Saso is available for hire
Hire SasoSaso Puksic
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Location
Gloucester, United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since
October 25, 2021
Saso has worked over 20 years with entrepreneurs and corporations (software or high-tech manufacturing), helping them grow and expand into new businesses, restructure, and become the best in the class by leveraging his interdisciplinary skillset across finance, process improvement, engineering, and coding. During the 14 years working with Renishaw, he also met and helped many fascinating clients (Universal Robots, Intuitive Surgical, and Quadrofoil) and enjoys freelancing to help even more.
Excel ExpertEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP)Financial WriterPerformance ImprovementXeroFinancial SystemsMarket ResearchAccountingFinancial ModelingCorporate FinanceFinancial ReportingBudgetingFinancial ManagementFinancial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Revenue & Expense ProjectionsContract ManagementAnnual ReportChartered Financial Analyst (CFA)Cost ControlAccount Reconciliation
Career Highlights
Finance and Administration Manager
Bouygues Energies & Services
Director
planarTECH Distribution Ltd
Education Highlights
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics
Bachelor's Degree
University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Economics and Business
Certification Highlights
PRINCE2 Practitioner
AXELOS Global Best Practice
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA institute
Case Studies
Expertise
Work Experience
Finance and Administration Manager
2023 - PRESENT
Bouygues Energies & Services
- Drove the financial planning of the Hinkley Point C project by analyzing its performance, risks, and opportunities. Hinkley Point C is the first new nuclear power station to be built in the UK in over 20 years.
- Oversaw all audit and internal control operations for administrative and financial matters.
- Managed subcontractors, measuring monthly progress based on subcontractors' contracts and monitoring subcontract obligations (bonds, insurance, and payment terms).
Focus areas: Cost Control, Vendors & Suppliers, Contract Management, Pricing, Change Management, Business to Business (B2B)
Director
2017 - PRESENT
Five Valleys Systems Ltd
- Provided company formation services and accountancy services for startups.
- Managed projects and consulted on software design and software architecture.
- Compressed, for a client, their original multi-year timeline for a machine vision/artificial intelligence (AI) project into just over a year. It resulted in a patent-pending technology and four different applications for traffic, retail, and care.
- Developed the Octopus Tariff app on Google Play to optimize electricity consumption for Octopus Energy's customers on the innovative, agile tariff made possible by smart meters. It ranks in one of the top spots in the home category in the UK.
Focus areas: Accounting, Startups, Entrepreneurship, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Software Design, Xero, Xero Accounting, Google Sheets, Three-statement Modeling, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Payment Gateways, Online Payments, CEO, QuickBooks Online, Odoo, Financial Systems, System Integration, Process Mapping, Python, Business Planning, Cash Flow Forecasting, Consumer Products, Financing, Amazon FBA, eCommerce Fulfillment, Third-party Logistics, COO, CFO, Operational Finance, Operations, Vendor Management, Business Services, Business to Business (B2B)
Head of Group Reporting
2021 - 2023
Mears
- Redesigned the IFRS 16 reporting process to save time and deliver accurate information on thousands of long-term leases.
- Internalized the calculation of IFRS 16 incremental borrowing rate (IBR), a simple process that was previously a significant external cost.
- Oversaw the redesign of the whole annual reporting process, integrating financial and other business perspectives, beginning with IFRS 16 reporting, which was particularly time-consuming and challenging for the company.
Focus areas: Annual Reports, IFRS 16, Cross-functional, Disclosures for IFRS Reporting, Reporting, Optimization, Financial Systems, System Integration, Process Improvement, Business to Consumer (B2C), Audits, Complex Account Reconciliations, Accounting, Month-end Processes, Lease Accounting
Director
2020 - 2021
planarTECH Distribution Ltd
- Contributed to the alleviation of the acute PPE shortage at the onset of the pandemic by setting up and developing the distribution of planarTECH's graphene-enhanced surgical face masks in the UK and Europe in a matter of weeks.
