Owen White, Finance Expert in La Roche-Chalais, France
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Owen White

Verified Expert  in Finance

Finance Expert

Location
La Roche-Chalais, France
Toptal Member Since
January 25, 2022

Owen is a Chartered Accountant with commercial and leadership skills gained from over 20 years of experience in IT, telco, consulting, and health sectors. His major highlights include mergers and acquisitions due diligence for a €140 million acquisition by Logica Plc, leading the bidding and negotiations for contracts worth over £1 billion, and identifying and delivering annual efficiencies of over £60 million. Owen is eager to find fresh challenges and collaborate with diverse clients.

Financial ForecastingInterim CFOAccountingFinancial ReportingBudgetingFinancial ModelingFinancial ManagementFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Revenue & Expense ProjectionsCFOBusiness DevelopmentXeroMergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Cross-border M&AXero AccountingContract ManagementCommercial Finance ConsultingBusiness Management ConsultingIFRS Accounting

Career Highlights

Director of Finance | Deputy Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | Contract Director
Freelance
Finance Director
Logica CMG
Finance Controller
Nortel Networks

Education Highlights

Bachelor's Degree
University of Teesside

Certification Highlights

Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA)
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
ICAEW Business and Finance Professional (BFP)
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA)
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

Case Studies

Work Experience

Director of Finance | Deputy Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | Contract Director

2011 - PRESENT
Freelance
  • Directed and led the contract negotiation process to closure for health service contracts worth £1.4 billion per year. This included developing and agreeing on targets and a strategy with a broad group of stakeholders.
  • Identified significant flaws in the business case for a £30 million capital development, yielding annual losses of £1 million. Led the board through a process to reverse its original decision and cancel contracts before incurring costs.
  • Drove the finance transformation program, improving support and reducing annual costs by 20% while delivering all aspects of financial management and business partnering.
  • Spearheaded the financial recovery of the organization, including doubling the value of efficiency schemes to more than £20 million per year and implementing stronger business controls and processes.
  • Led and mentored finance teams to deliver improved performance. Worked with team members to develop their skills and confidence, enabling them to move onwards and upwards through the organization, with senior talent more visible to senior leaders.
  • Identified, initiated, and led contract renegotiations with external suppliers, yielding savings of £10 million or 25% per year.
  • Identified over £22 million of annual financial exposure to the organization and led the engagement and resolution of the issue with the National Regulator. This also led to significant policy changes by the National Regulator.
  • Devised and introduced improved contract governance arrangements, which led to the delivery of health service transformation while delivering improved engagement, accountability, and stakeholder relationships.
  • Controlled and reported on business profit, loss, and balance sheet positions. Managed and provided financial reports, including forecasts, reforecasts, and actuals. Analyzed annual budget scenarios and agreed on final budgets.
  • Led the business case development, review, and scrutiny, including contract negotiation support, post-implementation reviews, and project support. Headed and mentored finance teams and oversaw their personal and professional development.
Focus areas: Contract Negotiation, Contract Management, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Team Mentoring, Management, Financial Forecasting, Budgeting, Dispute Resolution, Business Cases, Management Reporting, Financial Reporting, Project Management, Cost Efficiency, Team Restructuring, Policies & Procedures Compliance, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Financial Modeling, Financial Management, Scenario Analysis, Agresso, SAP, Oracle Financial Analytics, Oracle Financials, Business, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Business Law, Cost Accounting, Management Accounting, Commercial Law, Business Consulting, Management Information, Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS), Business Risk Assessment, Strategy, Business Strategy, Business Planning, Financial Accounting, Ethics, Business Ethics, Commercials, Commercial Finance, Business Management, Business Modeling, Project Review, Forecasting, Governance, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Business Unit Management, Microsoft, Team Building, Team Leadership, Control Systems, Project Bidding, Revenue Assurance, Revenue Recognition, Revenue Projections, P&L Forecasting, Cash Flow Forecasting, Balance Sheet Optimization, Balance Sheet Forecast, Financials, Team Management, Mentorship & Coaching, Statutory Reporting, Statutory Returns, Audit Liaison, Business Technology, Business Analysis, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, IT, Public Sector, Outsourcing, Business Services, CFO, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Cash Flow, 13-week Cash Flow, Cash Flow Management, Reporting, Revenue & Pricing Support, Revenue & Expense Projections, Nonprofits, Business Models, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Monthly Close Process, M&A Modeling, Interim CFO, Business Development, New Business Development, Investor Relations, Xero, Charity, Xero Accounting

