Prakash Natarajan

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT PRAKASH NATARAJAN

Multidisciplinary finance and operations professional with 16+ years of proven leadership in shipping logistics, vessel planning, accounts payable/receivable, and ERP systems. Expert in SAP and S/4HANA, process automation, compliance, and data analytics. Track record of transforming manual systems into digital workflows, reducing operational costs, and delivering accurate, timely financial control. Adept at leading cross-functional teams, implementing cost-saving strategies, and managing end-to-end financial operations in high-stakes environments.Finance Operations **: Managed AP/AR for 1300 global vendors and ensured SLA-based payments with 99.8% accuracy. Automated payment batch runs (F110), reducing manual effort by 60%. Reduced DSO from 52 to 38 days via targeted dunning and dispute resolution. Managed GL entries including recurring journals, inter-company recharges, accruals, and prepayments using SAP S/4HANA. Coordinated monthly GL closing activities: reviewed trial balances, resolved open items, and ensured accurate P&L reporting.Reconciled GL accounts (GR/IR, Bank, Tax Payables) ensuring compliance, external and internal audit standards. • **Vendor-management Activity**: Collaborated with internal procurement/legal teams to resolve delivery and billing disputes. Implemented vendor performance dashboards to track cost, delivery times, and quality. Reduced vendor payment delays by streamlining approval workflows and automating F110 payment batches. Conducted quarterly business reviews to assess vendor risk, performance, and renewal terms. • **ERP & Automation Projects**: Key contributor to SAP ECC to S/4HANA migration: data validation, UAT, training 10+ finance users. Deployed Auto Release Tool (ART) saving 5 FTEs annually. Streamlined invoice tracking and reconciliation dashboards. • **Vessel & Port Operations**: Manage container activities for export and import movements in the Southeast Asia and Latin American regions.Handle global booking requests from customers and update internal systems as per shipper instructions. Track. Prepare vessel manifests and plan interim stowage for vessels. Update the RKEM system for vessel moves to facilitate accurate and timely terminal discharge planning. Maintain vessel schedules and update GSIS • **Leadership & Reporting**: Managed team led hiring, appraisal, and upskilling initiatives. Developed automated MIS dashboards for AP/AR aging, port cost tracking, and KPI analysis. Acted as single point of contact for process escalations, vendor disputes, and system troubleshooting.