Orla Cavanagh
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Dublin, Ireland
Toptal member since September 7, 2021
Orla is a chartered accountant, MBA holder with extensive experience partnering and advising at the C-suite level in major global retail organizations like Primark and Tesco. She is keen on business performance analysis, leading budgeting processes, and modeling strategic initiatives. In 2020, she led FP&A processes that reduced operating costs and cash outflows for a global fashion retailer. Orla joined Toptal to work on challenging financial and strategic projects with a diverse client base.
Career Highlights
Education Highlights
Certification Highlights
Case Studies
Hypothetical Investment for Client C in the French Stock Market
Client A Valuation Analysis
Project A Investment Metric Summary
Expertise
- Board Presentations
- Business Partnerships
- Data Visualization
- Executive Presentations
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Modeling
- Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
- Strategic Planning
Work Experience
Business Model Consultant
Bowsy
- Consulted with a startup graduate recruitment platform to advise on a more sustainable business model.
- Distilled the current business model into key business model levers and decisions to help the client understand their own model in depth.
- Performed market research to understand the impact of each choice within each business model lever.
Internal Strategy Consultant
Primark
- Served as a key member of the project team and delivered the digital strategy master plan. Acted as the main presenter on the pitch team and was responsible for obtaining investment sign-off from the parent company for the strategic initiative.
- Owned and developed this investment's business case and financial modeling, working closely with cross-functional business representatives to strategically and commercially interrogate assumptions and proposals to produce the highest quality output.
- Carefully managed conflicting stakeholder groups through the project to ensure all parties were satisfied with the final proposal.
Head of Finance Business Partnering and Commercial Finance
Primark
- Led the company's global budget and forecasting process 2020 under highly unpredictable circumstances and was central in the ongoing planning and modeling of immediate sales, profitability, and cash projections through the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Played a critical role during the pandemic in supporting business owners with decisions and actions to minimize cash outflows through store closures. Overall, operating costs were reduced by over 50% and cash outflows by over 80% in six weeks.
- Transitioned from peer to team leader in a short period of time and mobilized the team to be more effective with a clear and aligned vision under difficult and remote circumstances.
- Built a strong network of senior relationships across the business, which has improved the team’s brand and has facilitated the team’s ability to influence decisions.
- Supported the leadership team with numerous formal updates to the parent company board. Prepared and managed the content for these sessions, which reviewed and critically evaluated the company’s reaction to the pandemic.
Commercial Finance Manager
Primark
- Established the company’s cost base transparency by preparing and presenting a pack outlining detailed cost trends to the senior leadership. This proposal allowed us to identify areas of opportunity to reduce costs and improve profitability.
- Sourced and analyzed consistent retail market data across all the countries in which we operate. This analysis allowed the company to critically evaluate performance in each country with a much greater degree of accuracy and confidence.
- Performed a detailed and objective review of the company’s financial performance and presented key insights to the senior leadership. This review has driven decisions around product and market strategies.
- Supported numerous high-profile events, including sessions with the parent company and internal corporate conferences, by writing scripts and preparing presentation materials for the leadership team.
Property and Capital Finance Manager
Tesco
- Played a pivotal part in persuading the parent company to approve capital spending for a store refresh program by working numerous scenarios and building a refresh schedule that met required ROI and payback targets.
- Conducted a review of Tesco Ireland’s retail staff productivity metrics to provide complete clarity to the leadership team on its use and appropriateness for the Irish business.
- Created a new business case template that was significantly easier for business owners to use and understand.
eCommerce Finance Business Partner
Tesco
- Influenced the head of eCommerce to make profit-enhancing changes to the business–new slot pricing strategy, minimum spend implementation, and opening and closing of key profit-making and profit diluting slots.
- Created a new review process for sales, payroll, and profitability at a store level for the senior retail management—this drove transparency and understanding of costs across the business.
- Supported the head of eCommerce and the head of distribution within all areas of financial support.
Senior Financial Accountant
Tesco Ireland
- Made significant period-end process improvements, reducing journal postings and ensuring 100% of on-time period-end closings.
- Delivered 20 sets of statutory accounts (on time and accurately) for this large grocery retailer with circa $3 billion in revenue.
- Led new key financial control process for the company, working cross-functionally to deliver full internal controls audit to the group with an exceptionally high standard.
Financial Analyst
Bombardier
- Acted as key finance point of contact on a number of large aircraft contracts, ensuring accurate reporting of revenue and costs and advising the procurement team as such.
- Partnered with auditors to ensure a smooth year-end audit process and supported the company's statutory requirements delivery.
- Provided several period-end process improvements, which drove time savings and efficiency for the company.
Audit Associate
EY
- Led and delivered high-quality audits for a range of audit clients.
- Coached junior team members on the audit process and ensured they were appropriately trained.
- Represented the company professionally and efficiently during all audit engagements.
Education
Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) — Scholarship Recipient (GPA: 3.82)
Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School - Dublin, Ireland
Bachelor's Degree with First-class Honors in Accounting and Finance
Newcastle University - Newcastle, UK
Certifications
Associated Chartered Accountant (ACA)
Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland
Skills
Finance
Accounting, Management Accounting, Financial Modeling, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Budgeting, Taxation, Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting, Commercial Finance, Investment Portfolio Management, Fundamental Analysis, Private Company Valuation, P&L Forecasting, Balance Sheets, Cash Flow Modeling, Cash Flow Forecasting, Capital Budgeting, Data Analysis, Three-statement Modeling, Financial Management, Internal Audits, Forecasting, Revenue & Expense Projections, Finance Process Improvement, UK GAAP, Revenue Modeling, Financial Consolidation, Pricing
Output Software
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word
Data & Analysis Software
Tableau, IBM Cognos, SQL, Hyperion
Other
Performance Management, Business Partnerships, Financial Analysis, Board Presentations, Financial Presentations, Executive Presentations, Data Visualization, Reporting, Strategic Planning, Storytelling, RapidMiner, Derivatives, Business Law, Corporate Law, Auditing, Consulting, Project Management, Digital Transformation, Business Ethics, Investment Manager, Human Resources (HR), Marketing, Corporate Planning, Business, Data Analytics, Strategy, Digital Marketing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Pitch Decks, Team Leadership, Coaching, Decision Support, Strategic Initiatives, Property Finance, Business Cases, Business Modeling, Platforms, Decision Modeling, Stock Market, Technical Analysis, Discounted Cash Flow Analysis, Industry Analysis, Investment Analysis, Organizational Behavior (OB), Leadership, Human Capital Management, Startups, Finance, Business Strategy, Cash Flow Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Dashboard Design, Audits, Business Models, Startup Consulting, Analysis, Process Improvement, Financial Controls & Processes, Journal Entries, Group Reporting, Statutory Reporting, Internal Control, IFRS Consolidation, Period-end Closings, Accounts Receivable, Annual Budgets, P&L Analysis, Financials, Digital, Digital Marketing Strategy, Business to Business (B2B), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Business Plan Consulting, Online Sales, Pricing Models, eCommerce, Fashion & Beauty, Business to Consumer (B2C), Digital Strategy, Enterprise, Global Strategy, Corporate Strategy, Execution, Operations, Supply Chain
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