Hewlett-Packard - Tri Risk

CHALLENGE

While leading a 6-member Finance & Accounting team, I served as a Guest Auditor for a 3-month internal audit engagement in the Middle East. This audit involved 15 legal entities across 15 countries, with a focus on evaluating the effectiveness of internal controls and ensuring compliance with accounting regulations. My responsibilities included auditing key processes such as Marketing, Revenue Recognition, Reporting & Accounting in Egypt, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. A notable complexity was ensuring compliance with US Export Laws and Regulations due to the distribution model involving HP channel partners in embargoed and sanctioned regions.

APPROACH AND RESULTS

During the audit, I identified several areas for improvement in internal controls and compliance:

Contra Revenue Accounting: Addressed inconsistencies in management reporting and highlighted the need for enhanced training and cross-functional alignment.
Marketing Expenditures: Identified the need for more rigorous management reviews to ensure proper use of budgets and adherence to approval processes.
Balance Account Reconciliations: Emphasized the importance of formalized training and review processes to improve reconciliation accuracy and financial reporting reliability.

These efforts were aimed at strengthening internal controls and ensuring robust financial compliance.

TESTIMONIAL

“I had the pleasure of working with Constantine during a challenging internal audit engagement in the Middle East in 2008. In his role as a guest auditor, Constantine demonstrated exceptional skills in evaluating the effectiveness of internal controls and ensuring compliance with applicable accounting regulations. His responsibilities included the audit review of key processes such as Marketing, Revenue Recognition, Reporting, and Accounting for HP entities in Egypt, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, all of which he handled with utmost diligence and expertise.

Constantine navigated the complexities associated with the distribution model of HP products in the region within the context of rigorous US Export Laws and Regulations. He demonstrated thorough analysis and a keen eye for detail, which significantly contributed to identifying areas for improvement and enhancing HP’s internal controls.

Constantine’s professionalism, dedication, and ability to manage complex audit environments made him an invaluable asset to HP’s Middle East Audit Team.”

Audit Lead