Olivier Brunet, Finance Expert in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Olivier Brunet

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

Location
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Toptal Member Since
March 21, 2022

Olivier launched his own consulting practice after a 25-year financial career in Eastern Europe, working as CFO or controller for Fortune 100 and CAC40 subsidiaries (Publics, Alstom, Mondelez), combined with audit lead roles at KPMG and Mazars. He enjoys freelancing because it provides him with the opportunity to meet fascinating entrepreneurs and work on challenging projects, allowing him to leverage his corporate best-practice experience to improve accounting and financial processes.

Cash Flow ConsultantInterim CFOFractional CFOFinancial ReportingAccountingFinancial ManagementBudgetingProfitability AnalysisRevenue & Expense ProjectionsCFOFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Financial ModelingMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)RiskMetricsInternal Control EvaluationFinance DirectorKPIBusiness Management ConsultingOutsourced CFOCAPEXCFO ConsultingPart-time CFOBusiness Proposal WritingOpEx ConsultingCFO Advisors

Career Highlights

Trainer
Leoron Institute
Interim CFO and Consultant for Entrepreneurs
Self-employed
Chief Financial Officer
Xclusiverse Technologies LLC

Education Highlights

Executive MBA
University of Bristol & Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees
Diploma
London School of Economics and Political Science
Master of Science Degree
EDHEC Business School

Certification Highlights

ACCA | Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
ACCA | Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

Case Studies

Work Experience

Trainer

2023 - PRESENT
Leoron Institute
  • Delivered training sessions on strategic finance for non-financial management topics to large companies in the UAE.
  • Held open training sessions in the UAE on governance, compliance, and risk management topics.
  • Delivered training sessions to large companies in the UAE on topics related to financial statement analysis.
Focus areas: Financial Management, Risk Management, Corporate Governance, Compliance

Interim CFO and Consultant for Entrepreneurs

2017 - PRESENT
Self-employed
  • Implemented monthly management reports at a leading European bicycle producer (€80 million in sales), with significant growth in the electric bike segment.
  • Redesigned accounting and financial processes to accelerate a monthly financial close and shortened it by around five days at the leading Romanian music recording house (€10 million in sales).
  • Lectured on financial management matters at the Business Faculty and the Entrepreneurship Academy in Bucharest, delivering valuable tools and insights to around 100 students.
  • Performed a sell-side M&A diligence for a Romanian IT-services related company, acquired by a global player, and a buy-side M&A for a European archiving service company who identified a target in Romania; dealt with values of a few MEUR.
Focus areas: Financial Reporting, IFRS Financial Reporting, Taxation, Budgeting, Modeling, Cash Management, Financial Training, Statutory Audits, Process Design, Process Redesign, Management Reports, Due Diligence, Income Statements, Balance Sheets, Cash Flow, Financials, Business Planning, Forecasting, Spreadsheets, Reporting, CAPEX, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Operating Expenses (OPEX), Revenue & Expense Projections, CFO, Interim CFO, Financial Modeling, Cash Flow Management, 13-week Cash Flow, Three-statement Modeling, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), Small Business Consultants, Business Models, M&A (Sell-side), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), M&A (Buy-side), Startup Consulting, Startups, Financing, Fractional CFO, Manufacturing, Finance, Business Services, Business Proposals, Pitch Decks, Due Diligence Consultant, Financial Reporting Dashboards, Internal Financial Reporting, Revenue Projections, Cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency Development, Valuation, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), DCF Modeling, Early-stage Startups, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Transfer Pricing, Depreciation, Pricing, Financial Analysis, Cash Flow Modeling, Revenue Management, Retail & Wholesale, Business to Consumer (B2C), B2B, Clothing, Cash Flow Forecasting, Travel, Hospitality, Consolidated Reporting, Subscriptions, Cash Flow Consultant, Business to Business (B2B)

