Fund’s comptroller gets hired for UN job

NMI Retirement Fund comptroller Noel M. Soria is getting a more lucrative job with the U.S. government that requires him to be assigned in Paris, France.

Soria, in an interview yesterday, confirmed that he was hired by the federal government as a financial management officer for the U.S. Committee for the United Nations. The office is based in Paris.

Soria declined to disclose his salary package but in a recent public gathering, NMI Fund Board chair Joseph Reyes said that Soria’s annual salary is “nearly $200,000.”

Last June, Soria was reported to have been accepted by the Commonwealth Development Authority for a comptrollership position, with a starting salary of $55,000 a year. Soria was to have his salary raised to $60,000 after a year and upon obtaining a “certified management accountant” status.

Soria said that his last day of work at the Fund is on Dec. 31 this year. He would undergo training in Japan for a month and later in Washington, D.C.

“From D.C., I’ll come back home here on Saipan, and from here, I’d be off to Paris,” he said.

Soria, who comes from the Philippines, first arrived on Saipan in 1985.

“I’ve been here for quite a long time. I saw the transformation of the island. So the thought of leaving the island also comes with great sadness. This is my home,” he said.

From 1985 to 1990, Soria worked initially with Kam Corp., then Coral Ocean Point, and later with Pacific Islands Club. He began his work at the Fund in 1991 to June 2000 as accountant, then as technical analyst for investment, and finally as manager for investment.

From August 2001 to January 2002, he worked at Bank of Saipan. He went back to the Fund in September 2002 and stayed there up to the present as comptroller.

He also serves as comptroller for the Group Health and Life Insurance program and Workers Compensation Commission.

“I’ll certainly miss the NMI Fund. I love this board. I work closely with the administration,” he said.

Soria has complied with all the requirements of the Certified Management Accountants Program of the Institute of the Certified Management Accountant of Australia conducted from July 16 to Oct. 1, 2005 in Manila.

He was also elected president of CMA Batch 5 from among corporate CFOs, CEOs, VPs and controllers from Asia’s multinationals like Asian Development Bank, Hewlett Packard, Meralco, Mirant Sual, Philips, Intel, Deutsche Knowledge, Metrobank, United Laboratories, Warner Bros, Century Canning.

CMAs are trained to tackle complexities of global competition and serve as corporate insider’s management counsels.