Gizem Tukel

Senior WIP Analyst within a global law firm, specialising in revenue (WIP) analysis, financial reporting and billing optimisation. I use advanced Excel, 3E and Power BI to analyse WIP, billing, reversals and performance trends, translating complex data into actionable insights to identify risks and opportunities and support commercial decision-making. Experienced in collaborating with senior stakeholders across international teams, with a strong focus on financial controls.

Prior to legal finance, I gained experience in banking and Big Four audit, providing a strong foundation in financial analysis and risk assessment. Currently studying towards the ACCA qualification.

SENIOR WIP ANALYST (REVENUE MANAGEMENT) - Ashurst Perkins Coie - Glasgow

(2026-05)

• Lead monthly WIP reviews across approximately 230 matters covering 65 Partners within the Finance, Funds and Restructuring division. Assess ageing, recoverability, billing readiness and lock-up performance, identifying risks and opportunities to progress balances towards billing.
• Engage with Partners, Practice Heads and Business and Finance Managers across the UK, EMEA and US to validate assumptions, resolve blockers and progress significant and aged WIP towards billing.
• Developed a reusable Excel-based invoice-reversal analysis tool to flag unusual reversal patterns across matters. Using the tool, I identified 714 same-day reversal entries across a Partner’s 978 matters, then validated the entries in 3E and established that they related to a single consolidated invoice reversal, avoiding unnecessary matter-by-matter escalation.
• Learned and applied matter-level margin analysis in collaboration with the Commercial team, providing Partners with financial insights to support approval discussions with Division Heads, the CFO and CEO on individual matters.
• Contributed to a financial hygiene campaign that cleared approximately £154k in small, aged WIP balances in a single month, improving ledger quality and working-capital discipline. Work with my team to identify when further campaigns are needed, using lock-up trends to support prioritisation.
• Drive process, reporting and control improvements that strengthen financial hygiene, forecasting quality and billing discipline, developing guidance, templates and management information to enhance consistency, efficiency and commercial oversight.
• Provide technical guidance and share knowledge across the WIP Management team, support onboarding and best-practice development. Contribute to wider team initiatives, including serving as a co-interviewer during recruitment.

WIP ANALYST (REVENUE MANAGEMENT) - Ashurst Perkins Coie - Glasgow

(2024-11 - 2026-05)

• Managed WIP reviews and billing-readiness activity across the Finance, Funds and Restructuring division, assessing ageing and recoverability and progressing balances towards billing.
• Worked with Partners and finance stakeholders to investigate aged balances, clarify matter status and identify actions to improve billing outcomes.
• Supported reporting and process improvements to enhance the clarity and consistency of WIP reporting, helping stakeholders identify and act on billing opportunities.

PRACTICE FINANCE ANALYST - Ashurst Perkins Coie - Glasgow

(2024-03 - 2024-11)

• Raised international invoices in response to requests from Partners and practice executives, carrying out detailed pre-billing checks on VAT treatment, fee earner rates, client and third-party payer details, applicable discounts and invoice formatting to ensure billing accuracy.
• Processed fixed-fee invoices for major clients, including JP Morgan and Citibank, and carried out time transfers and write-off (W/O) actions.
• Produced client-specific billing reports to improve billing readiness and month-end efficiency.
• Supported the WIP Management team by gathering information from Partners to identify billing opportunities.

FINANCE OFFICER - Student Loans Company - Glasgow

(2023-03 - 2024-03)

• Processed loan approvals within the Student Finance England core assessing team.
• Assessed student loan eligibility by reviewing financial documentation, supporting the accurate allocation of public funds and ensuring eligible students received appropriate financial support.

CORPORATE BANKING RELATIONSHIP EXECUTIVE - Akbank - Istanbul, Turkey

(2021-07 - 2022-11)

• Supported local and multinational corporate clients across lending, deposits, foreign trade and derivative products, balancing client needs with commercial objectives and providing prompt financial solutions.
• Reviewed financial statements and conducted profitability and liquidity analyses to support product recommendations, pricing decisions and relationship management.
• Coordinated with treasury, foreign trade teams and subsidiary financial institutions, while monitoring daily communications to provide timely responses tailored to corporate clients’ needs.

EXPERIENCED AUDIT ASSOCIATE - PwC - Istanbul, Turkey

(2019-10 - 2021-06)

• Performed audit procedures for clients in the financial services sector, including testing bank reconciliations, payroll, receivables, payables, sales, purchases and fixed assets.
• Performed analytical review and variance analysis to identify risk areas, assess evidence and support audit judgements in line with IFRS and firm methodology.
• Worked directly with client finance teams to resolve queries, obtain evidence and manage competing deadlines during busy audit cycles.

Corporate and SME Banking Insurance Sales Management Intern - Turkish Economy Bank Head Office & BNP Paribas Cardif Turkey

(2018 - 2018)

Finance and Accounting Intern - Arvento Mobile Systems

(2017 - 2017)

B.Sc. (taught in English) - BANKING AND FINANCE - Ihsan Dogramacı Bilkent University (2013 - 2019)

Summer School - French - Université Clermont Auvergne (2017 - 2017)