Julien Landas

Ernst & Young is a global leader delivering professional industry-focused services encompassing four main areas: assurance, advisory, transactions and tax. In Australia, the firm employs 5,000 employees with total turnover of AUD$1b. Key clients include:

AMP Capital Investors - Investment Property Funds
AMP Capital is one of Asia Pacific’s largest investment managers. AMP invests and manages over A$123 billion in real estate, infrastructure, fixed income, active equities, multi-manager and multi-asset portfolios.

I was the lead senior across four closing period ends focusing on the Wholesale Property Funds (Office Funds and Shopping Centre Funds). The team consisted of ten auditors. My role was to manage a team of up to ten staff reporting directly to Senior Manager or Director. In addition to designing and executing the audit strategy I was responsible for auditing significant risk including Investment properties valuation and debt covenants.


Investec Bank Australia
nvestec Group is an international banking and asset management business with branches in 14 countries. Investec Bank (Australia) Limited is a foreign-owned unlisted public company, generating revenue from the provision of investment banking products and services to corporate and private customers.

I was the senior on the Property Opportunity Funds and performed acquisition reviews on the Aircraft Fund. Working for Investec was a great opportunity to learn about complex tax structures and investment funds governance.


NG Real Estate Management and ING Real Estate Development

ING Real Estate & Other combines the remaining activities of ING Real Estate Development and ING Real Estate Investment Management focusing on a smooth run down of the remaining Real Estate portfolio by means of asset sales. This expertise is also being applied to actively manage or assist in winding down Real Estate portfolios from within ING or from third parties.

This engagement was particularly interesting because ING is winding up its activities in Australia and I was able to learn more about investment exit strategies.


Frasers Property Management
Frasers Property is an international property development company, currently active in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, Singapore, China, Thailand and Vietnam.

On Frasers, I reviewed residential project feasibilities and assisted the Company in preparing their financial statements for 12 subsidiaries.


ABC Tissue Products
ABC Tissue Products Pty Ltd is a Proprietary Company that generates the majority of its income from the Tissues and Other Paper Product Manufacturing in Australia. In 2011 the Company generated total revenue of A$345m including sales and other revenue.

On this engagement I had to adapt very quickly to a different culture. The company is a family business and the owners are actively involved in the day-to-day management. For the first time I was dealing directly with shareholders and was introduced to their long term strategy.

Bouwfonds Marignan Immobilier
Bouwfonds Marignan Immobilier is a French Property developer owned by the Dutch bank Rabobank. Bouwfonds Marignan's main activities are Residential projects (around 3,000 houses delivered every year, total sales in 2009 of Eur 510m) and office building developments.

I was the lead senior for two years. I was involved in auditing the consolidated financial statements, reporting to the primary team in Holland and auditing the 20 major French Trusts (publishing accounts under French GAAP). I was also in charge of reviewing the control environment and ensuring the Group was compliant with Sarbane-Oxley act requirements. My role was to evaluate the effectiveness of these controls and help Management to revise their design when deficiencies were found.


Westbrook Partners
Westbrook Partners is a private equity firm specialising in real estate investments. The firm seeks to pursue opportunistic real estate investments resulting from undervalued assets and portfolios; corporate and government divestitures; urgent recapitalisations, and ineffective ownerships. It seeks to invest in small off-market transactions in the U.S. and Europe.
 
I started this engagement as a graduate and ended up being the lead senior. This client was challenging due to the nature of investments managed in Paris and Westbrook Partners' strategy (high debt leverage). When the financial crisis stroke in 2009, I assisted Management to comply with French legal requirements during the liquidation of some investment funds.


Credit Agricole Immobilier
Credit Agricole Immobilier is the Real Estate branch of the largest retail banking group in France. It covers all real estate service activities apart from real estate finance, and has drawn on Credit Agricole’s strategy of sustainable and profitable growth to offer its clients solid and recognised expertise for nearly 20 years.

I have assisted the senior auditor during two consecutive year-end audit and I was in charge of coaching the junior staff. This engagement was my first experience of a large investment bank.


ING Real Estate
The Logistics Fund’s objective is to invest in and actively manage a portfolio of logistic and industrial properties in France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium (total investment of Eur 1,100m). The consolidation of European Logistics investments was managed in Paris.

I was the lead senior auditor on this five team members audit and was exposed to top-management (European Fund controllers and CFO). For the purpose of this engagement, I had to prepare analysis of the European Real Estate market for logistics.


Other clients
I was also involved in the audit of the following companies: Veolia Environment (top-listed service provider), Geoservices (oil & gas service provider), Cogedim Altarea (Property Developer), Prologis (Logistics service provider), BWT (water supplier), Simon Ivanohe (Property developer), Morgan Stanley (Investment Bank).

Arvin Meritor is the premier global supplier of integrated systems, modules and components to the heavy vehicle industry.

I replaced the Logistics Manager while he was restructuring the warehouse organisation. My role was to assist consultants in the designing of a new IT application. I was a technical support in the truck factory, I was in charge of purchasing hardware and equipments, training users, improving processes, creating and improving assembly lines.
 
I was also the forklift truck administrator (100 trucks, K€ 650 rent expenses by year).


Key achievements
Successfully took ownership of the Logistics Manager responsibilities while he was busy on a long term restructuration project.

Assistant manager and cashier in a 50 employees supermarket (10 hours a week for four years).

Key achievements
Demonstrated Management skills and organized the work of a team of seven cashiers for several years