Maki Aruga

Background

About Maki Aruga

Highly accomplished professional in the financial industry with expertise in both accounting and information technology. Focused on identifying information technology solutions to support financial reporting in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment. Demonstrated ability to streamline complex business processes. Goal to improve accuracy of data, reduce redundancy and increase productivity, all to achieve cost savings for the firm. Expertise: Business and System Analysis • Design and implement technical solutions for manual systems often comprised of multiple spreadsheets, to improve efficiency and reduce risk of potential errors. Requires analysis of existing business processes, design of optimal solutions, inter-face with IT developers and testing to ensure system development meets specifications. Financial Accounting and Reporting • Extensive experience as a Controller in a financial institution (Morgan Stanley). • Competent in all areas of the accounting process, including: preparation of Balance Sheet and Income Statement, as well as, year-end closing procedures. Managed accounting function for multiple entities. Prepared reports based on both US and Japanese GAAP. • Responsibilities have included revenue and expense forecasting. Audit and Risk Assessment • Focus has been on system developments to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements. Management • Experienced managing teams located in multiple locations around the world. Managed challenges posed by the geographical dispersion of the team across multiple time zones. Leveraged the extended work window to deliver solutions expeditiously and ensure uninterrupted operations. • Demonstrated competency in Business Process Reengineering. Designed and implemented a financial system to support the Real Estate Investment Funds, replacing an obsolete, somewhat manual and time consuming system.