Finance Director

2002 - 2011
Logica CMG
  • Developed and implemented the turnaround plan for a loss-making £400 million turnover business. Transformed it into a transparent, competitive, and customer-focused business with a record order intake in a single quarter of over £400 million.
  • Initiated and led efficiency drives delivering annual savings of over £18 million. Deployed various methods, including supplier renegotiations, cost elimination, business restructuring, contract reviews, delivery process reviews, and improvements.
  • Led the financial due diligence to acquire an overseas business with 1,500 staff and turnover of over £130 million per year. Acted as a finance lead for the related ten-year IT and systems outsourcing contract.
  • Designed and implemented a development and accreditation framework for operations staff. This yielded improvements in service quality and consistency, enhanced control and takeup of training, reduced attrition and training costs by £200,000 per year.
  • Designed and implemented much stronger project financial control systems, providing greater insight into the financial performance of projects in real time and improving management information regarding the current and future performance.
  • Led the restructuring of the finance function, including the creation of a project accounting specialty, which reduced project write-offs to less than 0.5% of sales.
  • Merged and restructured three divisions, transforming them from loss-making to consistently delivering above 10% margin and delivering annualized savings of over £12 million per year.
  • Transformed the service catalog into market-focused and a source of both new sales and cost efficiencies.
  • Oversaw the control and reporting of profit, loss, and balance sheet positions for a £400 million turnover business. Managed and provided financial reports, including budgets, forecasts, reforecasts, and actuals.
  • Led the bid and business case development, review, scrutiny, and contract negotiation support, plus post-implementation reviews. Headed and mentored finance teams and oversaw their personal and professional development across Europe and India.
Focus areas: Business Unit Management, Financial Modeling, Business Cases, Large-scale Turnaround & Transformation, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Contract Negotiation, Sales, Order Closure, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Microsoft, Team Mentoring, Team Building, Team Leadership, Team Restructuring, Organizational Development, Product Development, Catalogs, New Products, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Control Systems, System Integration, Business Restructuring, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Agresso, Business, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Business Law, Cost Accounting, Management, Management Accounting, Commercial Law, Business Consulting, Technology Trends, Management Information, Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS), Business Risk Assessment, Strategy, Business Strategy, Business Planning, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting, IFRS Financial Reporting, GAAP, Commercials, Commercial Finance, Business Management, Business Modeling, Project Review, Forecasting, Budgeting, Management Reporting, Governance, Cost Efficiency, Valuation, Contract Management, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Financial Forecasting, Dispute Resolution, Project Management, Policies & Procedures Compliance, Financial Management, Scenario Analysis, Project Bidding, Project Reporting, Revenue Assurance, Revenue Recognition, Revenue Projections, P&L Forecasting, Cash Flow Forecasting, Balance Sheet Optimization, Balance Sheet Forecast, Financials, Team Management, Offshore Team Management, Mentorship & Coaching, Statutory Reporting, Statutory Returns, US GAAP, UK GAAP, Audit Liaison, Business Technology, Business Analysis, Business Services, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Cash Flow, 13-week Cash Flow, Cash Flow Management, Reporting, Revenue & Pricing Support, Revenue & Expense Projections, Business Models, Software, Monthly Close Process, M&A Modeling, Cross-border M&A, M&A (Buy-side), M&A (Sell-side), Software as a Service (SaaS), SaaS, Enterprise SaaS, Business Development, New Business Development, Investor Relations

Finance Controller

1992 - 2002
Nortel Networks
  • Led the successful multi-site implementation of Oracle Financials systems in both the UK and France.
  • Oversaw as a finance expert numerous sales bids, ranging from simple product sales to complex telco networks. Resultant sales totaled over $1 billion. Led project delivery reviews and control and ensured integration with financial forecasts.
  • Rationalized the corporate group structure and inter-company transactions, eliminating unnecessary tax burdens and totaling £1 million per year.
  • Rolled out financial system access and training to non-finance teams to transform the FP&A team into a partnering function, which included moving on, promoting and recruiting key staff members, and eliminating inefficient processes.
  • Developed and rolled out a pan-European accounting workshop to address local and head office issues, which included developing and delivering training and technical updates on accounting policies and procedures.
  • Initiated and led cross-functional review sessions to strengthen the relationship between finance, operations, and sales teams, improving project control and the quality and reliability of financial forecasts.
  • Promoted a quality culture within finance, including establishing documented processes, succession plans, emergency cover capability, and implementing ISO initiatives and accreditation.
  • Oversaw the control and reporting of profit, loss, and balance sheet positions for businesses with up to $430 million turnovers. Delivered a contract accounting service supporting overall forecasts and budgets.
  • Led the bid and business case development, review, scrutiny, and negotiation support, plus post-implementation reviews. Headed and mentored finance teams across six countries.
  • Delivered a contract accounting service supporting overall forecasts and budgets.
Focus areas: Finance, Financing, Management, Management Accounting, Project Review, Project Management, Project Reporting, Revenue Assurance, Revenue Recognition, Revenue Projections, P&L Forecasting, Cash Flow Forecasting, Development, Research, R&D, Balance Sheet Optimization, Balance Sheet Forecast, Financials, Oracle, Oracle Financials, System Implementation, Team Leadership, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Team Mentoring, Team Management, Offshore Team Management, Mentorship & Coaching, Statutory Reporting, Statutory Returns, Consolidated Reporting, US GAAP, UK GAAP, IFRS Consolidation, IFRS Audit Planning, Audit Liaison, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Oracle Financial Analytics, Business, Accounting, Marketing, Business Law, Cost Accounting, Commercial Law, Taxation, Audits, Business Consulting, Technology Trends, Management Information, Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS), Business Risk Assessment, Strategy, Business Strategy, Business Planning, Tax Compliance, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting, IFRS Financial Reporting, GAAP, Commercials, Commercial Finance, Contract Negotiation, Business Management, Business Modeling, Forecasting, Budgeting, Management Reporting, Governance, Cost Efficiency, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Telecommunications, IT, Outsourcing, Contract Management, Financial Forecasting, Business Cases, Team Restructuring, Policies & Procedures Compliance, Stakeholder Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Financial Modeling, Financial Management, Scenario Analysis, Dispute Resolution, Business Unit Management, Sales, Order Closure, Microsoft, Team Building, System Integration, Project Bidding, Auditing, Business Technology, Business Analysis, Business Services, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Cash Flow, Cash Flow Management, Reporting, Revenue & Pricing Support, Revenue & Expense Projections, Business Models, Bank Reconciliation, Monthly Close Process, M&A Modeling, Mobile, Wireless Systems, Manufacturing, Business Development, New Business Development, Investor Relations
1984 - 1988

Bachelor's Degree in Business Studies | Finance Specialty

University of Teesside - Yorkshire, England

JUNE 2020 - PRESENT

Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA)

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

JUNE 2019 - PRESENT

ICAEW Business and Finance Professional (BFP)

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

JULY 1991 - PRESENT

Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA)

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

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