Zoë Garrod
Corby,ENG
Summary
Highly accomplished qualified accountant with over 35 years of comprehensive financial experience, rising from Purchase Ledger Clerk to Group FD. Proven expertise in change management, multi-sector financial strategy, and implementing robust system improvements. Known for strong ethical standards, commercial acumen, and mentoring high-performing teams
Overview
37
37
years of professional experience
5984
5984
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Group Finance Director
Hi-Force Limited
Daventry, Northamptonshire
2022.07 - 2026.03
- Group Finance Manager (July 2022 – May 2023) progressing to Group Finance Director (June 2023 – Present)
- Acting as an integral part of the Board, providing financial insights, advising on strategic direction and reporting on financial performance to Directors and Shareholders
- Managing and mentoring finance teams across 10 entities in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East ensuring consistent best practices and standardising financial reporting
- Overseeing all areas of financial reporting, monthly management accounts and internal controls
- Implementation of detailed entity and group cashflows and forecasting models for strategic operational planning
- Partnering with Regional Heads of Departments analysing costs to improve performance including regular European visits assisting a newly appointed MD to turn a loss-making entity into a profitable position.
- The review and restructuring of Middle East entities, optimizing operational models, strengthening local control, and adapting to new regulations, particularly in the UAE and Azerbaijan
- Completion of annual entity and group consolidation accounts to audit sign off and filing
- Responsible for the annual stock take control and reporting
- Advising on and approving investment activities, capital expenditure and maintenance of asset registers
- Cash, treasury, and working capital management
- Directing the development and improvement of manufacturing processes, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, driving efficiency, and ensuring data integrity
- Annual pricing reviews
- Group dividend management
- Taking full site responsibility in the absence of the MD
Finance Manager
Mulberry Property Developments
Crick, Northamptonshire
2016.07 - 2022.07
- Producing monthly management accounts pack for final review by the Finance Director, including full balance sheet reconciliations.
- Assisting/reviewing Cost Value Reconciliations for 9 residential sites
- Managing a team of three covering all ledgers, payment runs, cashflows, CIS reporting and payroll (outsourced)
- Providing information to external auditors for annual accounts and tax computations including VAT to sales reconciliations, accruals and provisions detail, interest calculations
- Updating forecasting models with actuals for cashflow/funding purposes
- Mentoring a newly qualified assistant accountant
- Finance lead on implementation of COINS system and subsequent upgrades – previously using SAGE
- Joint Venture reporting
- Domestic Reverse Charge VAT reviews
- IR35 and off payroll workers reporting
- Monthly VAT returns and audits.
- Insurance renewals including fleet insurance
Finance Manager
ERS Group T/A Creative Expressions
Kettering, Northamptonshire
2015.06 - 2016.07
- Reporting to the Managing Director covering all aspects of finance including payroll
- Providing key financial information for strategic decision making to increase turnover and profitability including a full review of P&L coding and monthly balance sheet reconciliation implementation. Giving clear visibility of costs and trends to enable accuracy of forecasting.
- Identification of £30k overcharges from suppliers from 2013, which has now been refunded.
- Currently reviewing a potential group venture with one of our main suppliers in order to increase supply capacity, sales and profitability.
- Monthly reporting packs and preparation of annual accounts ready for tax computations by our external accountants.
- Management and development of a trainee accounts clerk.
- Leading the pension auto enrolment and childcare vouchers schemes.
- Understanding and adapting to the needs of a small business with a constant eye on cash, stock and investments.
Group Accountant – Safeguarding & Children’s Services (S&CS)
Northamptonshire County Council
2009.12 - 2015.06
- Local Government Shared Services (LGSS) Business Partner supporting the S&CS through a comprehensive transformation and improvement programme as a result of an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted inspection.
- Contributing to weekly SMT meetings, reviewing KPI’s and taking necessary action in line with the Ofsted recommendations to gain an adequate rating.
- Monitoring of and contributing to annual budgets and robust solutions for the Medium Term Financial Plans, including service cuts of up to £10m/annum.
- Implementation of practices and procedures to ensure the service is future proof through times of cultural change and increasing budget pressure. This included a review of alternative provisions of care ensuring we are a competitive and safe service provider, achieving a balanced budget. Detailed savings were identified in excess of £500k and monitored monthly.
- High cost placement review panel member to ensure accurate forecasting and full visibility of looked after children costs and numbers.
- Completion of business case outlining the proposed staffing restructure, costs, and investments to save opportunity over the next three years. This included the implementation of the Social Worker training academy with predicted savings in excess of £1m over three years. Delivery and results were monitored weekly at the recruitment and retention board.
- Providing information for “Healthier Northamptonshire” project.
- Networking and benchmarking with neighbouring local authorities finance teams.
- Weekly treasury duties, reconciling the bank and checking investments.
UK Financial Controller (Corby & Derby sites)
Morgan Technical Ceramics – Certech UK
2007.09 - 2009.12
- Implementation of new control policies after an initial review of all accounting procedures that removed the UK sites from the internal audit ‘watch list’.
