Ayman Emara

Senior Finance Leader (FCCA), UK Big 4 trained, with over 17 years' experience spanning external and internal audit, group reporting, financial control, governance, and finance transformation within multinational and private equity-backed organisations. Demonstrated track record of leading complex, multi-entity and multi-currency global finance functions across 30+ subsidiaries spanning EMEA, APAC, and the Americas. Specialist in IFRS reporting, ERP transformation, corporate simplification, M&A integration, strategic business partnering, and financial governance.

Previously worked in Egypt (EY), with strong understanding of the local market and openness to senior finance leadership roles across Egypt and GCC.

Divisional Financial Controller / Head of Financial control – Energy Infrastructure Division at M Group Services Ltd (2025-09 – Present)

Lead the finance control function for a £400m revenue division, leading a UK team across multiple locations. Accountable for timely delivery to Group Finance and FP&A, including management reporting, cash flow forecasting, CAPEX, statutory reporting, and technical accounting under UK GAAP and IFRS. Delivered a significant improvement in reporting timelines through process redesign and enhanced cross-functional coordination.

Driving corporate simplification, M&A integration, and IFRS implementation while strengthening financial governance and supporting scalability in a PE-backed environment.

• Corporate Simplification: Reduced legal entities from 14 to 8 through balance sheet clean-up and structured wind-down of redundant entities, improving governance and reporting efficiency.
• M&A Integration & Business Consolidation: Led restructuring of acquired entities, including consolidation of four entities into a single trading structure and integration into Oracle Cloud, alongside the integration of five business units to deliver operational efficiencies and cost reduction.
• Infrastructure & JV Financial Control: Directed financial control across infrastructure and JV operations, including EV, substations, overhead lines, and renewable connections, ensuring robust and consistent accounting practices.
• Technical Accounting & Reporting: Acted as divisional technical lead, advising on complex accounting issues including revenue recognition on long-term contracts, and leading the transition from UK GAAP to IFRS.
• Financial Governance & Cash Flow Optimisation: Strengthened control frameworks and enhanced cash flow forecasting through implementation of a daily cash tracking model, improving visibility, forecast accuracy, and liquidity management for PE stakeholders.
• External Audit Leadership (Big 4): Led statutory reporting and acted as primary interface with external auditors, delivering audits across 14 legal entities within accelerated timelines.

Group Reporting Manager / Head of Group Reporting (Multi-Entity, Multi-Currency) at British Standards Institution (2022-07 – 2025-09)

Led the group finance control function for an £800m multinational, managing teams across the UK and a shared service centre in Malaysia. Delivered consolidated reporting and statutory accounts under IFRS and UK GAAP, including ownership of the Annual Report back-half financials, ensuring consistency across narrative, KPIs, and disclosures. Partnered with auditors and senior stakeholders while strengthening group-wide controls, driving IFRS (9, 15, 16) improvements, and optimising the Oracle Hyperion (HFM) consolidation system.

Developed a high-performing reporting team.

• Group Financial Reporting & Consolidation: Led delivery of consolidated management and statutory accounts, including forecasts, budgets, and a 2–5-year long-term plan prior to FP&A function establishment, supporting Board-level decision-making.
• Global Reporting & Multi-Currency Consolidation: Oversaw financial reporting for 32 international subsidiaries across three regions and four divisions, managing complex multi-currency consolidations through Oracle Hyperion (HFM).
• Statutory Reporting & Audit Leadership: Directed the IFRS Group Annual Report and 10 UK statutory accounts, acting as primary lead for Big 4 audit and supporting the audit tender process.
• Financial Controls & Governance: Designed and implemented group-wide control frameworks, enhancing reporting accuracy and strengthening governance across the Group.
• Technical Accounting & Process Improvement: Delivered enhancements across IFRS 9, IFRS 15, and IFRS 16, including improvements to group dividends process, balance sheet governance, and working capital oversight.
• Finance Systems & Data Integrity (Oracle HFM): Owned and optimised the consolidation system, ensuring robust financial structures, data integrity, and efficient reporting processes.

Group Internal Audit & Risk Manager at British Standards Institution (2019-05 – 2022-06)

Led and delivered financial, operational, and compliance audits in line with the annual audit plan across a multinational environment. Strengthened internal audit methodologies, policies, and procedures to enhance audit quality, efficiency, and consistency. Acted as a trusted advisor to senior management, promoting best practices and driving measurable improvements in control frameworks and risk management processes.

