Experience

David Ross Education Trust

• United Kingdom
• Education Administration Programs
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Chief Finance Officer (interim)

  • Feb 2023 - Present



Academy Transformation Trust

• United Kingdom
• Education Administration Programs
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Acting National Finance & Operating Director

  • Feb 2022 - Sep 2022

  BriefTo support the CEO and Trust Board in the strategic development and operation of the Trust. To lead all non-academic operations (finance, HR, estates, ICT) and central service functions (governance, data protection, company secretary) of the trust which consists of 22 academies (11 primary, 11 secondary) and 1 FE college; with c2,500 employees and 11,500 pupils; and with an annual budget of c£74m. Delivery• Management of a team of 70 finance, estates, ICT, HR and governance professionals• Led the transition from a highly centralised scheme of financial management to Principals within the academies being accountable. This required an overhaul of the existing budget model and reporting framework, and the revision to current operating procedures.• Introduced the FOCSI (Finance and Operations, Challenge, Support and Intervention) meetings to allow all operational directors and principals to hold each other to account. • Oversight of the procurement of a trust wide, comprehensive Management and Information System (Bromcom).• As Data Protection Officer, led the initial production of the record of processing activities, leading to the next stage of the project in terms of completion of the data protection impact assessments and privacy notices.• Led the development of the revised pay policy, separating pay and performance and introduced health and well-being initiatives.Additional responsibilities• Designated as the Trusts Data Protection Officer and Company Secretary Show less

• Chief Finance & Operating Officer

  • Nov 2020 - Feb 2022

  BriefTo lead strategically on all aspects of the Trust’s finance, estates, procurement, income generation and ICT resources. To make a leading contribution to the development of a culture which focuses on the individual professionalism of our people, the robustness of our policies, systems and processes and the effectiveness of our business operations. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and Board of Trustees.Delivery• Management of a team of 45 finance, estates and ICT professionals• Led the development of the 3-year procurement strategy across the Trust, focusing on centralising contracts, outsourcing key non-educational functions and driving efficiencies and savings; whilst ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. Savings achieved of c£1m p.a.• Development and roll-out of a new income generation strategy for the Trust, focusing on maximising income from sports and lettings c£400k p.a., business efficiencies c£1m p.a., grants c£100k p.a., fundraising and corporate relations.• Instigated the development and roll out of the 3 year ICT strategy in 2019; which led to significant improvements across ICT Service, infrastructure, end user devices and applications, and security. Rationalisation of multiple systems. • Promoted the continued roll-out of our estates strategy, with the Trust condition liability reducing from £45m to £15m across the 4 year period. The strategy focused on ensuring capital investment was satisfying educational need; health and safety; energy, sustainability and growth; procurement; improved systems and processes; and financial sustainability (including the identification of possible new builds and land sales).• Identified the need for and led the implementation of a new training platform, tailored to the needs of the finance and operations function, allowing all colleagues to participate in group wide and individually led training. • Implementation of a new risk management policy and procedures across the Trust. Show less

• Chief Financial Officer

  • Jul 2018 - Nov 2020

  BriefTo support the CEO and Trust Board in the provision of high quality leadership and management of the Trust’s finances to enable the Trust to run smoothly, efficiently and effectively in the delivery of The Trust’s core aims. To deliver a recovery in the financial position of the Trust. To lead the promotion and delivery by the whole organisation of good financial management so that public money is safeguarded at all times and used appropriately, economically, efficiently and effectively. Delivery• Successful leadership of a team of 20 finance professionals• Positive implementation of a new a multi-academy (site) 3-year budget model; via the splitting of the traditional academy budget, centralising operational spend, incorporating key performance targets, and the adoption of GAG Pooling (for fairer funding purposes), creation of a centralised purchase ledger team.• Highly successful financial management of the Trust budget and cashflow, maximising profit performance, and turning around a deficit on reserves of £4.5m in August 2018 to a surplus of £1.5m in four years; whilst allowing spend to continue on educational improvements and resulting in significant improvements in Ofsted ratings across the Trust.• Led the improvement in treasury management; ensuring loans were fully repaid in accordance with the lenders terms and reporting monthly on the forecast position.• Development of integrated curriculum financial planning into the 3-year budget model to allow for the interrogation and benchmarking against trust and national targets, and ultimately identification of efficiency savings, of the academy curriculum model• Reorganisation of the finance team structure for a lower on-going operating cost c£100k p.a..• Successful project management of two large upgrades to key accounting (PSF) and budgetary (IMP) software.• Creation of the finance regulations and scheme of delegation; building a strong financial control environment. Show less

• Trustee Director

  • Jul 2017 - Jul 2018

  Trustee appointed to focus upon the clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the Trust. To hold executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the Trust and to ensure effective financial performance. Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee.