Chief Financial Officer

2022 - 2023
Xclusiverse Technologies LLC
  • Revised the financial model and improved the forecasting file prepared by the founder to ensure consistent figures.
  • Implemented the financial accounting processes and thoroughly revised the initial accounting reports.
  • Implemented internal controls for the procurement process.
  • Managed the cash flow in the context of zero runway.
  • Prepared the financial slides for the fundraising deck of the startup.
Focus areas: Budgeting, Forecasting, Cash Flow, Cash Flow Management, Accounting, Business Models, Fundraising, Cash Flow Consultant

Chief Financial Officer

2011 - 2016
Publicis Groupe
  • Coordinated the seamless merger and integration of three Leo Burnett agencies into Publicis Romania.
  • Oversaw the growth of the business from €12 million to 24 million billings while maintaining the net margin at 4%.
  • Supported the Client Service Division in negotiating contracts with clients and supervised financial control over commercial activities.
  • Achieved clean statutory audit reports and a satisfactory first-time-ever internal audit by group auditors.
Focus areas: Financial Reporting, IFRS Financial Reporting, Accounting, Hyperion, Contract Review, Taxation, Profitability Analysis, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Budgeting, Internal Control Evaluation, Forecasting, Spreadsheets, Reporting, CAPEX, Operating Expenses (OPEX), Revenue & Expense Projections, CFO, Cash Flow Management, Financing, Finance, Business Services, Internal Financial Reporting, Revenue Projections, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Policies & Procedures Compliance, Depreciation, Pricing, Revenue Management, B2B, Cash Flow Forecasting, Consolidated Reporting, Business to Business (B2B), Controllership/Accounting, Controllership

Interim CFO

2010 - 2011
Alstom
  • Accompanied the implementation of a financial shared service center across Alstom's four business units in Romania, ensuring the smooth collaboration of the non-outsourced financial processes with the SSC setup, achieved with KPMG consultants in eight months.
  • Re-engineered the finance function to support the subsidiary of the worldwide leader in power production, Alstom Group, Power Division, with €15 million in revenue in the frame of a one-year contract.
  • Developed the 1st model of hedging effect forecasting on foreign currency projects, ensuring all relevant costs were included in the bid.
Focus areas: Financial Reporting, IFRS Financial Reporting, Internal Control Evaluation, Taxation, Shared Service Centers, Forecasting, Spreadsheets, Reporting, CAPEX, Operating Expenses (OPEX), Interim CFO, Cash Flow Management, Foreign Exchange (FX) Hedging, SAP FI, Financing, Finance, Policies & Procedures Compliance, Depreciation, B2B, Cash Flow Forecasting, Business to Business (B2B)

Internal Audit and Control Consultant

2009 - 2010
Groupama Insurance
  • Defined a new set of internal procedures and built the foundation for the proper setup of the internal audit function. Designed the first internal audit program and started its implementation in a time frame of six months.
  • Developed and implemented the collection of procedures across the entity resulting from the merger of three insurance companies and coordinated the elaboration of a sample of model procedures.
  • Changed the board’s view on the internal control system, role band attributions by clarifying the related functions (internal control, internal audit, risk management, quality management) and instruments (policies, procedures, norms, and rules).
  • Directed internal control assignments on key processes (claims management, fraud detection, IT reporting requirements, operations at the head office).
Focus areas: Internal Control Evaluation, Internal Audit Function, Spreadsheets, Compliance

Audit Manager

2008 - 2009
KPMG
  • Conducted audit assignments for one season on a diversified portfolio of clients, including those in the telecommunications, real estate, pharmaceutical, construction, and hospitality industries. Ten assignments performed.
  • Supervised the Cluj regional office, implementing commercial development activities.
  • Took part in the improvement of an internal client acceptance tool.
Focus areas: Statutory Audits, Group Reporting, Due Diligence, Spreadsheets, Reporting, Accounting, Finance, Business Services, Business Proposals, Depreciation, Financial Analysis, Data Analysis, Financial Data Analytics, B2B

