Greater Sydney Area
A general insurance professional with over 30 years experience in finance, risk & compliance, taxation, statutory and regulatory reporting, payroll and administration within niche general insurance operations in Australia. Professionally qualified holding a Masters of Economics and Bachelor of Business degrees together with professional memberships of CPA Australia, the Institute of Public Accountants and the Governance Institute of Australia.
My major responsibilities as CRO extend to providing oversight and direction to the management of all risks across the Asia Pacific Reinsurance and Insurance businesses. I am responsible for building a partnership with the business leadership team to ensure the strategic vision of the segment is developed with consideration for the risks involved. In this role, there is engagement with the business to proactively manage the risk/reward equation and to ensure that the enterprise risk management program operates effectively.
As Chief Financial Officer ANZ I was responsible for all the financial, taxation and regulatory reporting requirements relating to Berkley Insurance Company – Australia (BICA) which at the time, included the operations of both Berkley Re Australia and WR Berkley Insurance (Europe) Limited (Australia branch).
As Finance Manager ANZ, I was responsible for all local and overseas reporting for the Australian / New Zealand operation including: • US GAAP reporting on a monthly basis. • APRA reporting on a quarterly and annual basis. • Adherence of the ANZ operation in relation to SOX testing and reporting requirements. • Tax compliance including Corporate tax, FBT, GST and Non-resident reinsurer’s taxation returns. • APRA risk management and compliance. • Management of the investment portfolio in conjunction with externally appointed investment managers. • Statutory reporting in relation to stamp duties, fire service levies, ARPC, ASIC, etc. • Building and maintaining relationships with auditors, bankers, regulators and investment managers. • Administration of the corporate insurance policies. • Payroll processing. • Premises administration including lease negotiations
This new role for BReA was established in order to commence an “in-housing” project involving finance, technical accounting, APRA compliance, payroll and taxation functions that had since 2007, been outsourced. The "in-housing" project was completed on 1st July 2012.
Tower Estate comprises the 5 star rated Tower Lodge, Tower Estate Winery, The Convent, Restaurant Nine and Roberts Restaurant located in the NSW Hunter Valley. The estate has been ranked amongst the world’s best being invited to join Relais Chateaux, an exclusive collection of 475 of the world’s finest hotels and gourmet restaurants in 55 countries. As Chief Operating Officer I was responsible for overseeing the entire operations of the sites that form Tower Estate. I reported directly to the Chief Executive Officer and my responsibility extended to the following functional areas: • Accounting, reporting and audit • Cash flow management • Human resources • Risk management including OH&S compliance • Banking and financing facilities • Debtor and creditor management • Capital management • Facilities maintenance including capital expenditure approval • Insurance program This role was made redundant in March 2012
As CFO, I was responsible to the Australian CEO (with a matrix reporting line to the Finance Director in London) for the efficient and effective management of the Australian Branch finance, accounting, tax, compliance and investment functions. Major responsibilities of my CFO role, (but not limited to), included: • APRA regulatory reporting. • APRA risk management and compliance incorporating responsibility for adherence to various applicable APRA prudential standards. • Corporate tax, non-resident reinsurer’s tax and Fringe Benefits Tax returns. • Capital modelling, business planning and projections. • Compliance requirements of ASIC and other agencies as necessary (e.g. FOS). • All Group Finance reporting to London including quarterly Expense, Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet results and analysis. • In conjunction with external advisers, manage the local investment portfolio. • Internal reinsurance management and accounting for the Branch. • Annual budgeting and ongoing variance analysis. • Fire Service Levy, Stamp Duty, Terrorism, GST and other legislative / statutory reporting. • Maintaining strong working relationships with auditors, actuaries, bankers, investment managers and insurance regulators. • Serve as XLICL’s representative on certain industry accounting and/or compliance related committees be they formed by APRA, the Insurance Council of Australia or other industry related associations. • Providing assistance to the local Human Resource and Office Facilities functions as required. I was a senior member of both the local Management Committee and the Risk Monitoring Board whose broad mandate was to guide the Branch in achieving both local and corporate strategies whilst ensuring adherence to high quality risk management and control practices.
Formerly NAC Re, I was one of the original staff members alongside Scott Ryrie who in 1996 established the Australian branch of NAC Re. Specific responsibilities included: • Monthly reporting to US based parent. • Insurance Commissioner (now APRA) financial reporting. • Financial and management accounting. • Taxation planning. • Statutory reporting. • Administration of investment portfolio. • Budgetary setting and review.