XPO

• Transportation/Trucking/Railroad
• 700 & Above Employee

• UK & Ireland Head of Corporate Finance & Tax

  • Dec 2017 - Jul 2018

  BriefAccountable for all statutory reporting and technical accounting advice, taxation matters (CT, VAT, ET, CITEX), corporate finance activities, insurance and pensions across the UK and Ireland. Matrix reporting to the UK Corporate Legal Director, US and French CFOs.Delivery• Leadership of a group of 8 accounting and tax professionals• Accountable for the management of corporate tax c£5m p.a. and VAT c£100m p.a. Successful reduction in the HMRC risk rating, through a process of openness and stronger governance procedures.• Successful project management of FRS101 early adoption in Dec-14.• A highly experienced finance leader (budgeting & forecasting) for the corporate entities; which includes two defined benefit schemes, an active self-insurance scheme and the wider Corporate Team activities.• Highly successfully pension scheme merger; resulting in a £30m one-off gain due to negotiated RPI to CPI switch for pensions in payment; coupled with a corporate finance restructuring exercise to increase covenant strength. • Simplification and rationalisation of UK and Ireland company structure; with c40 entities restructured and liquidated.• Provision of Pension Scheme budgetary control and monitoring; quarterly covenant reports; and the management of the accounting function for the Common Investment Fund.• Part of the leadership team of the XPO Pensions Governance Committee; to ensure the successful operation of XPO’s DC pension arrangements, including auto-enrolment (c17k members since inception in Nov-14), appropriateness of default investment fund and target outcome and contribution levels, and to reduce risk via the embedding of appropriate controls procedures. • Finance leader of the legacy (c£4m) and live (c£11m) self-insured provisions. • Provision of IFRS and USGAAP accounting advice; and the implementation of SOX control procedures over the areas managed. Show less

• Non Executive Director - Inveralmond Insurance Limited

  • Mar 2017 - Jul 2018

  Employer-nominated non-executive director for the legacy self-insurance provision.

• Trustee Director - XPO Pension Scheme

  • Nov 2016 - Jul 2018

  Employer-nominated trustee; to ensure the successful governance of pension matters for c12k members and c£1bn assets.

• UK & Ireland Corporate Controller & Tax Manager

  • Aug 2009 - Nov 2017

  BriefResponsible for all statutory reporting and technical accounting advice and corporate taxation matters across the UK. Matrix reporting to the UK and French CFOs.Delivery• A tax leader, who seeks to minimise the annual tax cost, via the optimisation of tax reliefs and non-aggressive tax planning; such as maximising the use of tax losses post acquisition (c£7.8m); the review and reclassification of former IBA claims for embedded capital allowance/capitalised revenue expenditure (c£1.5m) and R&D claims (c£10k p.a.).• Identified the need and project managed the implementation of new accounts production software (OneSource) to increase efficiency, standardise and semi-automate production of the annual statutory accounts (c+30 entities).• Highly effective implementation of corporate tax software (AlphaTax) to increase efficiency and control), ensure iXBRL requirements are met and to reduce the external cost of the annual tax return production and submissions. Show less



XPO Logistics Europe

• France
• Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage
• 700 & Above Employee

• Senior Internal Auditor

  • Jan 2008 - Jul 2009

  Responsible for the completion of UK and European financial internal audit assignments. Developed audit plans to focus primarily on key risk areas and probable areas of control weaknesses. All audit findings communicated in a logical and succinct manner with key management; with timescales set for remedial actions to be completed and reviewed. Responsible for the completion of UK and European financial internal audit assignments. Developed audit plans to focus primarily on key risk areas and probable areas of control weaknesses. All audit findings communicated in a logical and succinct manner with key management; with timescales set for remedial actions to be completed and reviewed.



Deloitte

• Business Consulting and Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Audit Manager

  • Oct 2005 - Dec 2007

  Responsible for the management of an audit portfolio of large corporate entities in the construction, utility and recruitment industries and specialising in pension schemes. Responsible for the management of an audit portfolio of large corporate entities in the construction, utility and recruitment industries and specialising in pension schemes.



RSM Tenon now RSM UK

• Accounting
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Audit Senior

  • Jul 2001 - Sep 2005

  Responsible for the provision of audit, accounting and corporate tax for SME’s in the North West, and specialising in pension scheme auditing. Responsible for the provision of audit, accounting and corporate tax for SME’s in the North West, and specialising in pension scheme auditing.