Our success is defined by how we build our team and structure the organization we lead

Anna Ivanova

Chief Financial Officer at Eurobank Bulgaria AD (Postal Bank)

Postbank, with the legal name "Eurobank Bulgaria" AD, is one of the largest banks in Bulgaria, ranking in fourth place in terms of active banks in Bulgaria, with a wide branch network throughout the country and a significant client base of citizens, companies, and institutions. It has a 30-year presence among the leaders of the banking market in Bulgaria.

Ms. Ivanova, introduce yourself in a few sentences...

My career began at the beginning of 1999 as an economist in the Statistics Department of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), and in 2003 I joined the Postbank team.

My professional path in the bank began as a Chief expert in the Financial Reporting and Methodology Department, Finance Management. Over the past 19 years, I have held various positions in management, and since 2020 I have been the General Manager, Finance. The Finance Sector, which I lead, consists of several large units: "Accounting, tax control, and subsequent control"; "Controlling and planning", "Data management, business intelligence and analysis of business information"; Regulatory Reporting and Methodology Department; Project Management, Planning and Performance Department. Under my leadership, the Finance sector went through the integration with  Alfa Bank and Piraeus Bank Bulgaria, as well as through the various challenges of the Covid pandemic, the implementation of the Bank's new ERP system SAP S/4Hana and other large-scale banking projects, with which we supported the establishment of our institution as a systematic bank on the market.

I hold a Master's degree in Management from SDA Bocconi University, as well as a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Economics, and Statistics and Econometrics, respectively, at the Faculty of Economics of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".

Over time, I have completed various programs and master classes in various fields, I have diplomas for several programs for the development of managerial skills at Harvard Business School, a diploma for completing the Southeast European Regional Economic Modeling course, Washington DC, a diploma for Project Planning and Control at Project Management Institute, Diploma in Adaptation of Statistical Systems to the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union - course at Banque De France, as well as Diploma in Financial Reporting from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). I have also attended several international conferences in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Berlin on topics related to International Financial Reporting, organized by the European Networking Group, with the participation of key representatives of the European banking industry, European regulatory authorities, and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

This year, you won first place in the Innovative Management category, in the 11th edition of the Annual Awards of the BUSINESS LADY club magazine, which are presented for the contribution of ladies to the development of various sectors in our country. What are the achievements that earned you this distinction?
Among the most important key achievements are the completed projects for the implementation of two main systems and two acquisitions of banks, carried out with the significant participation of the team I lead; the high marks we receive from external auditors and regulatory authorities in interim and annual financial audits and inspections; the creation of a methodology and framework for the Bank's data management, as well as the many successful digital, investment, and business projects and products implemented with the help of my team, which put our bank at the forefront of the Bulgarian market.

Guided by the maxim that there is no successful manager without a motivated team, I believe that our success is defined by how we will form our team and structure the organization we lead. In this regard, among the outstanding achievements, I will point out the complete reorganization and new structure of the Finance sector, which I lead, proposed by me, and approved by the Bank's Management Board and Supervisory Board. The new structure of the sector follows the best practices in the industry and is oriented toward the long-term needs and priorities of the Bank. The units for which I have been responsible over time have always understood their role as strategic partners of the Bank's business. These values and aspirations are embedded in the new structure of Finance, which I am still passing on and imposing among the heads of all departments and sectors.

Every member of my team is valued for their experience and ideas, and I'm always open to hearing opinions different from my own to change the status quo. I believe that the best ideas take shape in structured discussion and purposefully foster a culture of collaboration and mutual assistance within the large Finance team. We managed to achieve team cohesion and better coordination, efficiency, and quality of work despite remote work conditions. And the high professionalism, responsiveness, and quality contribution of the experts in Finance are highly appreciated by colleagues in all units in the Bank and beyond.

What other professional successes, completed projects and good practices in the past year are you most proud of?
As one of the leading financial institutions in Bulgaria, Postbank has proven itself as a stable, secure, and preferred partner. The products and services we provide are developed in sync with the modern needs of the market and are fully oriented towards a better experience for our customers, regardless of the type of service - digital or physical. To successfully develop our business in the dynamic economic, geopolitical and technological macro-environment, it is crucial to quickly supply the Bank's Management with quality and relevant information for making timely and adequate management decisions.

Until last year, reporting based on multiple data sources, along with paper-based approval and control processes significantly slowed access to information. To improve efficiency, we turned to an intelligent ERP solution of the next generation - SAP S/4HANA, to help digitize and automate processes and provide timely information to Management and the business. The SAP S/4HANA implementation project was the responsibility of the Finance department from the conceptual phase of the project, its management, and coordination to quality testing and flawless migration. We boast the speed of implementation – the entire project was completed in 13 months, faster than the average duration of projects of equivalent complexity worldwide.

The implementation of the solution contributed to greater flexibility and adaptability during organizational changes and optimization of the information flow through the one-time processing of documents. The crucial phase for us was the conceptual phase. Then we completely rethought the current way of working to automate and simplify our work processes, to put in place the right system controls, and to ensure traceability and greater analyticity of information.

