Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
I am a CA qualified accountant working in the Not For Profit (NFP) industry who is passionate about delivering quality outcomes for the organisation and developing a diverse, engaged, motivated and productive team. I have successfully led Finance Transformation projects, system/ ERP implementations, process improvement projects, vendor engagement, implemented change management initiatives and improved organisational sustainability. I pride myself on my positive and "can do" approach and my ability to develop successful partnerships with all areas of the business to achieve results, as well as empowering my team to do the same.
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation, established in 1959, is Australia’s leading organisation committed to preventing and minimising the harm caused by alcohol and other drugs. In my role as Finance Manager for the ADF, I lead a team of 5, with the responsibility of the finance function, business planning, legal, procurement, payroll, systems analysis & implementation, business partnering, Audit & Risk Committee papers, risk management and financial modelling. In my time with the business to date, I have led: -Finance Transformation project, implementing new finance and payroll systems, multiple points of bank integration and improved data flow (all completed whilst bringing the organisation along for the journey, which was recognised directly by the CEO) -Program costing models built from scratch, with fully integrated cost drivers and analysis -A newly developed budget process, whereby financial accountability rests with those Senior Leaders who lead the programs -Understandable, comparable and easy to read Board and Executive reporting and analysis (very positive feedback received) -Understandable and simplified reporting for Budget Managers, improving insights and their financial decision making -Introduction of an Investment Policy aimed at improving earnings on investment whilst mitigating financial risk and clarity on allowable investments -The negotiation of improved commercial arrangements with suppliers and lessors, resulting in significant savings for the ADF -Improved system access configuration & controls, financial control, reporting and review esp. for accounts payable and payroll -A renewed focus on process improvement and challenging the status quo, to reinvest our time back into ‘value add activities’ -Initiatives to improve the financial literacy of staff -Ongoing coaching and development with a view to helping each team member reach their career goals
The Auditor-General is an independent officer of the Victorian Parliament and providers independent assurance on the financial statements of all Victorian Government entities. Performance audits of Victorian Government entities are also conducted by the office. In my time with VAGO, I managed multiple health service provider audit engagements through to the issue of the audit opinion. I presented audit findings to senior management of audit clients and senior VAGO leaders. I also co-managed the recruitment of contractors for financial audit. I gained valuable experience working in the Victorian public service. •Led challenging audit engagements, including a hospital that rolled out a new payroll system very poorly. •Successfully co-managed the VAGO contractor recruitment process during a time of a shortage of candidates. •Participated in professional development which provided me the opportunity to refresh my technical accounting skills and gain an understanding of the new standards: AASB 9, AASB 15 and AASB 16.
I led a small team to drive improved profitability and production performance in partnership with the commercial manager, sales team and the operations team. I was the first point of contact for sales regarding gross margin achievement, RFP/ RFQ, tenders, pricing and product costing. My role was very commercially focused and involved business partnering with all functional areas to improve all aspects of customer profitability. I also led several system improvements. Commercial •Implemented waste reporting data analytics, leading to a 25% reduction in production waste. •Improved the partnership between sales, operations and finance. •Improved the quantification of the true cost of complex products/ customers to the business. •Trained the sales team in product costing and the flow on implications of complex customer arrangements. System •Led the full automation of the invoicing process. •Designed and led the implementation of preventative and detective system controls for pricing. •Oversaw the improved accuracy of the standard costing data within system generated production orders. •Automated master data maintenance processes. •Implemented and led the automation of production waste reporting and analysis (large data set). •Rebuilt the pricing model and rolled out new support processes, including an updated workflow system. •Led the rebuild and automation of the sales forecasting process. •Led finance components of ERP upgrades •Awarded a ‘Living our Values’ award by Orora for "Demonstrating Passion and Teamwork by questioning the Status Quo on the way we have always done things - automating invoicing, developing waste reporting, developed CIM loads to update QAD, understanding how waste standards work in QAD and making these changes with buy in from all departments". •Promoted from Finance Manager to Business Analysis Manager. •Organised an onsite gym to improve the health of an ageing workforce in production.
Orora Bag Solutions provides tailored manufactured and traded sack packaging solutions for dry products, with a speciality in milk powder solutions. A $25m site transformation was carried out over 2015 to 2017. I led a team to manage the day to day finance operations of the business, including: general ledger, accounts payable, credit control, payroll, balance sheet, internal control environment, compliance, budgeting, forecasting, hedging, month end, statutory reporting, coordinate audits and other day to day duties. •Led improvements to business process, automating where possible, which has resulted in improved reporting and decision-making processes. •Developed a more effective, efficient and transparent slow-moving stock reporting process, contributing to a $1M/ 50% reduction in aged stock and improved working capital. •Eliminated significant balance sheet risks (in: interface clearing, stock obsolescence, inventory standards, accruals, provisions, creditors, GRIR, fixed assets), improving the integrity of the ledger and mitigating variability in forecasts. •Rebuilt the forecasting and budget processes to improve the predictability and analysis of results. •Implemented a restructure of finance team roles and responsibilities. •Contributed to the resolution of a decade-long RDO industrial dispute with the AMWU requiring a system solution. •Reinvigorated the energy within the finance team. •Awarded a ‘Living our Values’ award by Orora for work on the 16/17 Budget, which was particularly challenging due to the site transformation project.
Toyota sells imported (and previously locally manufactured) vehicles to the Australian market. Toyota is a global leader in the application of lean manufacturing processes and seeks to continuously innovate. I prepared several reports for management in Australia, Thailand and Japan. My reporting including detailed analysis of our results against prior year, budget and forecast. Over time, I became the ‘go to’ for month end activities, coordinating the external audit process, working with other functional teams to mitigate risks in the balance sheet and working with the ICT team on managing the financials in SAP. I also became a mentor for other team members. •Successfully rebuilt and improved the efficiency of many processes, including: financial statement preparation, month end close process, model profitability reporting to Japan and operating profit reporting to Japan. •Completion of a detailed reflection paper on the FY12 year end with opportunities for improvement and all actions items supported by Management for the FY13 year end. •Awarded with a certificate from the Divisional Manager of Finance for my contribution to the FY12 year-end by demonstrating: Perseverance, Dedication, Analytical Ability and Teamwork. Dealership Audit Team work included: •Conducted Audits of Toyota Dealerships. •Ensured compliance of Toyota Dealerships to National Sales policies. •Compiled and issued reports detailing any non-compliance. •Discussed findings of audits with Dealers. •Authored standard operating procedures for the Dealership Audit team.
The Auditor-General is an independent officer of the Commonwealth Parliament and providers independent assurance on the financial statements of all Federal Government entities. Performance audits of Federal Government entities are also conducted by the office. I was a team leader on clients, including: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Crime Commission, Office of Parliamentary Counsel, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General. •Led teams varying from two to four team members. •I was team leader from planning through to finalisation and issue of the audit opinion. •Prepared client reports detailing audit findings. •Presented audit findings to the client Audit Committee and ANAO senior management. •Completed and tracked budgets.