Finance Operations ⚡ AI-Augmented Leader

Turning complex R2R finance into automated, insight-driven operations.

I’m Noorul Hussain, a Finance Operations Leader with 17+ years in R2R, GL, IC, and AR, combining shared services expertise with automation, analytics, and AI-powered workflows to deliver faster closes, cleaner reconciliations, and audit-ready books.

📍 Chennai, India
📊 Shared Services & FMCG / FinTech
🤝 Stakeholder-centric Governance
95%+ NPS through governance, communication & service excellence R2R | GL | IC | AR | Power BI | VBA | RPA
ABOUT

Finance operations, re-imagined with automation & AI

My core strength is running and transforming large-scale Record to Report operations: month-end close, GL, Intercompany, reconciliations, and reporting — while embedding controls, automation, and AI-powered insights across the process.

What I do
From close governance to automation sprints
  • Lead end-to-end R2R delivery (journal entries, accruals, IC, reconciliations & reporting).
  • Run month-end close governance with clear SLA/KPI tracking and sign-offs.
  • Design and standardize SOPs, workflows, and controls to reduce risk and rework.
  • Partner with Finance Controllers to stay audit-ready and insights-driven.
  • Build digital dashboards (Power BI) to surface real-time close and variance insights.
How I add value
Measurable impact, not just process hygiene
  • 57+ hours/month saved via process redesign and automation initiatives.
  • 28 hours saved in Intercompany settlement through targeted automation.
  • 2+ FTE productivity unlocked via 39 VBA macros across R2R processes.
  • IC discrepancies reduced from millions to < USD 5K with stronger controls & analytics.
  • Touchless claims posting and VAT reporting automation delivering additional FTE savings.
Core Finance & Operations Stack
What I’m deeply hands-on with
Record to Report (R2R) General Ledger (GL) Intercompany (IC) Accounts Receivable (AR) Month-End Close Reconciliations Financial Reporting Audit & Compliance SLA / KPI Governance Shared Services & Transitions Continuous Improvement Automation (VBA / RPA) Power BI & Analytics Stakeholder Management People Leadership
EXPERIENCE

Career timeline & leadership journey

17+ years of finance operations experience with IBM India, leading multi-geo teams and large-scale R2R transformations across FMCG and FinTech clients.

Operations Manager – Record to Report (Deputy Manager)
IBM India Pvt. Ltd., Chennai
Oct 2009 – Nov 2013; Sep 2014 – Present
  • Lead a 35-member R2R team spanning journal postings, accruals, IC, reconciliations, and reporting.
  • Own month-end close governance with clear SLA adherence and on-time sign-offs.
  • Drive reconciliations, reporting packs, variance analysis, and actionable financial insights.
  • Run client governance meetings on KPIs, risk, and transformation roadmap.
  • Lead CI, Lean, and RPA initiatives to boost productivity and control quality.
Leadership, certifications & recognition
Building strong teams and scalable operations
  • Certified People Manager – responsible for hiring, onboarding, performance, and development.
  • Agile Champion – driving structured CI sprints and automation programs.
  • Lean Six Sigma – Green Belt (trained) with a focus on defect reduction and throughput.
  • Promotion to Deputy Manager (2021), plus multiple STAR, Top Talent, Exemplary & long-service awards.
  • Knowledge training excellence award from a global FMCG client.
AI & AUTOMATION

From VBA & RPA to AI-first finance ops

I don’t see AI as a buzzword — I use it to design leaner, more transparent, and more resilient finance processes, layered on top of solid automation and analytics foundations.

Automation & analytics I’ve led
Concrete use-cases and impact
  • Built 39+ VBA macros to streamline reconciliations, validations, and reporting, delivering ~2 FTE in productivity.
  • Designed RPA-driven touchless claims posting, freeing up ~1 FTE of manual effort.
  • Automated VAT reporting, reducing manual work by ~0.5 FTE and improving accuracy.
  • Implemented an Intercompany automation framework cutting settlement effort and reducing discrepancies.
  • Developed real-time Power BI month-close dashboards for controllers and leadership.
Automation strategy Business case design Hyperautomation mindset
Prompt engineering in finance operations
Practical, outcomes-driven AI usage

I apply prompt engineering to convert finance knowledge into repeatable AI workflows that reduce manual analysis and documentation effort:

  • Designing close-checklist copilots to guide junior analysts through month-end steps and controls.
  • Using AI to draft variance commentaries from trial balances and P&L movements.
  • Creating standardized prompts for policy interpretation, SOP drafting, and governance deck creation.
  • Building “reconciliation explainers” where AI summarizes root causes and remediation actions.
  • Leveraging AI to generate training content and quizzes for cross-skilling teams.
System & role prompts Structured prompt templates AI-assisted documentation Governance deck generation
AI TOOLKIT

AI tools I work with

I stay up-to-date with the AI ecosystem and apply the right tool for each finance or operations use-case — from analysis and documentation to workflow automation.

ChatGPT
Finance co-pilot & documentation engine
Variance analysis drafts SOP creation Training content
Google Gemini
Multi-modal insights on finance data
Spreadsheet reasoning Policy Q&A Visual dashboards review
Claude
Long-form finance & policy assistant
Process design documents Control narratives Playbooks
Perplexity
Research & benchmarking
Best-practice R2R models Industry benchmarks
Gamma
AI-first presentations & storytelling
Leadership decks Transformation roadmaps
NotebookLM
Knowledge bases for finance playbooks
R2R knowledge hub Policy Q&A
Misty
AI assistance & automation experiments
Prototyping workflows Ops assistants
Make
No-code workflow orchestrator
R2R triggers Notifications Data sync
n8n
Open-source automation for finance ops
API-driven automations Close status alerts Reconciliation workflows
How I approach AI in finance
Governed, explainable, and business-aligned
  • Start with the process – map GL, IC, AR, and close steps before introducing AI.
  • Design guardrails – keep humans in the loop for approvals, sign-offs, and key judgments.
  • Measure impact – track hours saved, quality improvements, and SLA resilience.
  • Upskill teams – treat AI as a capability for the entire team, not a single “expert”.
CONNECT

Let’s build the next-gen finance operation

Open to opportunities where finance excellence, automation, and AI come together — whether it’s leading shared services, scaling R2R, or driving a transformation program.

Reach out
Location
Chennai, India
Prefer a short intro note on:
  • Your organization, domain, and current finance operations model.
  • Key challenges across R2R, GL, IC, AR, or month-end close.
  • What success would look like in 6–12 months.
Quick profile
🎓 B.Sc – Computer Science 📜 Certified People Manager 🏅 Agile Champion 📈 Lean Six Sigma – Green Belt (Trained)

Hobbies: Internet research, chess, and carrom — all of which help sharpen structured thinking and decision-making, skills I bring into finance problem-solving and automation design.