FINANCE & ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONAL
Senior Financial professional with vast accounting, operational management and Executive Leadership experience covering all end to end accounting functions. Successful at leading and transitioning complex finance and accounting outsourcing implementations globally. Emphasis on organizational change and value creation initiatives to ensure the highest value is obtained for the organization. Ownership for delivery of commitments and recognized as an innovator and change agent focused on process efficiency and adding business value.
CORE COMPETENCIES
End To End accounting
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
Business Process Optimization
Operations Management
Project Management
Bankruptcy Process
Manage Large Diverse Teams
Build Strong Relationships
Large Business Solutions Implementation
Organizational Change
PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Keynote Speaker at the Shared Service and Outsourcing Network (SSON) Spring Convention 3/2011
Keynote speaker at Chicago Chapter of International Association of Outsourcing Professionals 10/2010
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Sears Holding Corporation, Troy, MI
DIVISIONAL VICE PRESIDENT - ACCOUNTING (2004 - 8/2011)
Accountable for business process optimization for Sears and Kmart accounting operations which encompassed duplicative systems and processes for all accounting functions. Budget responsibility for five locations ranging from $22M to $24M. Also, served as account lead for 3rd party outsourcing company, Wipro.
•Led the transition to India of 460 finance and accounting positions for all five US locations which resulted in a 35% savings over seven year term.
Prepared and presented to the Office of the President the outsourcing business case summary analysis along with recommendations to proceed with the transition.
Completed the onsite due diligence for the five US locations which included completing a business case for each site to support the offshore transition.
Chosen by Senior Vice President of Finance and Accounting to represent Sears Holding Corporation in the selection of the outsourcing partnership for the initiative to outsource all of the finance and accounting, payroll, procurement and analytics functions.
•Consolidated the major finance and accounting functions for Sears and Kmart (approximately $6M), successfully transitioning 160 Kmart positions from Troy, Michigan to the Sears location in Dallas, Texas.
•Coordinated the financial systems consolidation along with systems change rationalization which resulted in the elimination of the majority of the duplicative financial systems. Reduced the IT staff, while still increasing productivity, along with delivering a significant cost savings.
•Led the team tasked with reviewing all duplicative financial systems resulting in the recommendation for future systems following the merger of Sears Holdings and Kmart.
Kmart Holdings, Troy, MI
DIVISIONAL VICE PRESIDENT - ACCOUNTING OPERATIONS (1998 - 2004)
Managed the area for all end to end accounting functions and client financial systems support, managing a staff of 300+ associates. Oversaw all financials during merger of Kmart and Sears Holdings.
•Selected to lead the Bankruptcy team for all accounting functions, overseeing up to 25 outside consultants which included the resolution of accounts payable trade, accounts receivable collections and stock distributions of 31.9M shares meeting original liability estimates.
•Reduced staff from 300 to 160 through increased efficiencies.
Increased vendor usage of portal which allowed vendors to perform own invoice research which increased productivity and reduced costs.
Added vendors to the electronic remittance process for more accurate cash application increasing vendor productivity reduction in Kmart Staff.
Integrated the maintenance expense invoice processing function with mainline accounts payable.
Installed cycle inventory system spreading inventory reconciliation workload throughout fiscal year.
•Transitioned utility bill processing to a 3rd party saving $600K+ per year in late payment fees along with creating more detailed reporting to the facilities team.
Kmart Corporation, Troy, MI
DIVISION CONTROLLER - SUPER KMART DIVISION (1994 - 1998)
Led all aspects of the accounting and reporting functions for the newly created retail division; initial start up of four retail units growing to 120 with $1.5B in sales.
•Designed and managed the installation of an automated grocery accounting and reporting system which allowed the Super Kmart division to grow without adding staff to the accounting area.
•Managed monthly internal financial statements, Board of Directors exhibits, and maintained quality controls complying with GAAP and other regulatory requirements.
ASSITANT CONTROLLER - ACCOUNTS PAYABLE (1989 - 1994)
Managed all accounts payable functions for Kmart and a staff of 280+.
•Transitioned New Jersey and Indiana offsite accounts payable functions to the corporate office through consolidation which delivered an overall staff reduction of 25%.
•Designed and installed an automated vendor claims system which eliminated the need for a vendor claims department.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, Accounting
Michigan State University, Lansing, MI
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
International Association of Outsourcing Professionals |
