John Chester

Experience

• 

  Moore Paragon UK Ltd

  Jun 1986 - Jun 1989

  Factory Accountant

  Factory Accountant, Moore Paragon UK Ltd Portsmouth factory• Company part of the Moore Corporation, at that time the largest business forms company in the world. One of six UK factories reporting to London regional head office, printing register sets, restaurant pads and multi-part forms. My role encompassed:• All financial reporting for the site.• Quarterly forecasting and annual budgeting.• Control and monitoring of revenue & cost budgets.• Administration support - reception, secretarial, computer systems (six staff).• Forms Management - JP Morgan Bank• Period end stock taking - WIP, ND Stocks etc.• Local weekly payroll reconciliation Show less

• 

  Johnston Press

  Sept 2003 - Sept 2016

  Following re-structure of company along business vertical rather than regional lines, given responsibility for all financial operations for this vertical. Duties included:• Providing full financial support for Content Sales & Marketing (CS&M) Executive Board member including justification for price increases, sales growth and cost saving projections including ROI calculation, analysis of different revenue streams and challenge of accepted business assumptions;• Working in tandem with existing finance resource to identify and recommend potential efficiencies within the Marketing structure and develop methods of demonstrating return on investment in that area;• Monthly revenue reporting and variance analysis for all mainland group newspaper titles (150 in total);• Generation and justification of sales revenue forecasts for the business vertical (total annual value c. £65m)Previously responsible for Finance function firstly in Portsmouth and then for the whole South region (Hampshire & Sussex). Reporting jointly to the South Managing Director and Group Finance Director, duties included:• Monitoring and highlighting variations to budgeted and forecast performance throughout the business and recommending action to senior management where appropriate;• Responsibility for maintenance, update and accuracy of budget and annual forecast for South unit and coordination of reporting to Group Head Office in London;• Involvement in planning and costing projects concerning changes to the business;• Monthly Finance board reporting to Head Office including variance analysis and financial project tracking;• Managing the department – four staff including Financial Accountant and Trainee Management Accountant, before becoming the sole Finance team member in the South;• Monthly balance sheet reconciliations and financial controls;• Approval of purchase ledger expenditure across the region up to a certain level;• Capital expenditure justification Show less Asked by the Finance Director initially to provide sickness cover for the Financial Controller, then given a permanent contract when he didn’t return. Reporting to the Finance Director, duties included:• Detailed involvement in compilation of annual revenue & cost budgets including attendance of board-level budget review meetings;• Compilation and review of monthly management accounts including detailed revenue analysis, payroll analysis and production cost charge-out to cost centres;• Compilation and review of weekly statistics and reports for the Senior Management Team;• Supervision of and responsibility for trainee management accountant, including training plan and on-going study support;• Responsibility for revenue accounting and accounting systems, including setup & auditing of new revenue streams;• Invoicing sundry revenue and maintaining books for Reader Travel operation;• Divisional role including designing & implementing reports for use by other Finance Managers, maintaining the integrity of the invoicing system and preparing Excel budgeting models;• General financial modelling using Microsoft Excel;• Involvement in projects such as the incorporation of a new publishing company into the division, and implementation and administration of new till software across the division. Show less

  • Finance Manager & Finance Business Partner

    Mar 2013 - Sept 2016

  • Management Accountant

    Sept 2003 - Mar 2013
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  Pall Corporation

  Sept 2016 - now

  General Ledger Accountant

  Have moved into a permanent role following placement as temporary sickness cover. The role involves continual day-to-day use of SAP, including the following specific duties:• Goods receipt/invoice receipt reconciliation and clearing;• Journal construction in Excel (including use of pivot tables and lookups) and posting in SAP;• Balance sheet reconciliation of multiple accounts at month end;• Month end revaluation of inventory using variable exchange rate information;• Reconciliation of SAP to main company accounting system for French entity;• Various ad-hoc tasks including daily update of exchange rates, compiling expenses invoices, and dealing with audit queries. Show less