Fractional CFO & BuilderRiyadh · KSA

ACA (ICAEW) · FCCA · SOCPA · CISI · CFA Level 1 Candidate

Shoaib Awan · Fractional CFO in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Fractional CFO · ERP Builder · Finance Automation
I run the finance and build the systems it runs on.

I'm an ex-PwC chartered accountant. I run finance for growing companies in Saudi and the region, and I build the ERP and automation that finance runs on. Bring me in fractional, interim, or for a one-off project. Either way you get proper CFO-level finance, plus the systems to scale it.

Open to one or two engagements this quarter · typical start within 30 days
  • Fractional CFO
  • ERP Builder
  • Finance Automation
  • AI in Finance
  • Markets Tooling
  • ACA (ICAEW)
  • FCCA
  • SOCPA
  • IFRS
  • FP&A
  • Fundraising & DD
  • SAP
  • Power BI
  • ERPNext
  • Next.js
  • Prisma / Postgres
  • VAT / Zakat / GOSI
  • Board & Investor Reporting

Finance, built and automated by the person who runs it.

Most finance leaders stop at reading the numbers. I build the systems that produce them and take the manual work out of the process. IFRS-standard finance with real engineering behind it. Strategy and execution from the same seat: I set the direction, keep it under control, and stay hands-on until it ships.

Experience across

PwCDNA StudioALMA GroupZEM GroupMurree BrewerySecure Logistics
01Services

Ways to work with me

Finance leadership, the ERP it runs on, and the automation that removes the manual work. Fractional, interim or fixed-scope, in Riyadh and across the GCC.

01

Fractional & Interim CFO

Founders, family groups and private-equity-backed companies that want a real CFO without a full-time hire.

  • Financial strategy, forecasting and scenario planning
  • Board and investor reporting, FP&A and cash discipline
  • Zakat, VAT and withholding tax planned ahead of deadlines, not just filed
  • Institutional controls, SOPs and audit readiness
  • Fundraising, valuation and diligence readiness
Fractional (days / month) · interim · or project
02

ERP & Operating-System Builds

Groups that have outgrown spreadsheets and disconnected tools and need one governed platform.

  • Multi-company ERP: GL, AR/AP, ZATCA e-invoicing, VAT, HR and payroll
  • Governance built in: approvals, SoD, audit logging
  • Sensible build-vs-buy calls across Odoo, ERPNext and custom builds. I architect and govern; engineers build
Fixed-scope build · fractional systems lead
03

Finance Automation & AI

Finance teams losing hours to manual, error-prone, repetitive work.

  • OCR and document extraction, plus GL categorisation
  • Anomaly detection, reconciliations and reporting automation
  • In-app copilots and safe AI access (MCP) for finance
Audit, then roadmap, then build
Also available · fixed-scope projects

Product & App Builds

Internal tools, dashboards and MVPs on a modern stack. Bilingual EN/AR, security-audited, senior review on everything that ships.

Fixed-scope build · prototype sprint

Markets Tooling & Analytics

Systematic tooling, dashboards and risk frameworks for GCC and international markets, built on deep hands-on PSX experience.

Build / consult

Tools, systems and analysis only. Not personalised investment advice or managing money for you.

02Process

How working with me works

Clear scope, weekly visibility, and a clean handover.

  1. 01

    Discovery

    A short call, free, to understand the problem, whether it's cash, controls, a system or a raise. If I'm not the right person for it, I'll say so and point you at who is.

  2. 02

    Scope & plan

    A clear proposal: the outcomes, the workstream, the timeline and how we'll work. No open-ended retainers.

  3. 03

    Build & deliver

    I run the finance work and govern the build while engineers execute. You get weekly visibility, with controls built in as we go.

  4. 04

    Handover & support

    Documented, controlled and owned by your team, with ongoing fractional support if you want it.

03Flagship build · proof

Production Command Center(PCC)

The clearest proof of all this. I designed and built a company-wide operating system for DNA Studio, and it replaced a mess of spreadsheets with one governed platform.

