Since Roland Cachia was appointed financial controller of Portman International's Trading Operations Department earlier this summer, there have been a number of significant changes.
In early July, the department, formerly known as the Banking and Trading Department, was renamed 'Trading Operations' and Mr Cachia was given a remit to introduce improved work practices to improve efficiency and produce more timely information.
The department is entrusted with foreign clients' trading requirements, handling their sales and purchase order and receipts and payments processes.
"Because of my accounting background, the department has introduced a new procedure to integrate the accounting function straight away," Mr Cachia said, "so that management accounts are drawn up regularly, according to the client's requests, even monthly."
The information is available to the client practically in real time, so profits can be distributed, funds set aside immediately to make good for any possible tax due and any clarifications obtained straight away.
Another area that falls within the department's remit is that of conducting business reviews of all Portman International's client companies and to look at how the companies' activity has been processed and ensure that this is compliant with the original strategy. One of its objectives is to optimise the corporate structure put in place for the particular business activity and suggest any improvements that could be made.
The Trading Operations department works hand in hand with the Regulatory and Compliance Department for all transactions as required by the EU Anti-Money Laundering rules. The staff complement of Trading Operations is currently composed of a business controller who conducts the company reviews and a trading operations executive together with two officers, who handle the commercial and trading activity.
Last year Portman International installed tailor-made software that interfaces with the other departments and enables the department to handle its entire work-flow.
The system is fully computerised and includes a number of authorisation levels all the way up to the managing director, David Marinelli.
Mr Cachia sees much potential for growth. "We are constantly receiving new work from existing clients whom Mr Marinelli meets during his trips abroad," he said.
Mr Cachia joined Portman International nine years ago. He qualified as an accountant a year later, and for the past two years he has been studying international taxation.