We have built a centralized digital register of the bank's contracts, integrated with the ERP solution, which enables quick access to analytical information for management, financial and regulatory purposes and enhanced cost control. We freed up 20% of the time dedicated by the units in the Bank to the administration of paperwork processes and preparation of reports and channeled it to higher value-adding activities. We managed to free up 3-4 people/days per month from colleagues in IT management, previously invested in processing and uploading data to feed the Bank's reporting. We achieved a tangible improvement in the Bank's reporting in terms of speed and quality - we managed to shorten the cycle of preparation of official monthly reporting by 2 days, feed users of analytical financial information throughout the Bank on the first working day of the month instead of the tenth, but most importantly, we created a rich set of reports and provided a self-service reporting tool to key users in the bank. All this significantly supported timely decision-making ensuring transparency and quality control.

The main advantages we gained by implementing the new ERP system include:
• Creation of a single, unified digital basis on which business processes are organized and automated;
• Digitization and optimization of paperwork processes for purchase control and approvals;
• We achieved improved reporting with faster, more accurate, and more accessible information for business users;
• Proactive budget control with automated checks and substantial data granularity;
• More effective management and control of fixed assets and leases (IFRS 16).

What did you do in the past year that helped society, colleagues, or people around you?
In the last two years, a major factor in the economic, political and social environment on a global and local scale was the COVID pandemic. All the challenges that arose from it also affected our customers, employees, and business. A quick and adequate reaction and adaptation to this shock was a critical success factor, both from a business point of view and a purely personal one. Postbank once again showed and proved that it stands close to its customers both in their successes and in their difficulties. Promptly, we offered all current measures for relief and support to companies and households - private moratoriums for rescheduling payments according to client-friendly schemes; interest-free loans for individuals under the guarantee programs of the Bulgarian Development Bank, participation in all local and international guarantee programs to ensure cheaper financing and business support. We have further expanded our digital and mobile sales channels to ensure convenience and security for our customers.

The Finance Sector is a key business partner in the development and implementation of these measures. As a representative of Postbank, I participated in the working group of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria, which developed the three schemes with deferred payments for the private moratorium implemented in Bulgaria. My team and I also participated in the working groups for the development and implementation of all warranty programs. The adequate and timely response of the Bank to the constantly changing strengthened, and complex regulatory requirements for banks is again the prerogative of my team.

With Bulgaria's accession to ERM II, the Banking Union, and European Banking Supervision in 2019, Postbank became one of the five banking institutions in Bulgaria under direct supervision by the ECB, which is a strong recognition of the efforts made over the years by the Management and the team of The bank, but also a great challenge and responsibility, and above all again for the Finance sector.

Realizing the strategic direction of development of Postbank - digitization of sales channels and internal processes, constant improvements in customer service and experience, as well as knowledge of our customers and their needs, I systematically direct the efforts of the Finance team, and in particular - "Data management, business intelligence and analysis of business information" in the direction of enriching the unified database, improving the structure and interconnections between the collected information and ensuring the quality and purity of the data. Having structured, quality, rich and relevant information and skillfully handling it is a key strategic advantage in today's digital world.

As a result of the acquisition of Piraeus Bank, the Finance team was expanded, and coordination, integration, and conflict management were some of the key challenges I faced in managing the newly formed and merged units. As the head of the sector in this period of change, I was able to seamlessly integrate, motivate, guide, and develop the new teams. Guided by the saying expressed in the African proverb: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together", I would like to show as an example the great results achieved through the joint work of the combined units after the merger last year in the successful implementation of the SAP system, and the fact that the execution phase of the implementation of the system took place entirely in a period of a pandemic situation and almost entirely in an online environment is an extraordinary achievement for our team. This speaks of preserved strong spirit and motivation in the period of crisis, flexibility, and responsibility of colleagues towards their work. We achieved it with the right approach to colleagues and personal treatment and care for them and their loved ones and families.

Streamlined processes throughout the organization as a result of the implementation of SAPS/4HANA improved the work efficiency of all departments of the bank, contributing to easy and quick receipt of financial information and improved communication between teams. Daily, I challenge and guide all unit managers in the Finance sector to look for improvements, simplifications, or automation of repetitive or manual activities to free up my team's valuable time for strategically more important activities - improved coordination with other teams in the bank, analytics, and control.

I actively worked to increase the qualifications and skills of my team with visits to expert seminars, intra-organizational training, subscriptions to specialized expert sites, and programs for the development of leadership skills. I encouraged the inclusion of two of my employees on the Bank's Green Board. Postbank is the only bank in Bulgaria that has its own "Green Board" and "Environmental Department" unit in its organizational structure, which works for the protection of the environment both in terms of limiting the resources used by the Bank and in terms of its financing activity. In addition, board members organize various outdoor initiatives that involve other employees and send messages to the entire community.

I also strive to make the work of Finance more understandable and intuitive for external users and at the same time respond to the latest trends in our industry. In this regard, I initiated a new vision of the Bank's Annual Financial Report and accompanying video presentation, which will be published on the Bank's website for users of financial information.