(ACC399-1)
Supervising Faculty: Dr.
ID:
Abstract
The Gulf Cooperation Council has played an active role in promoting the property development industry in UAE. The economic boom in UAE allowed many real estate investors to benefit and earn high profits. The Three60 Estates Management is a member of Royal Group of Companies, which allowed it to greatly benefit. The firm is also a subsidiary of Tamouh, due to which it also provides sales, lease and other property management facilities to its clients. Three60 Estates Management has managed to maintain its customers and provide excellence through their services.
Introduction to Property Management Industry
Property management refers to the operation, oversight and control of real estate. It also includes managing personal properties, equipment or physical assets that are acquired and used for revenue generation. In 2011 the global property management industry’s worth was higher than $479 billion according to MarketLine. The industry was led by the residential sector in the same year which generated revenue exceeding $272 billion. The companies operating in industry deal with both residential as well as non-residential properties. The companies undertake tasks such as collection of rent, removal of wastage, leasing, provision of security and other activities that facilitates running of any property smoothly. The leading businesses in the global industry includes Cushman & Wakefield, CB Richard Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle (Report Linker, 2011)
History of the industry and its existence in the GCC and UAE
The real estate sector in UAE has experienced a boom and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has played a vital part in promoting and supporting the property development in UAE. The Gulf Cooperation Council which was established in 1981 has been constantly aiming to promote cooperation in nations under an economic agreement. The countries which are members of the GCC include major Islamic states of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar (Kumar, Agarwal and Khullar, 2010). The infrastructure activities undertaken in UAE in the last five years were at its peak. The two-thirds of the excess $1 trillion earned through GCC construction projects were from UAE (Kumar, Agarwal and Khullar, 2010). The property sector in UAE made 15% of UAE’s GDP. The major rise in construction industry in UAE was mainly because of the increase in construction projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (Kumar, Agarwal and Khullar, 2010). The rise in construction projects opened the gates for many investors and renowned construction companies worldwide. These in turn caused the rapid GDP growth. The major factors contributing to the keen interest of investors in UAE include a friendly environment; secure and safe returns on investments and investment friendly terms such as zero tax regime, strong marketing, residence visa etc. As the Colliers International report states that Dubai experienced about 80% growth from 2007 till 2008 but unfortunately the economic slowdown started from the end of 2008 (Kumar, Agarwal and Khullar, 2010). Dubai was also the first to introduce freehold projects, which made it a centre for property investment. However, the rapid rise in property development activities in Dubai till mid of 2008 attracted investors worldwide. The start of 2009 marked a beginning of a fall in investment in property leading to job cuts, cancellation of construction projects and delays in accounts receivables for many construction firms. Banks cut down on property loans and property mortgages were cut short. Construction projects were halted and this marked the start of crisis for many firms. The government is coming up with schemes and initiatives to stabilise the construction industry to avoid crisis. The long term strategies of the government aim to re-establish investors’ confidence in property sector and to boost the growth in the construction sector by establishing joint ventures to offer mortgages and financing major banks in order to reduce the costs of funding. Hence the efforts of the government will pay off in the near future in regaining investors’ interest and hopefully the property and construction sector will again experience a boost. Many construction firms during the boom had taken a lead in the property sector in UAE. The giants like Aldar properties, Nakheel and Emaar properties benefitted greatly during the economic boom in UAE. Investment in property increased and allowed the companies to benefit from speedy returns and profits. Though the condition has not been as favourable as it had been 3 years back but still the government is hopeful to regain investors’ confidence and create favourable trading conditions in the near future (Kumar, Agarwal and Khullar, 2010).
Overview of Three60 Estates Management
Three60Three60 estates management is also a construction firm based in Abu Dhabi. It is a subsidiary of the renowned Tamouh Investments and a member of Royal Group of companies. The major reason for establishment of Three60Three60 was to assist Tamouh in managing properties and providing associated facilities. Three60Three60 has the job to handle the sales, marketing of completed projects and to facilitate the management requirements. Since Tamouh’s growth plan involved providing and addressing every real estate need, the establishment of Three60Three60 satisfied this aim by assisting Tamouh in estate management activities (Three60 Estates Management, 2010b). Three60Three60 fortunately excels in provision of variety of property solutions which range from property management to sales, marketing, consultancy, real estate ERP solutions and leasing. Three60Three60 has been actively participating in the management of Tamouh’s projects which include Marina Square, major project on Reem Island, City of Lights and the plan of Abu Dhabi 2030 (Royal Group, 2009).
