Gabriela Castro ACA

Experience

• 

  American Express

  Jun 2008 - Jul 2009

  Financial Analyst

  Achieved the Q1 2009 Leadership in Action Award for driving results and demonstrating personal excellence. Received a graduate job offer and funding as part of the American Express Industrial Placement Sponsorship before completing my final year at university.-One year placement in the International Partnerships and Rewards Team. Responsible for financial analysis, forecasting of operational expenses, tracking of re-engineering projects, completed business cases and sensitivity analysis analysis with input from business development team, and delivered a presentation on the impact of the recession on performance, . Show less

• 

  American Express

  Jun 2010 - Oct 2013

  Pricing and Sales decision support role for corporate products led out of Europe.-Shared creative ideas for improvement. One of these was an impactful recommendation on speed of pay incentives. The end business case showed a multi-million cost saving and further potential to roll out this initiative worldwide. -Presented analysis of a large European Bank partnership with recommendations that drove the renegotiation strategy for improved contract terms.-Received exceptional feedback from the German Sales Director and the Nordic Country Manager. -Supported over 100 corporate pricing deals in 2012 to win new and extend existing contracts. Contracts varied in complexity and included local market, multi-regional, strategic sales, and top global clients.-This role included a discussion and negotiation of contract terms and calculating client profitability followed by a presentation of the P&L to senior finance and business leaders for approval. Show less Decision support role involving investment appraisals of partnerships deals, membership rewards and marketing campaigns across twenty international markets. Obtained significant exposure to deal making and the modelling of the financial implications of commercial opportunities. -Worked closely with Marketing and the Business Development teams in creating new proposals.-Calculated and presented the financial valuation of deals and initiatives to form part of the business case.-Created sensitivity reviews on key drivers to determine the variability of possible performance. -Explained the workings of the models and the impact of negotation terms on profitability.-Supported on the management of the rewards liability and the associated P&L impact. -Prepared analysis that contributed to securing key contracts with clients such as Cathay Pacific. -Improved the multi-market model by connecting data via TM1 thereby reducing manual updates.-Contributed to the development of membership rewards as a commodity. Show less

  • Senior Pricing Analyst

    Sept 2011 - Oct 2013

  • Financial Analyst

    Jun 2010 - Sept 2011
• 

  MRC Investing Realty LLC

  Oct 2013 - Nov 2015

  Real Estate

  Particpated in various property investments.

• 

  Alzheimer's Society

  Jan 2015 - Jun 2015

  Management Accountant

  FTC (fixed-term contract) in the Charity sector providing support to the Fundraising Department. This short-term role was strategically taken to gain exposure to a new industry whilst adding further accounting experience during my ACA exams.-Provided monthly reviews with budget holders on their accounts and performance.-Supported 2015/16 budget and 5-year planning process.-Co-ordinated month-end for Fundraising including the import of income figures across systems.-Completing month-end reports and variance analysis.-Posting journals and account corrections.-Supported year-end reporting providing advice on accountancy adjustment (accruals & deferrals). Show less

• 

  Reed.co.uk

  Nov 2015 - Oct 2016

  Promotion to Manager of a newly created FP&A function, leading a team of financial analysts. Gained valuable experience working for an online business involving collaboration with Product Owners and Website Developers. -Exposure to planning meetings with the CFO, FD, and Managing Director. Working for a private company offered the opportunity to build close relationships with senior leaders.-Due to my contributions to enhanced pricing strategies and revenue growth plans, I was invited to join the company bonus and share plan scheme. -Created the budget and 3-year plan that influenced the strategic revenue direction.-Put in place a refined process to set targets for the sales teams. This improved the target alignment and sales behaviour by having pay aligned to strategic objectives-Worked alongside the Head of Finance to champion lean principles and analytics.-Monitoring of tech investments involving attendance of scrums and stand ups.-Participated in cross-team collaboration and discussions on product creation. Show less Supporting the Technology and Product teams with business cases, KPIs, and new developments. This was a new role that aligned finance with the rest of the business and senior management.-Won the 2016 award for having the biggest impact on the organisation.-Highlighted the opportunity for new pricing strategies on customer and product segments. This led to the first structured online pricing test and the creation of a new pricing team. -The new pricing strategies opened up significant revenue growth opportunities. -Created project tracking that allowed performance and risk to be reported to the board and resulted in halting investment in a loss-making project. -Focused on supporting the business with quantifying new developments and IT investments and updating the directors accordingly. Attended project scrums and stand-ups.-Obtained knowledge on aggregators, online business models, monetisation and website development. Show less

