Nico Smith

Experience

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  PC Bruwer and Partners

  Jan 2004 - Apr 2007

  Trainee Financial Accountant

  KEY RESPONSIBILITIES • Prepare annual financial statements in compliance with IFRS and International Accounting Standards.• Prepare monthly management accounts up to trial balance level• Business reviews for clients, making recommendations for improvement of production and/or sales efficiency.• In service training of accounting staff and teaming skills.• Internal control and governance testing with subsequent proposals for improvements.

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  Diageo

  May 2007 - May 2008

  Business Process Analyst

  KEY RESPONSIBILITIES • Sales performance analysis, comparing latest sales data with forecast and previous years. • Monthly overheads analysis, supporting the Commercial Finance Team to better understand and manage overheads.• Review the coding of discount invoices and prepare correcting journals in SAP where necessary.• Verify correct implementation of the monthly cost of goods and duty budgets by scrutinizing and testing all anomalous budget figures.• Reconcile alcohol duty reports from SAP, HM Revenue & Customs and the warehouses. Investigate and resolve all variances on a timely basis. Show less

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  The Coca-Cola Company

  Mar 2009 - Sept 2009

  Financial Reporting Analyst

  KEY RESPONSIBILITIES• Scrutinise and reconcile the monthly risks and opportunities, P&L and balance sheet for approval by the Financial Controller and submission to head office.• Prepare rolling estimates and business plan forecasts to deadlines.• Manage capex project set up in SAP and liaise with facilities to ensure efficient planning and execution of Coke GB projects.• Prepare monthly reports on expense and information protection violations for distribution to function heads and presentation at monthly finance meetings.• Monitor and follow up on variances between budget and actual operating expenses - make recommendations for corrective action. Show less

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  Diageo

  Oct 2009 - Sept 2011

  ACHIEVEMENTS • Successfully managed an overheads consolidation project for all Western European markets, enabling effective cost saving analysis of Diageo’s global operating model change. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES• Develop a communication strategy and relevant financial models to enable effective consolidation of each market’s overheads within the limited timeframe. • Assist Finance Directors in formulating their market’s 12 month overheads plan in line with global policy.• Consolidate all costs, calculate savings and compare with original plan to evaluate financial impact on the company. Show less ACHIEVEMENTS • Improved communication and visibility of the Transformation Programme Status by introducing and managing a project reporting framework.• Enabled effective resource planning by developing and implementing a project planning model for Diageo’s global Chart of Accounts project.• Facilitated an assessment by the board of the Transformation Programme‘s monthly resource requirements by developing a consolidated resource planning tool. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES• Monthly project status and progress reporting to the board• Resource planning & management of all GB related projects.• Manage non-project specific deliverables required to successfully implement the Transformation Programme.• Define and track Business Metrics, consisting of project- and non-project specific KPI’s • Add hoc Project Management duties - developing business cases for approval by the board, tracking of benefits, workstream deliverables etc. Show less ACHIEVEMENTS • Successful delivery of the Trade Terms project by implementing a new pricing framework, leading to optimised profitability and a significant improvement in pricing governance • Led a project to successfully transfer all SAP related pricing conditions over the 2010 year-end period.KEY RESPONSIBILITIES• Develop, circulate, and interpret Trade Terms models to Account Managers and Commercial Finance.• Align volumes, investment, NSV and customer contribution with forecast.• Assist Sales Teams in performing product analysis to develop new customer pricing structures.• Manage all trade terms related change requests, queries and pricing condition uploads in SAP.• Create post implementation reporting and tracking tools for customer migrations to new trade terms.• Provide financial assistance to Account Managers in the negotiation of commercial terms and conditions. Show less

  • Finance Lead – Overheads Project

    Aug 2011 - Sept 2011

  • PMO

    Aug 2010 - Jul 2011

  • Commercial Finance Analyst – Trade Terms Project

    Oct 2009 - Jul 2010
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  Reed Exhibitions

