Finance Director/Financial Controller

Managed large finance and operational teams for AIM-listed, Equity backed,  Blue Chips and SMES in the technology, manufacturing, telecoms and food sectors.

Providing accurate and timely reporting of monthly results.  Critical areas included revenue recognition for large, complex projects.  Responsibilities also included working with the business to produce the annual budget, managing the annual audit process, and ensure the fast moving department operated efficiently in order to support the needs of the business.

Key Achievements:

• Identified shortcomings in the revenue recognition process for major projects, leading to early recognition of revenue, and implemented changes in processes to address these deficiencies.
• Delivered significant improvements in the month end process, automating some of the key reporting requirements, enabling the company to consistently report earlier than the Group’s requirements.
• Developed and implemented a set of leading KPIs to provide the business with a more accurate assessment of forward looking forecasts.
• Oversaw an initiative to improve the accuracy of the company’s short term cash flow forecasts.
• Delivered efficiencies savings of circa £0.3M by working with site operations to understand the key drivers of efficiency variances and ensuring actions were taken to address these.
• Managed a project to resolve the root causes associated with supplier invoices in dispute, reducing the value of these from a peak of £22.m to £4.6m, with further improvements anticipated.
• Delivered savings of circa £0.3M by addressing a VAT misreporting issue to prevent the business from incurring HMRC penalties or fines.
• designed and executed effective treasury management strategies, including overseeing the Group’s FOREX exposure that contributed £0.2m to revenue.
• Supported the business transition efforts from a listed business on the AIM market to a company backed by private equity.