw the overall finance function of the company and collaborated closely with other business functions to ensure its success.

Key achievements and responsibilities:

• Led a team of sixteen covering accounting, financial planning, treasury, tax, and internal controls for the manufacturer of cellulose products.
• Reorganized the finance team, reducing the number of people from 16 to 12 persons and improving their efficiency.
• Instituted annual budgeting process with operational and capital expenditure planning integrated into 3-year strategic plans.
• Performed in-depth analysis of production costs and identified changes to improve gross margin by 500 bps.
• Implemented inventory management improvements reducing days inventory outstanding from 90 to 65 days.
• Successfully finalized all open tax files and obtained an 80% tax-exempt approval for four years from the tax office.
• Initiated a project to implement rolling forecasts across the company to enable more agile planning.
  
   

Financial Controller, British American Tobacco (Mar 2009 – Jun 2011) - Tehran, Iran 

As a Financial Controller, I led a team of three managers, including the financial accounting manager, planning, and reporting manager, and tax and treasury manager.

Key achievements and responsibilities:

• Led a team of three managers, including the financial accounting manager, planning, and reporting manager, and tax and treasury manager for Iran Market
• Partnered with the global BAT team on initiatives to standardize and integrate systems and processes across markets.
• Localized Iran GAAP reporting achieving compliance with local regulations while maintaining IFRS-compliant books. Reduced tax expense by 20%
• Executed a year-long project to implement Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP system to support multi-currency reporting needs.
• Drove initiatives to strengthen internal controls over inventory, fixed assets, and cash resulting in no audit deficiencies.
• Finalized tax files for 2004, 2005, and 2007, with only 5% extra payment over declared tax.
• Won a VAT case, resulting in savings of GBP 1.5M every year in tax expenses.

Financial Manager, Nokia, and Nokia Siemens (Aug 2007 - Mar 2009) - Tehran, Iran

At Nokia Siemens, I was responsible for finance in two main projects: accounting shared services for network development and BTS projects in Iran, and Nokia's cell phone business. The finance function served as a shared service department for these separate business entities.

Key achievements and responsibilities:

• Led finance function for Nokia's cellphone division and Nokia Siemens' network development projects in Iran.
• Managed integration of financial data and systems following the Nokia Siemens merger; aligned policies and reporting.
• Implemented new controls and procedures to ensure SOX compliance and mitigate control risks.
• Cleared over 2,600 open reconciliation items to streamline the month-end close process.
• Oversaw localization of accounting policies and systems to comply with Iran regulations while maintaining IFRS reporting.
• Directed ERP integration for fixed assets module enabling automated asset tracking and depreciation.
• Developed a comprehensive financial reporting package covering margins, operating profit, and transfer pricing analysis.
• Ensured revenue recognition policies followed IFRS standards and matched project completion milestones.

Financial Controller/Manager, HOERBIGER (Oct 2003 - Aug 2007) - Tehran, Iran

At HOERBIGER, a leading manufacturer of compressor components, I served as a Financial Controller in the newly established branch of the Austrian company in Iran. 

Key achievements and responsibilities:

• Established finance functions including accounting, reporting, budgeting, and internal controls for the newly launched Iran branch of a multinational compressor manufacturer.
• Implemented SAP FICO to manage core financial processes including A/R, A/P, fixed assets, inventory, and project accounting.
• Developed comprehensive accounting policies and procedures manual aligned with corporate policies and local regulations.
• Led development of annual budgets and mid-range forecasting models providing visibility into growth plans.
• Secured customs duty exemptions from government bodies lowering import costs by over 80%.
• A streamlined month-end close process enabling timely reporting of financial results to global headquarters.
• Managed external audit process, achieving unqualified opinions annually.
• Recruited and led the finance team while also overseeing HR and admin functions in the startup phase.

University of Tehran 

Master of Science in Accounting and Finance, 2003

• Thesis Topic: comparing EVA and EPS in forecasting firm value in registered companies of TSE. 
• GPA 17.29 out of 20

University of Tehran 

Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance, 2000

• Completed coursework in financial accounting, managerial accounting, taxation, auditing, corporate finance, investments, and financial analysis.
• GPA: 17.95 out of 20

ACCA Certification, year 2012, Iranian Accounting Association 

Earned ACCA certification demonstrating extensive knowledge in IFRS, financial reporting, taxation, audit, and controls.