VISION:
Three60Three60 estates management’s vision is to become an influential force which shapes the development of real estate sector in Abu Dhabi. It visualises itself as a renowned and setter of best practices in efficiency and effectiveness and to specialise in the consultancy services (Royal Group, 2009).
MISSION:
Three60Three60 aims to cater all real estate needs and aspirations. They aim towards building strong customer relationships by providing excellence and reliability through their services. To satisfy their business needs of excellence, they hire qualified and motivated professionals who cater to customers’ needs through technical expertise. Three60Three60 has an objective to preserve and enhance the clients’ asset value. As the general manager of Three60Three60 estates management, Dr. Daniele Seraphim sums up their mission by stating, “Our mission is to propose a full range of solutions and services through the 360-degree cycle of property acquisition, management, maintenance and selling.” The company has been striving to achieve excellence in all activities to ensure satisfied customers and goodwill (Royal Group, 2009).
SERVICES
Three60 estates management is an all rounder service provider, dealing and catering all real estate needs. All services from purchasing, sales, leasing and all sorts of property management are provided at Three60. It caters all needs under one roof. Its employees are experts having expertise from developed real estate countries (Three60 Estates Management, 2010a).
The services provided at Three60 include:
Facilities management ensures that sound operations on properties are carried out to provide greatest satisfaction to clients and also ensures proper maintenance of client’s property. Quality is a key factor of Three60 although the costs are minimal. Since Three60 is involved in the management of Tamouh’s construction projects, the technicians and staff at Three60 have perfect knowledge of every fixture and fitting of Tamouh’s properties, which gives it a competitive edge and also an advantage to the clients of Tamouh’s properties in terms of excellence in maintenance and repairs (Three60 Estates Management, 2010b). Three60 provides all types of facilities ranging from physical asset management to road maintenance and pest control (Three60 Estates Management, 2010a).
Property management involves provision of legal advice, consultancy services, and strategic management services to clients. Three60 has been the major community manager in Reem Island which allows the firm to provide expertise to homeowners and investors. For such income based investors, the team at Three60 ensures that the investors receive highest returns on their investments (Three60 Estates Management, 2010a).
Sales and leasing includes all issues regarding property sales, legal documentation, consultancy and leasing. The sales and leasing team at Three60 has expertise and knowledge of real estates around the world and especially Abu Dhabi and ensure that the landlords, tenants and homeowners get best returns on their investment in Reem Island (Three60 Estates Management, 2010a). The employees at Three60 have extensive unparalleled knowledge about commercial, retail and residential markets of Reem Island which allow them to fully satisfy their clients. The sales and lease team is constantly monitors rapid changes taking place in the real estate market worldwide and respond to such changes by providing their clients full and fair information which not only helps them take decisions related to property matters but also provide them highest returns on property sales and purchase. The key activities of sale and lease department at Three60 involves providing sales and resale services, consultancy and after sales support to their clients (Three60 Estates Management, 2010a).
Marketing and Communications services provided at Three60 involve catering to each client’s marketing needs differently as to achieve the required result in least possible time and within the assigned budget. Since every client has a different budget, time span and specifications for marketing their property, the marketing team at Three60 creates a unique marketing package for each client to optimise the results and minimize the costs (Three60 Estates Management, 2010a). The marketing activities involve creation of brochures, e-mails, advertisements and public relation programs. The services provided under the marketing and communication banner include corporate branding, event management, integrated and unique marketing campaigns for each client, public relation management and marketing activity consultancy (Three60 Estates Management, 2010a).
