María Cienfuegos

Experience

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  Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Germany

  Jan 2012 - Mar 2012

  Manager of Marketing Services

  •Temporary Marketing Manager dealing with the needs of both Spanish and German businesses operating in the respective countries•Translation of documents for both languages•Done as an internship at the same time as my degree.

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  Banco Santander

  Nov 2012 - Feb 2013

  Financial Analyst

  •Employed on an interim basis as a financial analyst within the German customer section of the Bank concentrating on potential money laundering•The work involved investigating German customers, or customers with an account in Germany, with high value transactions that could be suspicious•Acted as the liaison contact with other Bank departments and was expected to prepare information for internal meetings with senior management.

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  Soho House Group

  Aug 2013 - Feb 2015

  Head Waitress

  •Private members’ club, part of Soho House Group•Varied role comprising customer care and hospitality service

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  MarketCast LLC

  Oct 2014 - Mar 2015

  Freelance Translator

  •Employed as Spanish-English Freelance translator for eventually film projects.•Coding and organization of data from surveys done in Spanish speaking countries

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  ETM Group London

  Feb 2015 - Feb 2017

  Management Accountant

  • Costs, Sales and Budgeting deviations analysis. • P&L, Balance Sheet, Budges, Forecast review and preparation of Board Room meeting. • Important Hospitality Group with over 20 Limited Companies in London and over £20m turnover. - In charge of 8 sites preparing month end close processes, invoicing, journal entries and accounts reconciliation (SAGE). • Business partnering with non-financial teams (events, managers, head-chefs) to ensure accuracy of statutory accounts• Reporting direct to the company finance controller to assist in Consolidated Accounts.• Assist with the new business process and working with finance and business Managers. Show less

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  Double Dutch Drinks

  Feb 2017 - Aug 2018

  Head of Finance & Operations

  • Board meeting. Attendance, reports preparation, discussion: P&L, BS, Cash flow, Payable/Receivable, Sales per Sku, Wholesalers analysis, Exports analysis, Actual vs Forecast.• System implementation: Inventory Management Software (Unleashed) and Expenses software (Receipt Bank)• Analysis of the company's financial situation. Margins, ratios, COGS and rates rebate. • Production plan : Founders agreement based on sales forecast, raw materials arranged , finished goods allocation between logistic companies. • Daily stock review and trend analysis of competence for new products on the market. • Daily Purchase Orders completed and sent for delivery.• VAT Return, CMR's provider and HMRC point of contact. • Admin: Bank reconciliation, Expenses reports, customer/suppliers queries. Show less

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  Love Drinks Ltd

  Aug 2018 - Oct 2018

  Finance Manager

  • Ownership of the month end close process, including preparation of the management accounts pack for the finance director to review.• Responsible for the preparation of accurate budgets and re-forecasts.• Reporting regularly on KPIs and stock management to provide objective viewpoints for key stakeholders across the business.• Ad hoc project work as well as commercially driven process improvement.• Worked directly with senior stakeholders across the business to support with ongoing financial demands and projects. Show less

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  Harts Group

  Oct 2018 - Jul 2020

  Finance Manager

  • £14.5m Turnover (2019) • Well known hospitality group with 10 sites across London and £30m turnover. Restaurants including Barrafina, Parrillan, El Pastor and The Drop Wine bar as well as the iconic private members Club in Soho, Quo Vadis.• Working closely alongside the Finance Director and Operations Director in order to deliver accurate and effective financial information on a daily/weekly/monthly basis to the Board of Directors and Owners in relation to all ten restaurants across the group.• Responsible for the preparation and timely delivery of profit and loss accounts, forecasts, costs reports, balance sheets, budgets, cashflow reports and reconciliation of takings.• Provide regular financial analysis including in relation to product gross margins and costings, wages, overspend, percentage of turnover and discounting.• Proactive in identifying areas for improvement and creating solutions for financial information including providing training when needed to general managers of restaurants and head chefs.• Preparation of Statutory Accounts for external audit. • Leading on and successfully delivering the implementation of an effective procurement system (Procure Wizard).• Engage regularly with senior operators in front and back of house in order to maintain stock/assets levels.• Spot checks on stocktakes throughout the business and reconciliation of bonded warehouse.• Assisting with the implementation of new systems (input data, tools for managers, expenses, etc) as well as the installation of a more detailed fixed asset register. Show less

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  Freddie's Flowers

  Oct 2020 - Jun 2023

  • FY22 Turnover: £49M UK; €12M EU; $0.4M • Working closely alongside the CFO and FD to deliver accurate and effective financial & operational information on a daily/weekly/monthly basis to the Board in relation to the UK, Germany, Holland and US subsidiaries. • Responsible for the preparation and timely delivery of month end reports and analysis with a particular focus on margin, costs and stock. • Strongly involved with the operational side of the business including the warehouse, packaging, and logistics. • Business partnering with HoD’s to address cost overspend, efficiencies, and any other possible business improvement. • Monthly presentation to deliver results to the board and external investors and directors.• Product margin analysis on a weekly basis (sales, deliveries, costs, availability, and gross profit)• Assisting with forecasting. Working with other departments to sign our quarterly forecast with different scenarios. • Overall responsibility of the management of stock including weekly meetings to review levels, stock-takes accuracy, goods out & in and storage. • Assisting with the import of goods coming from different countries. • Responsible for implementing processes to improve efficiency including new software (Approval Max) • Assisting with external audit and procedures. • Responsible for submitting VAT returns in all operating territories. Multicurrency experience. • One direct report; Two indirect reports. Show less

  • Senior Finance Manager

    Oct 2020 - Jun 2023

  • Financial Reporting Manager

    Oct 2020 - May 2021
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  Liberty Wines Ltd

  Jun 2023 - Jul 2024

  Financial Controller

  • FY24 Turnover: £134M (£122M in FY23)• Highly commercial role. Focused on the operational side of the business, analysing big overspends and how to reduce them. Especially in the new bonded warehouse. • Management of four two direct reports, including two part-qualified Accountants.• Production of monthly management accounts of Liberty Wines and subsidiaries. Including reporting, variance commentary and post month end cost report analysis with heads of departments/FD.• Responsibility for overhead costs control, business partnering with budget holders across the company to ensure budget compliance, challenge assumptions and report to senior leaders• Ownership of the annual budgeting process across the Commercial, Operational and Support teams• Partnering with the Financial Director to analyse and critically challenge expenditure across the business, improving profitability.• Delivering improvement projects within Finance and supporting non-finance teams to identify suitable areas for cost improvements• Ad hoc analysis as required by FD/MD or other senior leadership team members. Show less

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  Prime Time

  Aug 2024 - now

  Head of Finance