Production Command Center· DNA Studio groupEN / ARSADashboardLedgerInvoicesPayrollReportsCASH POSITIONSAR 4.8M+6.2%AR / AP1.9 / 1.1M42 entitiesVAT DUESAR 214KfiledCash flow · 12 monthsSAR ·mEntitiesDNA StudioDNA FilmsDNA ODOOConsolidated~690 endpoints · ~100 entities · audit-readylive
PCC · MOBILEApprovals4 pendingPayroll · JulySAR 1.24MVendor · AramcoSAR 88KGOSI filingSAR 42KInvoice #2043SAR 15K
A representative view of the Production Command Center, the multi-company operating system I designed and shipped.
P.1

Governance in every module

Multi-company from the ground up, with approval workflows, separation of duties, audit logging and per-company data isolation. The control environment an external audit or investor diligence expects to find.

P.2

Finance core

GL, invoices, payments, VAT, AR/AP and reporting, all anchored to an ERPNext general ledger. I bought the core and built the edge, rather than over-engineering the whole thing from scratch.

P.3

HR, Payroll & BD

Salary runs, GOSI, end-of-service, leave, loans and attendance, so the Saudi statutory side is fully digitised. There's also a deal pipeline and full employee self-service.

P.4

AI-native

An in-app copilot, an MCP server for safe AI access, and AI for document and OCR extraction, GL categorisation and anomaly detection.

~690API endpoints
~1,350Source files
~100Business entities
EN / ARBilingual · RTL · Hijri

Built on Next.js 14, Prisma and PostgreSQL, with a security audit and a CI guardrail against insecure code. I built it, but I don't own it: the platform is the employer's IP.

Selected engagements

E.1A US$8M Series A, with diligence run by EYLogistics & Security · Corporate FinanceUS$8MSeries A closed

Situation

A logistics group wanted institutional capital, but nothing about the numbers was investor-grade. No defensible valuation, no long-range model, no data room.

What I did

I owned the valuation and the 5-year model, built the business plan and investor materials, presented alongside the leadership, and coordinated diligence from our side while EY ran it.

Outcome

A PKR 1.2 billion (about US$8M) Series A closed on numbers that held up under a Big 4 review, with operational KPIs wired into financial planning off the back of the model.

E.2FP&A and controls across 12 concurrent real-estate projectsConstruction & Real Estate · DGM Finance12Projects, one control environment

Situation

A developer was running 12 large projects on disconnected spreadsheets. Budgets, project cash flows and cost controls all lived in different places, and the banks wanted better visibility before extending more credit.

What I did

I set up FP&A and core finance across all 12 projects, drove the move to SAP, put Power BI dashboards on top for real-time visibility, and arranged the term loans, revolving credit and working-capital lines behind them.

Outcome

One control environment across every project, bank financing in place, and management reading live numbers instead of month-old spreadsheets.

E.3Reporting, tax and treasury for a 1,600-person FMCG groupFMCG · Multi-site Manufacturing1,600People · 4 factories · 6 depots

Situation

A multi-site FMCG group of 4 factories and 6 depots needed reporting, tax compliance and treasury run to the standard its size demanded, and a lot of cash was sitting idle.

What I did

I owned financial reporting, tax and treasury, built the cash-flow and liquidity-planning tools, ran product costing and profitability analysis, and managed a portfolio of T-Bills, PIBs, AMCs and term deposits.

Outcome

Clean compliance across the group, liquidity planned rather than firefought, and a treasury portfolio earning its keep on cash that used to do nothing.

  • Built DNA Studio's entire finance, HR and IT shared-services function, then designed and shipped the multi-company operating system it now runs on.
  • Ran two enterprise SAP implementations end to end, standardising controls and workflows, with Power BI dashboards on top for real-time visibility.
Next step

Want this kind of finance behind your company?

One short call. Tell me the problem and I'll give you the shortest path to fixing it, and a straight number.

Engagement snapshots

What engagements look like

Composite scenarios drawn from real engagements. Named references are available on request.

A finance function and the system it runs on, rebuilt at the same time. From spreadsheet chaos to audit-ready in a few months.