  Oct 2011 - Apr 2013

  Project Finance Manager

  ACHIEVEMENTS Managed an improvement project to develop a robust financial reporting & MI process within the IT division - leading to a better understanding of cost drivers, a shorter reporting cycle and significant improvement in data quality and internal control. . KEY RESPONSIBILITIES• Management of Improvement Project: - Create a strategic plan through detailed process- and gap analysis, specifying current process, inefficiencies, user requirements, proposed solutions and timelines. - Assign relevant roles and responsibilities to finance analysts which are aligned with individual skillsets. Continuously monitor and coordinate their progress to project plan. - Develop new tools to enable effective budget management and financial planning, leading to an overall cost reduction and a 0.2% variance versus budget. - Report monthly to the leadership team on KPI’s, progress against plan, improvements implemented and relevant project risks. - Undertake post implementation reviews to ensure project objectives and business requirements were met.• Line management of finance analysts to ensure they have a clear understanding of their roles, accountabilities and objectives and how these contribute to overall company performance.• Manage the monthly creation of finance and MI reporting packs and review with programme managers, group finance and financial controller.• Provide support to programme- and project managers with resource planning, financial analysis and identifying cost saving opportunities.• Review and approval of monthly reconciliations, capitalised project costs and chairman’s reports prepared by finance analysts.• Continuous analysis of process improvement- and business opportunities to assist the business in achieving target results. Show less

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  John Lewis Partnership (Business Service Centre Division)

  Jul 2013 - Mar 2014

  Project Manager

  ACHIEVEMENTS• Managed a project to implement a new financial process for all telecoms related costs, resulting in cost savings and improved transparency and internal control.• Created a baseline for over 150 IT maintenance contracts, providing a holistic view of all ongoing contracts and significantly improving forecast accuracy.KEY RESPONSIBILITIES• Management of Telecoms Project: - Facilitate and lead process review sessions and determine the implications of changes to the functional design. - Produce impact assessments and process design options based on user requirements. - Document all business requirements and create a project plan. Review with relevant stakeholders. - Deliver presentations to senior management and steering committees for project phase approval. - Run monthly review processes to enable formal assessment of progress to plan, impact of known and emerging risks and enabling timely intervention. - Coordinate activities of divisional finance teams, procurement and IT to ensure roles and responsibilities are fully understood and action plans are effectively executed. - Regularly review project risks and proactively amend action plans where necessary. - Facilitate and manage user testing to ensure acceptance of the new process by business stakeholders. • Provide support to IT and procurement for effective budget and contract management.• Detailed analysis to identify spending trends and cost saving opportunities.• Work with the business to monitor and evaluate key areas of risks and opportunities to enhance operational effectiveness. Show less

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  Bank of England

  Jun 2014 - Jul 2015

  Finance Business Partner

  ACHIEVEMENTS• Established and managed a new management reporting process for the Bank’s portfolio of 45 projects to facilitate alignment with business strategy and a standardised methodology. This led to a significant improvement in data quality and availability, assisting in effective decision making by the Executive Team.• Designed, implemented and managed a new financial reporting process for one of the Bank’s main strategic programmes, leading to a significant improvement in the year-end variance versus budget.KEY RESPONSIBILITIES• Initial system and process set up: - Perform in-depth needs analysis and requirement gathering by consulting with business stakeholders, identify appropriate solutions and prepare action plans. - Develop new finance models to facilitate financial reporting, forecasting and analysis for each of the Bank’s projects. - Re-design, map and implement a number of new monthly processes to ensure compliance to tight reporting deadlines. - Proactively manage the changing business environment by liaising and building strong relationships with all stakeholders, facilitating process owners’ acceptance of the new system. - Provide training to all project- and programme managers via workshops on the new finance methodologies, models and monthly processes.• Monthly analysis and presentation of key financial information to programme boards.• Assist business areas with the translation of business line strategy into financial plans and targets, offering robust and insightful challenge during the budgeting and forecasting process.• Strategic, long term planning with department heads regarding new project feasibility, portfolio budget distribution and funding prioritisation.• Challenge and influence senior management by providing insights and vision that drive continuous improvement to company controls and processes relating to projects. Show less

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  Freedom Adventures

  Jan 2016 - now

  Director Of Operations

  Ownership of organisational- and business development for an entrepreneurial adventure company based in Nepal. The aim is to develop a robust organisational foundation based on Western business practices to gain a sustainable advantage in a highly competitive market. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES• Detailed strategic analysis of the internal and external business environment. This includes an analysis of the industry, business capabilities, competition, stakeholders and competitive life cycle aimed at developing an effective business growth strategy.• Formulate the business strategy and provide guidance for implementation using the 4A model.• Develop new end-to-end business processes to support strategy implementation and improve overall organisational effectiveness and customer service. • Improve financial management practices by preparing detailed financial- and pricing analysis and creating new strategies for cost management and customer pricing.• Help define the marketing strategy which includes brand development, market segmentation and –positioning, consumer evaluation, and the 4P marketing approach.• Lead the business planning process by specifying monthly organisational targets, roles and responsibilities and relevant business metrics.• Support overall business development through identifying growth opportunities, unarticulated customer needs and how to meet them, and innovation possibilities. Show less

