Judit Szauter-Sax: UBM has excellent business relations with credit institutions
Judit Szauter-Sax, Head of Finance of UBM Group, graduated from the Corvinus University of Budapest, Faculty of Business Administration. As a career starter graduate, she gained professional and international experience in the then new Shared Service Centres in the field of financial accounting, where she had the opportunity to acquire a higher level of financial and accounting practice after learning the basics. After the birth of her first child, her professional development was temporarily put on hold, and she spent most of her time raising her two sons. During this time, she set up her own consultancy firm, where, in addition to running the company, she provided financial, business, and other management consultancy services. As soon as she had the opportunity to return to full-time work beside the family, her long-term professional goals came to the fore again. As a resident of Pilisvörösvár, the UBM Group attracted her interest and appeal as a very interesting place to work, because UBM is a leading large company in a sector that was completely unknown to her. Seizing this opportunity, in 2019 she embarked on a journey that continues to challenge her to this day. As a Head of Finance, she works closely with all employees in the finance area and with colleagues in the business area and, of course, with the participants that are indispensable for the operation of the UBM Group, the credit institutions.
UBM Investor Relations: How would you characterise your team? What do you deal with and what do you see as your main strength?
Judit Szauter-Sax: I’m proud to say that members of my team have also been active contributors in the economic field for a long time, and we created the current finance team almost together. We have recently welcomed a new colleague, who has successfully taken over and is now doing her dedicated work on her own, given that one of our colleagues is soon to become a mother. We said goodbye to her for a short time, a little sadly, yet with great joy. We are a small team of five, where the necessary environment of trust works well, which is very important to me.
Colleagues feel that we are supportive and understanding, which encourages and helps them to dare to think, ask questions and be as demanding as possible in their work. I also encourage them to take this relationship beyond the UBM Group employees, and I am pleased to see every day that after a phone conversation with the client managers and contact persons of the main financial players (credit institutions) delegated to the UBM Group, a few personal questions, comments, and sentences are exchanged.
What does it mean for you?
J. Sz-S.: To me, this shows that our bank contacts also think positively of us. Colleagues in my team ensure the smooth day-to-day financial running of a UBM company: they perform credit drawdowns and loan repayments, they are responsible for settling daily account payments, they are familiar with our bank loan agreements and participate in their proper management, they liaise with the partner departments of the UBM Group, prepare ad hoc statements and certificates.
What makes you and your team effective? How does your team help you?
J. Sz-S.: We are a close team, and we know each other well. This is a great help for me. I can rely heavily on my colleagues in my day-to-day work, thus I have the opportunity to look for new, more favourable opportunities and schemes, to optimise our processes, which facilitate more efficient cash management and support the reduction of cash flow costs. All this is, of course, thanks to the banking relationships we have inherited from the past and the newly developed banking relationships we have built up in recent years, so active banking relationships are an essential part of my job.
What new tasks does the creation of UBM Italy mean for you?
J. Sz-S.: It is an important issue because one of the main driving forces in the current discussions and negotiations is to establish and secure the funding and financial operation of the newly created subsidiary of the UBM Group, UBM Italy S.R.L. It is always exciting and challenging to bring something new to life, e.g. to convince everyone involved that what we have dreamed up is good, viable and worth believing in. It’s no different in the world of numbers. The confidence and enthusiasm of my experienced trader colleagues, the business plan, and the expectations expressed in numbers, all show that it is worth starting on this new path, so my main task is to provide the best possible financial support, which primarily means finding and convincing the right financing bank and then securing the cash flow needed to start the business.
Initial discussions are already in progress, and I am looking forward confidently to our visit to Italy with Balazs Janositz, Deputy CEO and CFO of UBM Group, during which we will have the opportunity to meet the banks’ local representatives in person.
As the end of the year approaches, what are the priorities, the most important tasks, and challenges in your field, in your professional group?
J. Sz-S.: We have just passed the end of the year, with the UBM turnaround date of 30 June, a period which has required a very active contribution from all the staff in the economic area. I think we managed to live up to expectations. We have managed to reduce our credit utilisation to perhaps unprecedented low levels, given the size of our total credit line and the current economic factors, and to always meet our financial commitments to banks. In these weeks, bank data reporting is still active, bank audits will start, and we are confident that we will again have the opportunity to reopen negotiations and build on past experience to further optimise our financial operations for the future.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at investors@ubm.hu.
