Chris Gould

Veterinary Services - £3.5bn turnover

• Project Accountant working with local teams and consultants to resolve legacy Balance Sheet issues
• Improvement of BAU Month End reporting cycle
• Supported existing teams with transition to Oracle

Achievements –

• Automated reports from Oracle using Power Query
• Completed a challenging P&L project for one of the teams

• Updated my SQL / Data Modelling skills

Online Classifieds - €1.8bn turnover

• FP&A lead in a successful, complex P&L transformation project for an international, matrix-structure organisation
• Interface between Data team and FP&A teams
• BAU country variance analyses for Group FP&A Team
• Ad hoc and BAU month end report prep for board meetings
• Created new personnel costs forecasting model for Group
• Worked closely with national FP&A leads in France, Benelux, Spain, Italy, Germany and Canada to align reporting

Achievements –

• The transformation project was successfully completed, with the P&L model receiving excellent feedback from the client
• Worked with an SQL expert to upgrade the personnel costs model into one having greater flexibility and functionality
• Wrote the documentation for the SQL personnel costs model

Customer Comms – group turnover £1bn, Bristol office

• UAT of Power BI P&L reporting model by revenue type
• Liaison with regional accountants re data quality and content

Achievements –

• Successfully troubleshooted errors in the P&L model (in the countries tested)
• Developed a customer database and tool for group

Retail FMCG, B2C, >500 employees;

• Leadership of finance team / management accounts team
• Built P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow spreadsheets for integrated reporting and forecasting
• Produced detailed cash flow forecast to help track progress of acquired stores and inform Board decision-making
• Delivered monthly MI analysis comparing current performance to prior year and forecasts, including KPIs
• Worked with external consultants on successful R&D claims
• Set up group VAT registration.
• Supported year-end audit preparation & reviewed tax issues
• Worked with external consultants to facilitate transition from FRS102 to IFRS accounting

Achievements-

• Streamlined Balance Sheet by resolving legacy issues, enhancing accuracy and reporting clarity
• Developed FX model to illustrate cash impact of various financial hedges, enabling board to assess currency decisions on future cash flows
• Cut days off the month-end processes during BAU
• Helped manage transitions from SAGE to Microsoft Business Dynamics 365 and from PE-backed to Listed company

Retail B2B, Wincanton, UK

• Monthly MI including integrated P&L, Balance Sheet, Cashflow & KPIs vs prior year and forecasts
• Annual budget preparation
• Produced budget and 3-year plan following detailed review
• Created a detailed cash flow forecast for the board that helped guide operational/tactical decision making by the board
• Prepared accounts for annual audits and liaised with auditors
• Set up FX trades to hedge currency exposure
• Liaison with local experts to set up a subsidiary in the NL
• Integrated this new entity into the SAGE reporting structure
• Prepared accounts for annual audits and liaise with auditors
• Line management of small finance team
• Liaison with bank, HMRC and investors

• Managed finance team and streamlined transactional processes
• Deputized for Director of Finance for reporting to Board
• Quarterly MI, regular cashflow forecasting
• Annual statutory accounts and regular TB reconciliations
• Prepared accounts for annual audits and liaised with auditors
• Built a live model that produced management and statutory accounts simultaneously and complied with new regulations. These were commended as exemplary by the auditors
• Led project to transition from Navision to Access Dimensions, enhancing departmental reporting capabilities
• Facilitated training sessions for groups of 20-25 bookkeepers
• Documented key professional achievements
• Recommendations from my MSc research were introduced into the regional cost-allocation methodology

• Monthly MI, account recs and consolidation for various clients
• Accounts payable functions
• Supervision of junior staff