  • Financial Planning & Analysis Manager

    Jun 2016 - Oct 2016

  • Project Financial Analyst

    Nov 2015 - Jun 2016
• 

  Arcadis UK & Ireland

  Aug 2017 - Aug 2019

  A Senior Finance Business Partner role that had oversight of the Rail Finance Business Partnering team and divisional P&L. This involved developing and leading a team of 9 (including 2 Finance Managers). -Responsible for managing project profitability, producing management information, overseeing month-end, and supporting the Business Directors in the delivery of their financial plans. -Established strong relationships across the rail business, including regular discussions with project managers. -Providing informative discussions on the Rail P&L during monthly reviews led by the UK CFO and various senior leaders across the Rail business.-Working closely with the Operational Director to discuss and improve project issues and performance.-Organised and led a business trip with several colleagues to Manila, Philippines. Presented key insights to the UK CFO on new ways of working to improve our performance and explained key cultural differences. Show less Supported the Infrastructure team on rail projects and HS2 during a significant period of change and restructure. Contributed to the development of the team and became the trusted lead to provide cover for the Infrastructure Financial Controller. - Monitoring a large portfolio of rail projects ensuring accurate month-end reporting. Reviewed project accounting and performance, reporting risks to the Operational Director.-Driving team engagement and supporting with training needs. Helping project managers adopt new finance practices. -Creating and handing over new reports to the team, whilst offering continued support and oversight. -Improved working capital through regular reviews and challenges of debts and invoices. Going above and beyond by personally calling up key suppliers to ensure material cash payments were received at quarter and year-end.-Undertook a secondment onto a newly formed HS2 joint venture between Arcadis, Setec, and COWI. This involved financial oversight, account creation, compliance, and the management of large cash flows. -Participated in regular travel to Birmingham to meet with the HS2 project team and directors to report on material transactions and any impact on overall performance. Show less

  • Senior Finance Business Partner

    Jan 2019 - Aug 2019

  • Finance Business Partner

    Aug 2017 - Dec 2018
• 

  DS Smith

  Feb 2020 - May 2020

  Treasury Accountant

  A challenging role, delivering the treasury accounting requirements as an interim cover. This role provided additional technical accounting experience through completing numerous month-end and year-end tasks.-Accounting for numerous transactions across legal entities related to the sale of the plastics business. -Managing reporting across IT2 (Treasury System), SAP (Local ERP), and HFM (Group Reporting). -Executing the accounting of Step Plans and Treasury Tax Notices.-Investigating differences and clearing intercompany loans.-Adjusting receivables, payables, and loan values.-Reviewing loan setups and LIBOR curves.-Ensuring interest is accurately capitalised or expensed according to instrument.-Recording gains/losses on hedging instruments.-Completing various Balance Sheet reconciliations and Disclosures. Show less

• 

  Network Rail

  Sept 2020 - Jul 2021

  Financial Controller

  A fixed term contract in Capital Delivery Finance in the Wales and Western region. Focused on creating and advancing the finance strategy and various related workstreams.-Delivered the W&W Capital Finance Strategy. -Supported the Capital Finance Director with analysis and representation on various leadership forums.-Provided finance advice at the early stages and development of a highly strategic project requiring the creation of a new financial model.-Managed the rolling forecast and budget consolidation process for Capital Delivery. -Recommended and started an initiative to implement Power BI to improve reporting efficiencies.-Chaired working groups to improve processes and open up discussions around change. -Developed the Capital Finance site to enhance collaboration and sharing of information.-Delivered a KPI model and further benchmark reporting.-Prepared briefing documents and presentations to provide leadership updates. Show less