Open to opportunities

Riya Thomas

@riyathomas

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Strategic finance and operations leader specializing in Procure-to-Pay and accounts payable transformation.

India

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What I'm looking for

I seek a leadership role in finance/operations where I can transform P2P/AP processes, scale teams, drive cost savings, and implement strong controls within a collaborative, growth-oriented company.

I am a finance and operations professional with 14+ years of experience in Accounts Payable, Procure-to-Pay, vendor management, reconciliation, payments, compliance, and internal controls across India, Europe and the Middle East. I have owned P&L responsibilities and led cross-functional programs that delivered measurable cost and productivity improvements.

At Flora Food Group I built an AP division from scratch, scaled teams and processes, led UAT across seven business units, and achieved up to 30% productivity gains while supporting Project Butterfly’s global rebranding and cost-savings initiatives. Prior roles include leading AP and sustainability divisions for large regional employers, delivering process standardization, efficiency improvements and award-winning initiatives.

I focus on driving operational excellence through SOPs, KPIs, stakeholder engagement frameworks, and hands-on team leadership. I bring expertise in S4 HANA/VIM, Oracle R12, financial planning, and program delivery to transform procure-to-pay operations and support strategic business goals.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Financial Specialist

Current

Flora Food Group

Jul 2023 - Present (2 years 3 months)

Built the AP division from scratch, leading a 21-member team to standardize P2P operations, drive UAT across 7 business units, and deliver up to 30% productivity improvement while contributing to a global rebranding project that yielded 2% cost savings.

Accounts Payable Procure To Pay Vim Vendor Management Process Standardization Stakeholder Management UAT

Senior Team Lead

Alshaya Group

Jul 2022 - Jun 2023 (11 months)

Established the Sustainability division and led a 10+ member AP team, managing payments and monthly reporting for Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, improving operational efficiency by ~30% and achieving 2x execution efficiency recognised with an MVP award.

Accounts Payable Vendor Management Financial Reporting Supplier Management SLA Management Stakeholder Engagement

Team Lead

Mashreq Bank

Jul 2019 - Jun 2022 (2 years 11 months)

Led strategic AP/procurement and financial planning, structured financial plans for an AED 40M enterprise achieving 60%+ cost savings and owned P&L for AED 30M while reducing accounting errors by 60% over two years.

Procurement Accounts Payable P L Ownership Financial Planning Cost Optimization Vendor Relations Audit Support

Senior Accountant

Wells Fargo

Feb 2015 - Jun 2019 (4 years 4 months)

Served as WTS Finance Controller managing end-to-end finance processes including PO creation, invoice processing, vendor payments and audit support, and prepared budgets/forecasts while partnering for cost optimisation across operations.

Finance Management Invoice Management Budgeting & Forecasting Audit Support Cost Optimization Travel Expense Management

Financial Analyst

Aditi Technologies

Dec 2012 - Jan 2015 (2 years 1 month)

Managed Oracle R12 AP processes including 3-way matching, vendor reconciliation and balance confirmations, prepared financial schedules and ageing analyses, and coordinated across five cross-functional teams for project execution.

Accounts Payable Vendor Reconciliation Reconciliations

Financial Analyst

Mphasis

May 2011 - Nov 2012 (1 year 6 months)

Processed vendor invoices in Oracle R12 AP, resolved vendor escalations, implemented process improvements to clear backlogs and ensured compliance with tax and invoicing mechanisms.

Accounts Payable Invoicing Reconciliations Process Improvement Journal Entries