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  Old Mutual plc

  Sept 2017 - May 2019

  Senior Business Analyst - IFRS 17 Programme

  • Model and document current financial- and actuarial processes relating to IFRS reporting. Highlight biggest impact areas and assist with process solution design.• Create business requirement specifications for all impacted finance areas. Discuss with relevant stakeholders to ensure it is fit for purpose.• Review and analyze divergences from the as-is actuarial systems and processes with a view to standardize as part of programme implementation.• Assist Business- and Enterprise Architects with the overall conceptual solution design.• Develop a detailed project- and stakeholder engagement plan for the finance work stream.• Plan and conduct multiple workshops with key stakeholders to enable effective gap analysis.• Document finance- and actuarial value chains and context diagrams as part of the identification and communication of the current business architecture. • Own and develop relationships with key stakeholders, working with them to optimize and enhance process- and system integration. Show less

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  Sanlam

  Jun 2019 - Jun 2023

  Finance Transformation Specialist

  This role comprises the management of a wide-ranging portfolio of initiatives and projects aimed at improving the financial reporting environment at Sanlam Emerging Markets (SEM).• Initiate and manage a project aimed at improving information sharing, synergies, reporting and management of interdependencies within SEM’s finance project portfolio.• Implement a process- and gap analysis initiative aimed at improving the financial reporting integration between SEM and its main General Insurance subsidiary.• Define and implement a change management strategy and associated training activities to aid finance teams with adoption of accounting system changes.• Program manage the execution of various projects related to SEM’s TM1 Planning and Analytics tool• Oversee the implementation of SAGE 300 in SEM’s Life insurance portfolio• Manage the implementation of IFRS 17 in SEM’s Lebanese business unit.• Manage the implementation of the IFRS 17 accounting solution in all of SEM’s Life insurance entities.• Assist with the overall solution design and implementation of the new accounting architecture relating to the IFRS 17 program. Show less

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  Old Mutual Limited

  Jun 2023 - Nov 2023

  Programme Manager

  Programme management of a finance transformation programme, comprising the replacement of four key finance functional capabilities - Consolidation; Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting; Tax and Finance Allocations - with a unified financial system (OneStream).• Define and lead the implementation of a refined programme management approach to address identified weaknesses, including risk management approach, status reporting and project planning.• Manage the programme team of forty members, comprising seven workstreams. Ensure team members are clear on collective and individual goals and work effectively towards achieving desired outcomes.• Manage the programme roadmap to deliver on key strategic objectives – execute course correction measures where required.• Proactively identify and manage programme level risks. • Manage key business stakeholders, including Old Mutual executive and heads of departments. Ensure alignment across all business owners, balancing potentially competing priorities.• Critically evaluate key programme architecture and data model deliverables to achieve a fit-for-purpose solution design.• Manage relationship with OneStream implementation partner, facilitating alignment with short- and long-term programme objectives. Show less

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  G7 Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd

  Nov 2023 - Mar 2024

  Head of Corporate Finance

  Responsible for planning, managing, and monitoring G7’s corporate finance function to ensure it remains financially sustainable and able to execute on its wider strategy with respect to renewable energy projects.• Work with the executive team to develop, implement, and monitor the overall G7 strategic objectives.• Drive and monitor operational and financial results by working closely with the executive team and other key stakeholders.• Ensure that the company’s daily financial operations run efficiently. Implement and manage adequate internal controls to address financial and legal risk.• Coordinate, control and lead the preparation of operating budgets in line with strategic plans.• Define and improve financial business processes.• Foster a growth-oriented and positive working environment while keeping employees and management accountable to company policies, procedures, and guidelines.• Collaborate with executives on budgeting, forecasting and resource allocation to achieve favourable financial outcomes, including profitability, sustainability, cash flow, and efficient financial reporting and -controls.• Analyse and report on financial performance of G7 as required. Review and provide insight into monthly and quarterly financial reports.• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with key stakeholders, including staff, professional business contacts, financiers, and investors. Show less

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  Sanlam

  Jul 2024 - now

  Senior Project Manager