Facilitated enterprise-wide risk management activities, including risk workshops and the review of divisional and functional risk registers. Managed multiple audit engagements, ensuring delivery within budget, timelines, and quality standards, while producing executive-level reporting for senior stakeholders and the Audit Committee. Developed and mentored junior team members, embedding a high-performance culture and ensuring adherence to Internal Audit standards and methodology.

• Stakeholder Engagement & Influence: Built strong relationships across all organisational levels, enhancing collaboration, audit impact, and alignment with business priorities.
• Audit Delivery & Issue Resolution: Partnered with audit sponsors and action owners to ensure timely and effective closure of audit findings, strengthening control environments and accountability.
• Integrated Assurance & Compliance Reviews: Coordinated with second-line functions to enhance assurance coverage, delivering reviews across Health & Safety (HSE), Information Security (ISMS), and Corporate Compliance in line with Group frameworks.
• Audit Quality & Recognition: Received consistently strong feedback from senior executives for delivering high-quality, insightful, and value-adding audit engagements.
• Internal Audit Transformation: Designed and implemented internal audit policies, procedures, and work programmes, significantly strengthening the global audit function.
• External Quality Assurance (IIA): Successfully addressed and resolved all non-conformances identified during the IIA external quality assessment, ensuring full compliance with professional standards.
• Leadership & Acting Role: Served as Acting Senior Manager of Internal Audit for six months, leading the audit team and ensuring the successful delivery of audit engagements and risk management activities.

Group Internal Audit Manager at Travelport International Limited (2018-10 – 2019-05)

Delivered financial and operational audits in line with the audit plan, ensuring timely completion and adherence to quality standards. Partnered with business units to drive closure of audit actions and supported SOX compliance and external audit processes. Contributed to governance and reporting, including Audit Committee deliverables.

• Audit Delivery: Executed financial and operational audits, meeting timelines and quality expectations.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Supported business units in resolving audit findings and strengthening controls.
• SOX & Assurance Support: Contributed to SOX control testing and coordination with external auditors.

External Audit Manager - (TMT) Telecommunication, Media; Entertainment & Technology at EY LLP (2011-12 – 2018-09)

Managed a diverse portfolio of technology, telecommunications, and entertainment clients, including UK- and US-listed entities, delivering high-quality external audit engagements in complex and regulated environments. Led audit planning, risk assessment, and execution, coordinating multi-disciplinary teams and client stakeholders to ensure timely and compliant delivery in line with EY Global Audit Methodology. Applied deep technical expertise across US GAAP (PCAOB), IFRS, UK GAAP, ICFR, J-SOX, and COSO frameworks.

Acted as a key liaison with US EY teams, reporting on financial performance and control environments, while leveraging data analytics and offshoring capabilities to enhance audit efficiency and quality. Achieved highest internal quality ratings on key engagements from the portfolio, demonstrating exceptional audit quality and adherence to standards.

• Audit Portfolio Leadership: Managed and delivered audits for a portfolio of UK- and US-listed clients, ensuring high-quality execution across complex and high-risk engagements.
• Technical Accounting & Risk Assessment: Identified key business and audit risks, designing effective audit strategies and addressing complex accounting matters across multiple GAAP frameworks.
• Client Relationship Management: Built strong relationships with senior client stakeholders, including Finance Directors, leading to expanded responsibilities across additional group entities.
• Audit Quality & Performance Recognition: Consistently achieved top internal quality ratings and received outstanding feedback from both senior leadership and clients.
• Innovation & Analytics Adoption: Enhanced audit efficiency by integrating EY analytics tools and contributing to their pilot implementation across engagements.
• Operational Efficiency & Offshoring: Improved engagement efficiency through effective delegation and increased utilisation of EY's offshore shared service centre.
• Top Performer Recognition & Secondment: Recognised as a top performer within EY Egypt, earning a competitive three-month secondment to EY London.

Audit Senior – Secondment at Ernst & Young LLP (2011-04 – 2011-07)

Audit Senior at Ernst & Young Egypt (2007-11 – 2011-11)

National Military Service at Egyptian Military (2006-07 – 2007-11)

Audit Intern at Mazars Egypt (2005-09 – 2006-01)

Bachelor in English Commerce, Major Accounting – Alexandria University (2005)