- Providing information for due diligence during the sale from Carpenter to Morgan.
- New reporting templates for the revised consolidation package.
- Successful negotiation of historical gas meter reads with a reduction in charges of approx. £100k.
- Business Plan, forecast and budgeting process including presentation to members of the Board.
- Product costing project.
- Identification of potential business opportunities to increase market share.
Finance Manager – Corby Blowmoulding & Thermoforming
RPC Containers Ltd
2005.02 - 2007.08
- Member of 2 Senior Management Teams attending monthly Exec meetings providing information on; customer margin analysis, capacity restrictions, capital investments, cost saving initiatives.
- Evaluation of a joint venture option including the installation of a Blowmoulding machine on the customer’s premises in Thailand. Ethical responsibilities, costs and risks were considered and presented to the Board of Directors.
- Development of the ABC system over the 2 sites.
- Group reporting, budget presentations, forecasting, year-end results and tax packs.
- Separation of the SAGE system over the 2 sites and implementation of Datalinx to enhance the warehousing and despatch function.
- Closure of Derby site and relocation of production to Corby.
- Identification of ownership of land connecting the 2 manufacturing sites resulting in a review and reduction of Business Rates charges with annual savings of approx £75k.
- Audit clearances.
Finance Manager – Fleet Services & Primary Milk Haulage
Dairy Crest Ltd
2003.03 - 2005.02
- Full review and standardisation of current financial and operational procedures within Fleet Services over several sites. Locations included Devon, East Anglia and London.
- Validation of all balance sheet accounts for Fleet Services and Primary Milk Haulage.
- Costing analysis for the restructure of Fleet Services and later the implementation and handover relating to this restructure.
- Forecasting, budgeting and strategic planning.
- Appraisal and upgrade of DRIVE fleet management system including interfaces with POMS and JBA.
- Completion of a National CPC course.
Finance Manager
Trinity Publications Ltd
2001.04 - 2003.02
- Input to Business Plan: including a full review of the current magazine portfolio and identifying possible acquisitions/niche markets.
- Product development: review of full colour magazine costs vs. revenues achievable.
- Production of the annual budget and quarterly forecasts: incorporating and monitoring a Co. restructure and cost savings relating to this.
- Formal presentation of annual budget to the Mirror Group at Canary Wharf, open to challenge from board members.
- Senior Manager, overseeing the accounts team of 9. Completion of all monthly financial information to both head office and the local Management teams.
Financial Controller
Norgren Ltd (IMI Valves Division – Manufacturing Unit)
1999.08 - 2001.02
- Weekly SMT meetings reviewing: margins, exchange rates, production targets/staffing levels, stock obsolescence, warranty issues, Capital Expenditure and investment appraisal.
- Monthly manufacturing meetings reviewing current processes – JIT implementation, Buffer stock verification, MPV reporting reviews, 5 S’s awareness.
- Review of standard costs: under/over recovery and the impact in the year end stock valuation.
- Implementation/monitoring of 6 Sigma projects and identifying potential Black Belts.
- Payback calculations and project appraisal for new product ranges
- Control of Capital Sanctions and expenditure
- Yearend audits, overview of annual and monthly accounts, quarterly forecasting, annual budgets, tax packs, and stock takes and management information packs.
- Managing and developing a team of 6 including payroll, purchase and general ledger clerks.
Management Accountant
Deritend Precision Castings Ltd
1998.10 - 1999.08
- Member of TROPOS manufacturing system and Sun accounts package implementation team: reviewing current processes and documentation flows with a view to eliminating duplication and implementing best practice.
- Monitoring of capital expenditure. A move towards business unit reporting, purchasing an additional site and a view of doubling turnover in the next 5 years.
- Weekly cash flow forecasts and monthly foreign currency hedging reviews.
- Implementation of Purchasing Cards and On-Line Banking.
- Preparation of month end accounts and management packs, maintenance of BAAN accounting system, month and year-end closures.
Assistant Accountant
Sun Valley Foods
1997.10 - 1998.06
- JDE Report writing to improve management information
- Sales and orders trend analysis on PowerPoint for Sales Managers presentations.
- Preparation of weekly accounting information, reconciled to the monthly accounts. KPI, efficiency and variance analysis reporting.
- Annual stock take, audit input and reconciliation.
Accounts Assistant progressing to Management Accountant
Schneider Ltd
1995.04 - 1997.10
- Working capital and profit and loss forecasts.
- Preparation of Monthly accounts; Stock reconciliations, royalty calculations, rebates, and petty cash.
- Monthly overhead reporting and cost control.
- Intrastat declarations.
- Monthly time and attendance records, payroll preparation and input.
Purchase Ledger Clerk/Accounts Clerk
University of Wolverhampton
1991.08 - 1995.04
- Monitoring of all externally funded project costs to budget and maintaining all account codes and cost centres.
- Journal input, cash book reconciliations, raising invoices and debt collecting.