Shared-services build · studio group

A full Series A workstream: the model, the data room and the diligence. Investors engaged because the numbers held up.

Fundraise · logistics group

Finance leadership and software architecture from the same person. Scoped, governed, and shipped into daily use.

ERP build · multi-entity group
04About

The operator behind the work

Shoaib Awan, fractional CFO in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Availability

Fractional / interim / project · start within ~30 days

Based in

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

About ten years across audit, FP&A, corporate finance and shared-services leadership, starting at PwC. These days I'm Head of Finance and Shared Services (finance, HR and IT) for a studio group in Riyadh.

The less usual part is the second half. I don't only run finance, I build the systems and automation it depends on. Solid IFRS foundations, hands-on engineering, and a habit of actually shipping things.

How I work

  • Strategy before systems: agree where the business is going, then build for it.
  • I scope and govern the work; engineers build.
  • Buy the core, build the edge. Sensible build-vs-buy, not over-engineering.
  • Governance and controls first, so it's audit-ready by design.
  • Already in the Kingdom. No relocation, no visa wait.

Credentials

ACAMember

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW), UK

FCCAFellow

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), UK

SOCPAMember

Saudi Organization for Chartered & Professional Accountants, KSA

CISIMember

Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, UK

CFALevel 1 Candidate

CFA Institute

BScGraduate

(Hons) Applied Accounting, Oxford Brookes University, UK

05Experience

Professional record

  1. 2024 – Present

    Head of Finance & Shared Services (Finance, HR, IT)

    DNA StudioRiyadh · Media & Film Production

  2. 2023 – 2024

    Manager, FP&A

    ALMA GroupRiyadh · Manufacturing, Telecom & MEP

  3. 2022 – 2023

    Deputy General Manager (DGM), Finance

    ZEM Group of CompaniesConstruction / Real-Estate Developer

  4. 2021 – 2022

    Manager, Compliance & Reporting

    Murree Brewery Co. LtdFMCG · Multi-site

  5. 2019 – 2020

    Manager, Corporate Finance & Planning

    Secure Logistics GroupLogistics & Security

  6. 2015 – 2018

    Senior Associate

    PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)Big 4 · Audit & Assurance

Full role detail in the CV
FAQ

Fractional CFO questions, answered

Do you work fractional, interim or on a project?

All three. Fractional is a few days a month on an ongoing basis, interim is full-time for a fixed term, and a project is a fixed-scope build or raise. We pick whatever fits the problem.

What does it cost?

Fractional work is a fixed monthly fee for an agreed number of days, so you can budget it. Interim is a market day rate for a fixed term. Builds and raises are a fixed quote once I've scoped the problem. Every engagement starts with a scoped proposal, so you see the number and exactly what it covers before you commit to anything. No open-ended retainers.

When can you start?

I'm already in Riyadh, so there's no relocation or visa wait. I can usually start a new engagement within about 30 days.

Do you work remotely or on-site?

Both. I'm in the Kingdom for on-site work across the GCC, and happy to deliver remotely. Whatever the engagement needs.

Who owns the systems you build?

You do. I scope, architect and govern, engineers build, and the IP and the running system are yours, documented and handed over.

Do you handle Zakat, VAT and withholding tax?

Yes. Tax sits inside the core work, not beside it: registrations and filings, provisions in the accounts, ZATCA e-invoicing readiness, and planning ahead of deadlines rather than reacting to them. My background covers tax compliance ownership for multi-site groups and tax planning across large project portfolios.

Do you work with family groups and private equity portfolio companies?

Yes. Family groups and family offices are a large part of my work, and private-equity-backed companies bring me in as a part-time CFO between raises or through transitions. Board packs, lender reporting and diligence-ready numbers are the usual asks.

Which sectors do you know?

Media and entertainment, real estate, manufacturing, FMCG and logistics. I also work with family groups preparing for institutional capital.

06Contact

Let’s build something.

Fractional CFO, an ERP or automation build, a product, or markets tooling. One message is enough to start.

What do you need?

Opens your email app with everything filled in. I reply personally within one business day.