01/2020 - present

Product Manager : Platform

CaseWare Africa a division of Adapt IT (Pty) Ltd, Johannesburg Area, South Africa, Johannesburg Area, South Africa

I ramped up CaseWare Cloud's import capabilities from 10 accounting platforms to 100 in 1.5 years.
I made data imports and integrations a shared responsibility between CaseWare and all distributor's thereby giving us extra capacity globally with no additional costs which was used to to ramp up on our import capabilities focus on imports.
I helped create a "one click" financial statements for our public sector market in South Africa where users import data and it automatically takes the data to the correct place in the financial statements and turns only the relevant disclosure on. Users have very little to do except review the financials.
I have helped make the South African distributor of CaseWare the most successful distributor in the world where we have 90% penetration of the professional and public sector markets.
I created a standard data structure which all accounting packages are transposed into which enables the seamless flow and use of data in our analytics, financial statements and tax products

03/2017 - 12/2019

Product Owner: Platform

CaseWare Africa a division of Adapt IT (Pty) Ltd, Johannesburg Area, South Africa, Johannesburg Area, South Africa

Sit with users to understand their problems, propose changes and implement into the products
Ensure smooth roll out of large organisational changes including moving over to new systems (SourceSafe to GitHub, etc)
Automated manual processes into continuous integration systems which run overnight with no user intervention
Managed inter-dependencies regarding the roll out of architectural changes within the organisation
Prioritise the backlog against a backdrop of multiple product managers competing for limited resources
Good communication and presentation skills
Excellent at managing relationships and some of the relationships I have managed include, JP Morgan, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Eskom, etc

07/2012 - 02/2017

Systems Analyst/ Senior Developer

CaseWare Africa a division of CQS Technology Holdings, Johannesburg Area, South Africa

Investigated, evaluated, designed and proposed solutions to address business requirements;
Created functional and technical specifications and test plans for various solutions;
Collaborated with software developers in developing, testing and deploying business solutions;
I was the go to person for large scale and highly complex project implementations
Facilitated and conducted JAD sessions at all levels and stay involved through the full SDLC experience;
Collaborated with Software Developers in developing, testing and deploying business solutions;
Strong inter-personal and leadership skills

10/2011 - 06/2012

ERP Consultant

New Era Solutions, Johannesburg Area, South Africa

01/2009 - 09/2011

Functional and Technical Template Developer

CQS Technology Holdings, Johannesburg Area, South Africa

Added new functionality to existing templates and created brand new templates for thousands of accounting/auditing companies throughout South Africa. Our solutions are so good that 3 out of every 4 auditing firms in South Africa used CaseWare to ensure IFRS Compliance.
In the absence of a Project Manager I had to give status updates to management to ensure they were always kept in the loop.
I ensured that work was delivered on time; in the required manner and in accordance with pre-defined company policies.
I had to liaise with product managers and ensure that I translated their vision into a tangible product on a daily basis.
I has to solve all support calls which couldn't be solved in our support department.

02/2008 - 12/2008

Telephonic Support Consultant

CQS Technology Holdings, Johannesburg Area, South Africa

Initially employed as a call centre support consultant but 3 months after my probation period, I was recognised for my hard work by being given the chance to become a Template Developer.
I underwent The Voice Clinic?s Call Centre Training Program
I also completed the W3 Schools JavaScript course.
I was part of a team which set a new standard for the support department where all calls were closed at the end of every week by the time I left there

07/2007 - 01/2008

Bookkeeper

Lamsa Inc, Durban Area, South Africa

I found and secured 3 clients who required full monthly financial functions
Performed VAT submissions
Reconciled bank statements
Drew up monthly management accounts
Prepared annual financial statements and submitted to auditors in a pack which reduced my clients audit fees

07/2005 - 01/2008

Articles in Accounting Clerk

Desai Jadwat Incorporated, Durban Area, South Africa

Initially I was employed as a data-capturer but within 6 months, after having proved my competency, I was offered a training contract to do my articles in accounting.
Lead a team of three colleagues to Pretoria for a month to assist our Johannesburg branch with an audit of the Department of Transport and was awarded a certificate of appreciation and a gift voucher for the ?dedication shown and extra effort taken? in completing the assignment.
I was selected to once again assist our Johannesburg office with the audit of the Department of Provincial and Local Government.
Then I was asked, with 2 other people to do a presentation, as part of a recruitment drive for the company, to the students at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. This entailed being a speaker on behalf of the firm and entertaining live questions.

Muhammed Asmal