O2C / AR / CREDIT & COLLECTIONS LEAD

Role Purpose Lead and progressively centralize end-to-end Order-to-Cash (O2C) activities for the Group, ensuring disciplined customer onboarding and credit control, accurate and timely billing, prompt cash application, effective collections, reliable receivables reporting and IFRS-compliant revenue and expected credit loss (ECL) accounting. The role establishes one consistent Group O2C framework across multiple business units, entities, sales channels and existing ERP systems. Act as the primary technical and operational owner of Group receivables and working-capital performance on the customer side; partner with Business Unit Finance Managers (BU FMs) and commercial heads for source-transaction accountability and escalate material credit, revenue, control and collection matters to the Head of Accounting & Shared Services. Scope and Leadership Accountability • Own the Group O2C operating model and its seven workstreams: customer master data & credit; billing/invoicing; cash application; collections; disputes, credit notes & refunds; revenue/ECL accounting; and AR close & reporting. • Manage the assigned shared-services O2C team, allocate billing, cash-application and collection portfolios, perform independent reviews, coach staff and define backups for critical invoicing, receipting and month-end activities. • Issue common credit policies, customer onboarding standards, invoice templates, receipting rules, collection strategies, dispute workflows and AR reporting standards across business units despite differing ERP platforms. • Provide functional direction and deadline tracking to BU sales-admin, billing and cashier teams; BU FMs retain ownership of local revenue transactions, underlying contracts and evidence until responsibilities are formally transferred to the hub. • Maintain disciplined maker-checker approvals, segregation of duties between customer master data, billing, cash handling and receipt posting, audit trails, issue logs and a formal escalation process. A. Customer Master Data, Onboarding & Credit Management • Own customer master data governance: onboarding/KYC documentation, trade licence and VAT/TRN validation, payment terms, price lists, credit limits, customer categories and controlled amendments with full audit trail. • Operate the Group Credit Policy: credit applications, risk scoring, credit limits, security (bank guarantees, post-dated cheques, deposits, letters of credit) and periodic credit reviews, with approvals per the Delegation of Authority. • Monitor credit exposure across entities for common customers and related groups; manage credit holds, over-limit releases and blocked-order escalations with Sales and BU FMs. • Apply enhanced controls for export, trade-finance and cash-intensive transactions, including advance-payment requirements, sanctions/AML screening coordination and documentary-credit compliance. • Cleanse and de-duplicate customer records; ensure dormant, related-party and intercompany customers are correctly classified and mapped. B. Order, Contract & Billing / Invoicing • Ensure complete, accurate and timely invoicing for all revenue streams, including vehicle sales/export, spare parts, workshop/service job cards, rent-a-car and leasing contracts, logistics services and management charges. • Enforce billing controls: approved pricing and discounts, delivery/completion evidence, contract terms, billing cut-off, unbilled revenue tracking and prevention of duplicate or missed invoices. • Ensure tax-compliant invoices in line with UAE VAT and applicable GCC requirements, including correct VAT treatment for exports, zero-rated and exempt supplies, and customer TRN validation. • Lead O2C readiness for the UAE e-invoicing mandate, in partnership with Tax, IT and the Group's Accredited Service Provider, in line with the Ministry of Finance phased implementation timeline. • Oversee recurring billing for rentals, leases, fleet contracts and service agreements; reconcile billing schedules to contracts, fleet utilization and operational systems. C. Cash Application & Receipts • Govern daily receipting and cash application across bank transfers, cards, cheques, PDCs, cash, payment gateways and finance-company settlements; ensure receipts are applied to the correct customer and invoice promptly. • Maintain PDC registers, cheque custody, deposit and bounced-cheque procedures; coordinate legal follow-up on dishonoured cheques with BU FMs and Legal. • Clear unapplied and unidentified receipts, on-account balances and suspense items within defined timelines; investigate short payments, deductions and bank charges. • Reconcile cash-in-transit, card/payment-gateway settlements, bank-finance and insurance receipts to the ledger, in coordination with Treasury, without taking over bank account authority. D. Collections & Receivables Management • Own the Group collections strategy: customer segmentation, dunning cycles, call/visit plans, promise-to-pay tracking and escalation paths for overdue accounts. • Drive DSO, overdue and aged-debt reduction targets by BU, customer and salesperson; run weekly collection reviews with BU FMs and commercial heads. • Manage high-risk, legal and slow-moving accounts, including payment plans, settlement proposals, security enforcement and referrals to collection agencies or legal counsel. • Coordinate customer statements, balance confirmations and reconciliation of customer-side disputes; ensure timely follow-up on government, corporate fleet and finance-company receivables. E. Disputes, Credit Notes, Refunds & Customer Deposits • Operate a controlled dispute-management workflow with