Regional CFO For Central and Eastern Europe

2007 - 2008
GPV Groupe
  • Enhanced the financial supervision of the regional activity for the head office and addressed strategical organizational issues within GPV Romania. Total sales of €10 million.
  • Supervised the financial departments of the five subsidiaries of GPV Group, the European leader in envelope production, based in Central and Eastern Europe, coordinating 18 employees in total in the region.
  • Redesigned financial processes and tools for credit control (innovative use of a call center), including cash planning, intragroup reconciliation, and standard cost calculation and deviation analysis.
Focus areas: Cash Management, Financial Reporting, IFRS Financial Reporting, Taxation, Debtor & Creditor Management, Costing, Modeling, Budgeting, Capital Budgeting, Forecasting, Spreadsheets, Reporting, CAPEX, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Operating Expenses (OPEX), Revenue & Expense Projections, CFO, Cash Flow Management, Cost Accounting, Management Accounting, Credit Control, Internal Control, Financing, Manufacturing, Finance, Financial Reporting Dashboards, Internal Financial Reporting, Depreciation, B2B, Consolidated Reporting, Business to Business (B2B), Controllership/Accounting, Controllership

Head of Audit Department

2000 - 2006
Mazars
  • Conducted the growth of the audit division activity from a team of three and €100–200,000 revenue to a seven employee workforce and revenue nearing €1 million.
  • Directed the audit activities of the Romanian subsidiary of Mazars, a second-tier key audit player: acquisition due diligence, M&A on the buy and sell-side, consolidation package review, parent company reporting, and statutory account audit.
  • Enlarged portfolio of audit clients from four to about 50 companies in diversified operational areas, like FMCG, construction and related materials, retail, advertising and media, IT development, insurance broker, manufacturing, gaming, and services.
  • Promoted the firm within the French business community as treasurer and board member of the French Chamber of Commerce, treasurer of the French Expats Society, and realized advertorial and specialty articles for the MOCI and CCIFER magazines.
  • Prepared tenders for local or international bidding prospects such as Dacia-Renault, Gaz de France, and Lafarge and developed the consulting services business line.
Focus areas: Statutory Audits, Group Reporting, Business Development, Due Diligence, Reporting, Spreadsheets, M&A (Buy-side), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), M&A (Sell-side), Finance, Business Services, Business Proposals, Due Diligence Consultant, Depreciation, Financial Analysis, Data Analysis, Financial Data Analytics, B2B, Business to Business (B2B)

Financial Controller

1998 - 2000
Mondelez
  • Supervised translation of statutory to USGAAP accounts and reported financial statements to the parent company Kraft Foods International Inc., N.Y., USA, and the regional head office in Vienna, Austria.
  • Completed first-time consolidation process smoothly, with no question from head offices, at the 1999 year-end in Hyperion Enterprise application.
  • Managed 14 persons and developed Plant Cost Controlling and Marketing Controlling departments, easing tensions between Chief Accountant and team.
  • Developed and monitored internal control procedures; Liaised with internal (Philip Morris Corporate Audit Department) and external (PwC) auditors.
Focus areas: Accounting, Reporting, Group Reporting, Hyperion, Controller, Controlling, Spreadsheets, Internal Control, CAPEX, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Credit Control, Cost Accounting, Management Accounting, Manufacturing, Depreciation, B2B, Business to Business (B2B), Controllership/Accounting, Controllership

Audit Junior to Auditor-In-Charge (AIC)

1994 - 1997
KPMG
  • Executed audit assignments for a diversified portfolio of clients, mostly on local subsidiaries of multinational corporations.
  • Took part in due diligence assignments for the acquisition of local companies by foreign investors.
  • Joined the executive MBA program conceived as a career enhancement path with the University of Bristol and Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees.
Focus areas: Statutory Audits, Group Reporting, Financial Reporting, Spreadsheets, Accounting, Due Diligence Consultant, Data Analysis
1996 - 1997

Executive MBA in Business Administration

University of Bristol & Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees - Bristol, UK & Paris, France

1993 - 1994

Diploma in Accounting & Finance

London School of Economics and Political Science - London, UK

1991 - 1994

Master of Science Degree in Accounting & Finance

EDHEC Business School - Lille, France

FEBRUARY 2019 - PRESENT

ACCA | Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

ACCA | Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

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