The Financial Director of this 200 employee company had resigned and his replacement, within a few days of joining the company, had stated that he did not wish to stay.
I was recruited to bring some order and stability into an accounts department that appeared to have been without a real leader for some considerable time.
The UK owners also asked me to be the architect and implementer of a standard costing system in order to be able to comply with new group reporting procedures to be effective 1st April.
In an environment that was totally new to me, my first task was to complete the overdue annual budget and agree it with the UK parent. I then, based in France, unravelled several years of transactions involving offsite stock and material usage at a subcontractor manufacturer in USA.
At the same time I trained staff on theory and practice of standard costing, which was introduced in April 2006. I weaned staff off their «parallel» systems in Excel and made them use the ERP system correctly. I believe that my hard work and willingness to get involved in the detail transformed attitudes in the finance department.
The April accounts were produced in half the time that had previously been required, contained more and clearer information and were credible. The use of standard costing and stock movement reconciliation revealed hitherto unknown aspects of the production processes as well as errors in the bills of materials. The information now available on sales, production and overheads transformed the accountability of company managers and the management of the company.
I participated in the selection of a permanent Financial Director and ensured a smooth hand-over.
PrintView client feedbackInterim Manager (Managing Director or Financial Director) since April 1997, based Madrid working both in France and Spain.
British national speaking perfect French and excellent Spanish.
Hands-on, pragmatic, natural leader.