clear owners, root-cause categories, ageing and resolution deadlines across Sales, Operations and Finance. • Ensure credit notes, discounts, rebates, write-offs and refunds are supported, authorized under the Delegation of Authority and correctly reflected for VAT. • Control customer advances, booking deposits, security deposits (including rental deposits and traffic-fine/Salik recoveries) and their timely release, offset or refund. • Analyse recurring disputes and credit notes for revenue leakage, pricing errors and process failures; agree corrective actions with BU FMs and operating heads. F. Revenue Recognition, ECL & Technical Accounting • Act as the O2C focal point for the application of IFRS 15 (revenue from contracts with customers), including performance obligations, variable consideration, principal-versus-agent assessments, bill-and-hold and export/Incoterms cut-off. • Support accounting for rental and leasing income in line with IFRS 16 (lessor), contract assets/liabilities, deferred revenue, unbilled revenue and customer deposits. • Own the Group expected credit loss methodology under IFRS 9 (simplified approach), including provision matrices, forward-looking adjustments, specific provisions and write-off criteria, subject to Head/CFO approval. • Prepare technical position papers on significant O2C judgments and refer material or complex positions for independent review and approval, rather than unilaterally changing accounting policy. Transformation, Governance and Collaboration • Build and execute a phased O2C centralization plan without waiting for a single ERP rollout; standardize outputs and controls first, then progressively transfer billing, cash application and collections activities. • Own O2C SOPs, credit policy, customer onboarding forms, billing checklists, receipting procedures, collection playbooks and dispute/credit-note protocols. • Partner with Finance Systems/IT to harmonize customer master data, payment terms, AR ageing buckets, automated cash matching, customer portals, e-invoicing and dunning automation across current and future ERP platforms. • Develop a recurring O2C dashboard showing DSO, ageing, collection effectiveness, unapplied cash, dispute ageing, billing accuracy, credit-limit breaches and ECL trends. • Provide coaching, cross-training, succession/backup coverage and performance feedback; identify capability gaps and recommend resource allocations. Mandatory Deliverables • Approved Group Credit Policy, customer onboarding/KYC standard and credit-limit register with approval evidence. • Weekly collections tracker and overdue report by BU, customer and salesperson, with promise-to-pay and escalation status. • Monthly AR ageing, DSO and O2C performance pack, including key-customer exposure and commentary. • Monthly AR sub-ledger to GL reconciliations, unapplied cash, PDC and customer-deposit reconciliations, with preparer/reviewer sign-off. • Monthly ECL provision computation, write-off register and approved specific-provision schedule. • Dispute, credit-note and refund register with root-cause analysis and revenue-leakage findings. • Updated O2C SOPs, technical position papers, e-invoicing readiness plan and statutory/external audit support pack. • Continuous-improvement register and O2C performance dashboard for the Head of Accounting & Shared Services. Decision Rights and Ownership Boundaries • The position may approve credit limits, credit notes, write-offs, refunds and customer master changes only within delegated authority; no individual may both create/amend customer master data and post receipts, or prepare and independently approve the same material transaction. • Material credit limits, settlement agreements, legal actions, significant write-offs, changes to ECL methodology and revenue-recognition policy require approval under the Group Delegation of Authority. • BU FMs and commercial heads are accountable for pricing, sales contracts, delivery evidence and local transaction completeness until the relevant activity is formally centralized. The O2C Lead owns Group standards, controls, reviews, escalation and reporting. • Sales pricing and commercial negotiations, Treasury funding and bank relationships, tax return filings, legal proceedings and GL/consolidation remain with their designated owners; this role coordinates required inputs and validates the accounting impact. Qualifications and Experience • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or related field; ACCA, CPA, CA, ACA, CMA or equivalent professional qualification strongly preferred; credit-management certification advantageous. • Typically 10+ years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 3 years leading AR, credit control, collections or O2C in a multi-entity group or shared-services environment. • Demonstrable track record of reducing DSO and overdue debt, implementing credit policies and strengthening billing and cash-application controls. • Sound working knowledge of IFRS 15, IFRS 9 (ECL) and IFRS 16 (lessor) and UAE VAT; e-invoicing implementation exposure desirable. • Practical experience in automotive trading/export, dealerships, rent-a-car, workshops, logistics or other high-volume, multi-channel businesses advantageous. • Experience working across mixed ERP landscapes (e.g., Oracle NetSuite, SAP or equivalent), advanced Excel and reporting/BI tools; exposure to AR automation, ERP migration or shared-services implementation desirable. • Strong English communication (Arabic advantageous), negotiation, customer-facing, project management and cross-functional stakeholder influence; UAE/GCC commercial and regulatory familiarity advantageous.