Experience

Besser

• United States
• Machinery Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Accounting Controller

  • Mar 2020 - Present

  Alpena, Michigan, United States



Decorative Panels International

• United States
• Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Plant Controller

  • Mar 2018 - Mar 2020

  Alpena, Michigan



Penda

• United States
• Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director of Finance

  • Sep 2009 - Mar 2018

  Portage, Wisconsin Corporate support for three Midwest facilities and two Mexico facilities. Focus on financial modeling & analysis, capital budgeting, project management, business evaluations, market and industry research and operations audit. Shadowed CFO in succession planning. • Synchronize daily production reporting with standard costs, correlating non-financial KPI metrics to financials. Establish target staffing levels and machine capacity utilization. Plant managers able to gauge financial results… Show more Corporate support for three Midwest facilities and two Mexico facilities. Focus on financial modeling & analysis, capital budgeting, project management, business evaluations, market and industry research and operations audit. Shadowed CFO in succession planning. • Synchronize daily production reporting with standard costs, correlating non-financial KPI metrics to financials. Establish target staffing levels and machine capacity utilization. Plant managers able to gauge financial results any time during the month based on operations metrics. • Forecast bank covenant ratios and line of credit availability. • Produce weekly cash flow forecasts aiding in paydown of debt and funding of acquisitions. Authorize AP disbursements and supervise AR collections. • M&A diligence experience on both the buy-side and sell-side. Explain business trends and substantiate asset realizable values.

• Plant Controller

  • Feb 2003 - Sep 2009

  Lapeer, Michigan Controller at the $25M Lapeer plant (formerly Durakon Industries). Report to the Corporate Controller with dotted line reporting to the CFO. Monitor and direct financial activities of the plant and the Engineering department. Work closely with US and Mexico operations to evaluate new product opportunities and measure existing product profitability. • Supervised Engineering and Manufacturing cleanup of 800 Bills of Material, enabling the ERP system to generate accurate… Show more Controller at the $25M Lapeer plant (formerly Durakon Industries). Report to the Corporate Controller with dotted line reporting to the CFO. Monitor and direct financial activities of the plant and the Engineering department. Work closely with US and Mexico operations to evaluate new product opportunities and measure existing product profitability. • Supervised Engineering and Manufacturing cleanup of 800 Bills of Material, enabling the ERP system to generate accurate costing for the first time in company history. • Redesigned quoting system to provide feedback loop to cost estimator and improve the accuracy of quotes submitted for new products to ensure profitability. • Reduced staffing and hours required for end-of-month financial statement generation by introducing standardized journal entries and up-stream ERP reporting from the shop floor. • Report monthly operating results to management team and explain all variances.



DAVCO Technology, LLC

• Controller and Assistant Treasurer

  • Jun 1999 - Feb 2003

  Saline, Michigan Plant Financial Officer and Information Systems Manager. Reported to the corporate CFO located in New York with dotted line reporting to the President. Responsible for the day-to-day financial, accounting, and IT activities of the organization. Supervised a staff of 2 accountants and the IT manager. • Designed and implemented budgeting system from ground-up in which department heads assumed accountability for establishing and reaching forecasted results each month, and managers… Show more Plant Financial Officer and Information Systems Manager. Reported to the corporate CFO located in New York with dotted line reporting to the President. Responsible for the day-to-day financial, accounting, and IT activities of the organization. Supervised a staff of 2 accountants and the IT manager. • Designed and implemented budgeting system from ground-up in which department heads assumed accountability for establishing and reaching forecasted results each month, and managers aligned expenditures of the organization with strategic goals. • As project team leader, led a QAD MFG/PRO ERP system implementation that resulted in a 50% reduction in labor and 25% reduction in inventory. Unified sales, purchasing, manufacturing, materials control, and accounting to build a cross-functional knowledge base. • Established month-end closing documented procedures that reduced time of financial statement compilation by 60%. Also took the initiative to program a full set of ERP financials, eliminating duplicate data entry into Excel spreadsheets. • QS9000 internal auditor specializing in Internal Audit functionality. Supervised development of procedures and work instructions for 3/4 of QS elements.

• Cost Accountant

  • Jul 1998 - Jun 1999

  Saline, Michigan Conducted cost/variance/profit analysis for manufactured goods. Prepared financial statements for external reporting and Penske parent company. Formulated cost center overhead rates. • Implemented full costing system online, allowing instant pricing decisions to be made and conversion costs to be applied automatically. Costed both repetitive and job manufacturing. • Performed analyses of sales trends and MRP requirements, resulting in inventory reductions that generated… Show more Conducted cost/variance/profit analysis for manufactured goods. Prepared financial statements for external reporting and Penske parent company. Formulated cost center overhead rates. • Implemented full costing system online, allowing instant pricing decisions to be made and conversion costs to be applied automatically. Costed both repetitive and job manufacturing. • Performed analyses of sales trends and MRP requirements, resulting in inventory reductions that generated $400K in positive cash flow. • Developed customer pricing and assisted VP of Sales with contract pricing negotiations for 33% of active part numbers, producing a 5% product line revenue increase.



Hathaway House

• Comptroller

  • Sep 1995 - Jul 1998

  Blissfield, Michigan Managed the treasury, accounting, HR, and IT activities of a $2M, 100-employee food service establishment with branch operations in fine dining, dinner theatre, catering, and casual dining. • Developed procedures for increasing the speed and efficiency of all accounting. Streamlined monthly closing process to 3 days. Prepared financial statements and ensured conformity to GAAP. • Managed daily operations and security for point of sale LAN network



Forest Health Services

• Senior Accountant

  • Dec 1993 - Sep 1995

  Ann Arbor, Michigan Responsible for the general ledger and IT activities of the organization. Promoted from Accounts Payable Clerk after 1 year of employment. Worked in A/P, A/R, Billing, and General Ledger. Reported to the CFO.