Our founder
Sumaira Sultana Talpur
Founder, SST Global Advisory
ACCA (UK) | CMA (USA) | FMVA | MBA Finance
A strategic finance leader with over 16 years of progressive experience, including more than 12 years in the UAE.
Sumaira has led finance functions across hospitality, food and beverage, short-term rentals, manufacturing, retail and project-based businesses, working closely with CEOs, COOs and shareholders on financial strategy, funding, investment decisions and business performance.
Most recently she led group finance for a food and beverage group of 15 outlets and 15 legal entities, with AED 48 million in annualised revenue, managing a seven-member finance team and reporting directly to the CEO and shareholders.
Her focus is on giving leadership forward-looking insight rather than historical reporting alone, so that decisions are made with a clear view of return and risk.
View LinkedIn profile (opens in a new tab)What she brings
Areas of Expertise
Strategy and capital allocation
Evaluating capital expenditure, new outlets, expansion, acquisitions and franchising opportunities with financial models, payback periods and investment returns.
Planning and performance
Leading budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling and consolidation, with management accounts, profitability reporting and board reports that support decisions.
Funding and liquidity
Arranging bank financing across term loans, equipment finance and working-capital facilities, managing bank and investor relationships, and running 13-week rolling cash forecasts.
Controls, risk and compliance
IFRS reporting, audits, UAE VAT and corporate tax, including Corporate Tax Group planning and in-house VAT compliance, with stronger controls over cash, inventory, purchasing and payroll.
Finance transformation
Supporting ERP and POS integration, reporting automation and Power BI reporting for a faster month-end close and timely commercial insight.
Team leadership
Leading finance teams, most recently a seven-member group finance team.
Credentials
Qualifications
- ACCA: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK. Full Member, 2025
- CMA: Certified Management Accountant, IMA USA. Full Member, 2019
- FMVA: Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst, CFI, 2021
- MBA Finance, 2008
Experience
Leadership
- Strategic finance partner to CEOs, COOs and shareholders
- Board and shareholder reporting
- Bank and investor relationships
- Finance team leadership and development
The qualifications and experience on this page are held personally by Sumaira Sultana Talpur.
Industry experience
Expertise Across Industries
Food & Beverage
Multi-outlet restaurant groups. At a 15-outlet group, food cost was reduced from 30% to 22% and manpower cost from 30% to 25% of revenue, alongside outlet-level profitability reporting and new-outlet investment appraisal.
Hospitality & Real Estate
Short-term rental and holiday home operators. Finance for a portfolio of about 400 properties and AED 150 million in annual gross bookings: revenue recognition, owner settlements, booking-channel reconciliations, and occupancy, ADR and RevPAR reporting.
Manufacturing
Packaging and other manufacturers. Helped turn a loss-making business profitable through product and job-order costing and pricing reviews, and cut the cash conversion cycle by 30 days.
Retail
Multi-showroom furniture retail. Store-level profit and loss statements, break-even analysis for expansion and closure decisions, margin and discount control, and stock turnover management.
Project-Based Businesses
Contracting and project work. Project costing, work-in-progress and billing, contract variations, claims and retentions, budget-against-actual tracking and estimates to completion.
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