Zurich, Switzerland
A result-driven Chartered Specialist in Accounting and Financial Management with more than 10 years of success in Finance/Accounting, Project Management and Controlling. Experience from a large US listed multinational software enterprise with transfer pricing exposure. Microsoft Excel expert with programming knowledge in Visual Basic for Applications VBA (Macros). Hands-on experience in initiating simplification and standardisation of processes. Bilingual / Fluent in English and German.
- Reporting to the Managing Director - One direct report in Accounting - General Ledger, AP, AR - Budgeting/Planning - Controlling and KPI analysis (Cost of Sales, Margins, OpEx, Productivity etc.) - Cash planning ERP: - SAP R3 FI/CO - SAP Business Warehouse (BW) - Jedox Reporting & Planning
Reporting to the CEO/Director - Project Controlling / Accounting incl. regular meetings with Project Managers - Support the Director in business decisions based on financial evaluations - Invoicing / credit collection - Purchase-to-Pay PTP - Revenue and Cash Flow Forecasting including reporting and analysis - Management reporting of KPI's with self created MS Excel dashboard - Contract management for sub-consultancy services - ERP Implementation (Odoo) Key Achievements: - Developed and improved processes and controlling systems - Reduced DSO by 30% in the first year and by 13% in the second year
In the Sarbanes-Oxley SOX environment the US company Kofax followed the US GAAP requirements. Before the IPO on the NASDAQ in 2013 Kofax reported under IFRS. In Switzerland Kofax operates a Shared Service Centre SSC for the EMEIA region (Europe, Middle-East, India & Africa). In 2015 Lexmark acquired Kofax. After the mass dismissal by Lexmark per December 2016 I was offered the same position again, but I decided to leave to go travelling. Senior Accountant: - Full Finance & Accounting management of 10 entities within the EMEIA region, of which one Intellectual Property IP rights owner in the UK. --> Including statutory financials. GAAP conversions from US GAAP to local - UK & Indian GAAP. - I managed a team of 2 accountants. Accounts Payable Manager (EMEIA): - AP management (27 entities). Full purchase-to-pay PTP cycle. - I managed a team of 5 accountants. VAT / Tax (UK): - Ensured indirect tax (VAT) compliance - Regularly liaised with the tax department on CIT & deferred tax Project Accounting (EMEIA): - Fixed-Price Project Accounting for Professional Services PS revenue (IFRS 15). Revenue Recognition (EMEIA): - US GAAP Revenue Recognition (ASC 605, ASC 606) - I reviewed contracts, purchase orders, statements of work SOW and other appendixes, giving the green or red light for deal completion and/or carve-out. - Consent checks for factors such as --> Fair value FV --> Completeness of documentation --> Maintenance portion in relation to license value --> VSOE Key Achievements: - I provided leadership and technical expertise to finance personnel. - No material weaknesses noted by the Big 4 auditors for the group and statutory close. - I volunteered in launching streamlined financial models improving analytics & reporting. - I won the Project Manager role for synchronising the AP with the GL department before taking over the management of the EMEIA AP. Increased productivity, improved documentation and reduced errors.
- Full cycle monthly, quarterly & year-end financial closing processes, within tight deadlines (cut-off on day +4, reporting on day +5). - General Ledger postings, payroll, account & bank reconciliations, cash forecasting, fixed assets, currency FX revaluations, payroll and general accruals (OPEX & Cost of Sale COS), prepaid expenses, etc. - Regular and ad-hoc analysis of all financial data, reporting to the senior management and the group headquarter (HQ). - Project involvement such as hardware/software spin-off, insourcing/outsourcing, transition of local accounting to the EMEIA SSC. - Filed VAT returns, Intrastat, Intra EU-Sales and other EU reports. - Regularly liaised with the Corporate Tax Department on CIT returns, tax reliefs and deferred tax. - Interim & annual external corporate audits, risk-based & substantive procedures, order-to-cash OTC & purchase-to-pay PTP transactions. - Statutory financials (Belgium & Netherlands), maintenance of two books for corporate and local accounts. Consolidated statutory financials. GAAP: - IFRS - US GAAP - Belgian Accounting Standards (Belgium GAAP) Internal Controls: - Sarbanes-Oxley SOX compliance (Sections 401 & 404) Software / ERP: - Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP - Oracle Hyperion Financial Management ERP (HFM) Key Achievements: - Initiated launching VAT reconciliation tools in MS Excel for validation & reporting, reducing working time by 50%. - Volunteered in developing a master file for the EMEIA prepaid expenses, reduced working time for over 15 accountants, improved documentation and thus saving audit expenses for the years followed. Eliminated calculation errors. - Launched a staff time tracking tool with VBA. Saved HR more than 80% of time. Improved internal controls compliance. - Implemented a reconciliation system in line with Big 4 audit standards. Saving audit fees and working time for finance personnel.