- All aspect of purchase ledger: allocating invoices to orders; invoice price queries; reconciling statements; month end reserves; cheque runs.
YTS/Purchase Ledger Clerk
Racal Chubb Products
1989.08 - 1991.07
- Work experience was gained within various departments of the organisation including goods in, purchasing and accountancy before I was the first trainee in my peer group to be offered a permanent placement within the Purchase Accounts.
- Manual matching and checking of invoices against goods received notes and orders.
- Price and quantity queries, customer statements and month end reserves.
- As part of my BTEC National I completed a report on the benefits and implementation of a computerised purchase ledger system.
Education
CIMA -
FTC
BirminghamAAT -
Sandwell College
SandwellA Level - Accounts
Wulfrun College
WolverhamptonBTEC National - Business and Finance
Wulfrun College
Wolverhampton9 GCSE’s -
St Peters Collegiate School
Wolverhampton 1984.09 - 1989.06
RSA Typing Parts 1 & 2 -
St Peters Collegiate School
WolverhamptonSkills
- WinMan, COINS, Great Plains, DRIVE, Tetra, BAAN, Oracle, JDE, JBA, SAGE, Sun, AMIS, FRANGO, Planet forecasting, AS400, TROPOS, Excel, Word, Access, PowerPoint, Data Select, Essbase
- Expertise and ability to translate financial data into actionable business strategies
- Forecasting, cashflow management and scenario modelling
- Statutory reporting across multiple jurisdictions and group consolidation
- Supporting M&A, expansion and investment decisions
- Experienced in various sectors and industries with a proven track record Able to adapt quickly to master new systems and ways of working
- Resilience shown in transformative work experiences
- Continual review and standardisation of financial and operational procedures and costing systems over multiple sites
- Effective leadership in cross-departmental collaboration
- Extensive experience working with specialist third parties including auditors, legal advisors, financial services, IT providers
- Self-awareness
- Mentoring
- Team member/Finance lead on system implementations - Datalinx at RPC, 2007, TROPOS Manufacturing system and Sun Accounts at Deritend Precision Castings, 1998/99 and DRIVE Fleet management system at Dairy Crest, 2003/04, COINS at Mulberry Property developments 2016/17
HOBBIES/INTERESTS
I have a passion for Formula 1, travelling to many of the Grand Prix. I also attend weekly ballroom classes and enjoy photography, art, ballet and family outings.
TRAINING
- Six Sigma team member: identifying and appraising potential projects, forecasting and monitoring of cost savings. (Norgren 2000)
- 4 day SOMA Management development course in search of knowledge and growth during times of change and high challenge. Including Myers-Briggs type indicator INFJ (June 2008). Revisited in 2012 as part of a Leading an Empowered Organisation 4 day course and again in 2024 as part of our current Senior Management Team development programme
- Completion of a two-part residential ‘Enhanced Managerial Performance’ course at Cranfield University. (Norgren 2000)
- Increased political awareness, State of the Nation and influencing and negotiation skills while working at the Local Authority.
- Prince 2 training 2014.
SYSTEMS USED
WinMan, Great Plains, DRIVE, Tetra, BAAN, Oracle, JDE, JBA, SAGE, Sun, AMIS, FRANGO, Planet forecasting, AS400, TROPOS, Excel, Lotus, Word, Access, PowerPoint, Data Select, Essbase.
Timeline
Group Finance Director
Hi-Force Limited
2022.07 - 2026.03
Finance Manager
Mulberry Property Developments
2016.07 - 2022.07
Finance Manager
ERS Group T/A Creative Expressions
2015.06 - 2016.07
Group Accountant – Safeguarding & Children’s Services (S&CS)
Northamptonshire County Council
2009.12 - 2015.06
UK Financial Controller (Corby & Derby sites)
Morgan Technical Ceramics – Certech UK
2007.09 - 2009.12
Finance Manager – Corby Blowmoulding & Thermoforming
RPC Containers Ltd
2005.02 - 2007.08
Finance Manager – Fleet Services & Primary Milk Haulage
Dairy Crest Ltd
2003.03 - 2005.02
Finance Manager
Trinity Publications Ltd
2001.04 - 2003.02
Financial Controller
Norgren Ltd (IMI Valves Division – Manufacturing Unit)
1999.08 - 2001.02
Management Accountant
Deritend Precision Castings Ltd
1998.10 - 1999.08
Assistant Accountant
Sun Valley Foods
1997.10 - 1998.06
Accounts Assistant progressing to Management Accountant
Schneider Ltd
1995.04 - 1997.10
Purchase Ledger Clerk/Accounts Clerk
University of Wolverhampton
1991.08 - 1995.04
YTS/Purchase Ledger Clerk
Racal Chubb Products
1989.08 - 1991.07
9 GCSE’s -
St Peters Collegiate School
1984.09 - 1989.06
CIMA -
FTC
AAT -
Sandwell College
A Level - Accounts
Wulfrun College
BTEC National - Business and Finance
Wulfrun College
RSA Typing Parts 1 & 2 -
St Peters Collegiate School