Finance Manager - WESTMONT HOSPITALITY GROUP
(2023-06)
- Strategic Reporting: Ownership and directly managed monthly and quarterly management reporting to investors, including P&L and Balance Sheet, consolidations, KPIs and variance analysis for 5 portfolios across UK, Europe, and South Africa to investors with over £50 million revenue. Directly reporting to Finance Director.
- Digital Transformation: Integration of AI tools into daily workflows, resulting in a 50% reduction in reporting time.
- Audit Leadership: Lead annual audits from planning to finalisation of statutory financial statements under FRS 102 (UK GAAP), Dutch GAAP and French law. This involved liaising with the audit partner and managing complex queries, attending director board meetings and financial statements sign off within the stipulated deadlines.
- Capital Risk and Compliance: Lead quarterly bank reporting to ensure strict adherence to loan Facility Agreements and covenant compliance. This required calculation of complex KPIs such as Loan to Value, Interest coverage, Debt Service Coverage ratios.
- Stakeholder Management: Partner with Hotel Financial Controllers and Directors to provide high-level KPI commentary and actionable insights for shareholders. Liaised directly with the lender banks queries and providing analysis and forecasts as and when requested to manage external lending.
- Budgets and Forecasts: Reviewed budgets and cash flow forecasts, thereby enabling sufficient working capital is maintained and excess cash invested for interest or transferred to ownership.
- Mentorship: Directly manage and review the workflows of external senior accountants responsible for delivery monthly and quarterly accounts and coordinate deliverables across 5 regional financial controllers.
Finance Manager - INVIQA UK LTD (HAVAS GROUP)
(2015-01 - 2023-05)
Promoted from Financial Accountant in 2021
- Due diligence and merger: Played a key role in the successful acquisition of Inviqa by Havas Group (Feb 2022); managed the amalgamation of accounts for 3 newly acquired entities. Directly reporting to the CFO.
- ERP Implementation: Lead the transition of legacy systems from Sage to Xero and then from Xero to Unit4 Agresso ERP, significantly enhancing data integrity and reporting speed.
- Budgets and consolidation: Managed group consolidations and rolling budgets, consistently meeting a strict 2-day month-end deadline.
- Management report: Responsible for balance sheet reconciliations, finalisation of monthly P&L and reporting under SAP for consolidation.
- Annual audit and VAT returns: Lead the audit and documentation of information reported to the external auditors under FRS 102. Preparation and filing of VAT Returns under HMRC MTD VAT.
- Achievement: Delivered a 20% reduction in operating costs by identifying inefficiencies through rigorous cost-centre analysis.
- Line management: Directly managed and mentored 2 finance assistants.
Financial Accountant (Contract) - VIATEL LTD (DIGIWEB GROUP)
(2014-05 - 2014-08)
- Managed month-end responsibilities: Preparation of management accounts for a telecom provider while the company was ongoing ownership change.
Finance Accountant - TTI GLOBAL LTD
(2012-10 - 2013-04)
- Bank reconciliations: Managed multi-currency bank reconciliations of 14 different currency bank accounts.
- Month end: Responsible for Month end journals and balance sheet reconciliations of key ledgers prepayments & accruals.
- Month end close: Closed books at month end and updated exchange rates in adherence to HMRC guidelines.
- Cash flow statement and cash flow forecasting: Preparation of monthly cash flow statement and forecasts.
- Accounts payable and accounts receivable: Recording purchase invoices and sales invoices in Sage.
- Merger: Supported merger of TTI (Europe) Ltd and Lorien Connect Ltd by reviewing ledgers and merged accounts.
Accounts Assistant - BRIGHTSUN TRAVEL LTD
(2009-11 - 2012-03)
- Processed high-volume transactions and reconciled accounts for a high-turnover hospitality operator with a gross annual turnover exceeding £50M
Finance Administrator - PMC Limited, London
(2007-12 - 2009-10)
- Responsible for transactional responsibilities within the property management company.
Audit Assistant - SRB & Associates, Chartered Accountant firm, India
(2004-04 - 2007-06)
- Assisting with statutory audit, concurrent audit, preparation of financial statements.