Investor Relations involves developing strong bonds with the company’s institutional investors. The team at Three60 ensures that it maintains and nurtures its relationship with its investors by understanding their needs and constantly staying in touch with the clients. The constant interaction with the client helps the team to reach the required target and also satisfies the client by updating them about the latest performances of the team. This also helps the firm to obtain maximum client satisfaction in the set budget and time frame. The team also acts as liaisons between the investors and developers, ensuring job satisfaction to both parties (Three60 Estates Management, 2010a).
Hence Three60 is a one stop property solution provider, where even a minor job is skilfully performed to obtain maximum customer satisfaction.
Three60 Estates Management has departments responsible for distinctive tasks such as sales, consultancy, leasing, and accounts receivables management. The collection unit which is an integral part of the accounts receivables management is responsible for collection of debt, debt management and other debt related issues which help increase the firm’s revenue.
My role during my internship
Since I was interning at Three60 Estates Management, I worked as a Collection Agent under the Accounts Receivable Department in the Accounting and Finance Division. I had the following assigned duties:
Overdue payments (arrears) retrieval
Escalation of tenants’ disputes
Issuing early notices of payments to property owners
Preparation of weekly collection reports
Coordination with finance department to ensure offset of owners’ account post receiving due payments.
I had a quality time interning at Three60 Estates Management, as I learned many new techniques and gained significant knowledge about financial and accounting systems, ERP, customer interface, preparation of accounts statement and various cross functional activities. In a short span of time I was able to benefit the company by performing above the expectations of my employer. I was successful in retrieving an amount above AED 800,000 from clients with overdue accounts. I worked with my team and helped the company to increase the cash flow of the company through crediting the A/R account by the paid off arrears. I was capable of reducing the debt retrieval amount to AED 2,500,000 which earlier was AED 6,000,000.
We used two ERP systems to get statements of accounts, account history, expected future payments and client’s information. The two ERPs we used and relied upon were SAP and Uberiq Solutions. Using ERP systems brought many benefits to us, not only the results were efficient and effective, but it was also time saving, as it helped eliminate manual work. Hence I learned how work can be carried out efficiently using various systems. The system had complete access to company’s data and the reports produced through usage of ERP were more reliable and could be easily generated. Volumes of data were dealt properly and were easily accessible. The ERP systems required no technical knowledge yet provided remarkable assistance in report making and calculating expected future payments from clients. The ERP systems also allowed us to save cost and time and the information and data accessed was also reliable and accurate. Since the information provided by ERP was up to date, there was no risk of calculating or performing on the basis of redundant data. The interface provided by SAP was user friendly, which allowed us to perform our job more skilfully without wasting time in gathering and accessing information. We used SAP as our major ERP system and the Uberiq Solutions was our second ERP system. The ERP systems were used to gather client’s information, such as past payments, any overdue amount in past, client’s address, and client’s future expected payments. These details helped me and my team in evaluating the debt and overdues that we could collect and the clients on whom we can emphasis more. Usage of ERP systems to evaluate all such information was the major factor contributing to my capability to retrieve AED 800,000 from overdue accounts.
Conclusion
Since my internship experience with Three60 estates management was far better than I had expected and I was able to benefit company significantly, the company has now offered me a job. I now believe that I am capable of following my career in accounting and finance.
References:
- Kumar, B.R., Agarwal, A. and Khullar, R. 2009. ‘Real Estate and Construction Sector in the UAE: Growth Strategies.’ Online at http://library.imtdubai.ac.ae/Faculty%20Publication/Dr.rajesh/Real%20Estate%20and%20Construction%20Sector%20in%20the%20UAE.pdf, viewed August 25, 2013
- Royal Group. 2009. ‘One on One.’ Online at http://royalgroupuae.com/connect/June_newslette.pdf, viewed August 25, 2013
- Three60 Estates Management. 2010a. ‘Services.’ Online at www.Three60estates.com/services.html, viewed August 25, 2013
- Three60 Estates Management. 2010b. ‘Media.’ Online at http://www.Three60estates.com/media/index.html#, viewed August 25, 2013
- Report Linker, 2005. ‘Property Management Industry: Market Research Reports, Statistics and Analysis.’ Online athttp://www.reportlinker.com/ci02435/Property-Management.html, viewed August 25, 2013