- Set up the eCommerce website and the ERP from scratch without external support. Integrated and automated the whole process from customers' online orders to ERP entries (Xero) and shipping (Royal Mail).
- Performed a deep dive into the European Medical Devices Directive on the product side to iterate on the design and make the product compliant with the directive and medical mask standard EN 14683:2019+AC:2019.
- Negotiated and drafted the joint venture agreement.
- Incorporated the company and also wound it down in the end.
Focus areas: Financial Systems, System Integration, Accounting, eCommerce, VAT Return Preparation, Joint Ventures, Incorporation, Medical Devices, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Budgeting, Business Strategy, Cash Flow Management, Xero, Xero Accounting, Business Models, Market Research, Payment Gateways, Online Payments, Exports, Business to Consumer (B2C), Inventory Management, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Business Planning, Consumer Products, Scaling, eCommerce Fulfillment, Third-party Logistics, COO, Operations, Vendor Management, Business to Business (B2B)
Group Engineering Finance Manager
2014 - 2021
Renishaw
- Incorporated Renishaw doo, an application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) design studio and a new business for Renishaw. Took care of the commercial side of things while an engineering MD was seconded to Slovenia to head the startup.
- Developed IFRS 16 reporting (leases) by introducing a simple and user-friendly (although very complex, behind-the-scenes) Excel template to be maintained by each subsidiary, plus an automated consolidation template.
- Implemented operational and financial forecasting, from scratch, for a key future customer, a startup with fantastic technology but who needed rescuing.
- Built financial models for new ventures and acquisitions, e.g., to set up the global network of additive manufacturing centers, set up an ASIC design company, or acquire a technology park in the Netherlands.
- Started the "Power Query initiative" to adopt Power Query across the business. This resulted in queries and reports unimaginable before, even with external SQL queries and VBA. Simplified and sped up a number of legacy reports.
- Partnered with Group Engineering on projects, forecasts, and budgets to deliver the market's most promising, sustainable, and profitable new product innovations.
- Looked after the project accounting and patent box systems.
- Prepared the business case for an ASIC design studio, considering two potential locations (Wales and Slovenia), benchmarking our internal economics against existing external studios, and considering setting up on-campus.
- Prepared applications and reporting for a number of EU-funded and government-funded projects. Besides mostly R&D projects, this included setting up the Fabrication Development Centre to host schools and promote STEM education.
- Transferred and integrated the finance function from an acquired 3D printing business, specifically metal additive manufacturing, into Renishaw.
Focus areas: Financial Analysis, Financial Modeling, IFRS 16, Startups, Post-merger Integration, Grants, Project Accounting, Data Analytics, Due Diligence, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Budgeting, Finance, Financial Management, Optimization, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Revenue & Expense Projections, Three-statement Modeling, Business Models, Profitability Analysis, Board Presentations, Data Visualization, Storytelling, Grant Proposals, Excel Expert, Forecasting, Controller, Exports, Foreign Subsidiaries, Capital Investment Appraisals, Financial Systems, System Integration, Process Improvement, Process Mapping, Inventory Management, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Business Planning, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Financing, Audits, Complex Account Reconciliations, Accounting, Month-end Processes, Lease Accounting, Performance Improvement, Business to Business (B2B)
Head of Finance, IT, HR & Projects
2009 - 2014
RLS d.o.o.
- Contributed significantly to the turnaround that made the company the fastest-growing company in Slovenia over the last five years (the Golden Gazelle 2015 award) and the Best Employer (the Golden Thread award).
- Delivered the company's core projects and developed the business departments to materialize the potential for rapid growth. Grew revenue from €2.2 million in FY2009 to €8 million in FY2014 and net profit from €25,000 to €620,000.
- Interlinked cross-departmental processes to enable real-time measurement of financial outcomes and forecasting of cash flows. Management was able to make quick decisions and materialize the explosive growth potential.
- Established a project management office (PMO), a project portfolio management process, and implemented MS Project Server highly integrated with other business systems.
- Contributed to the wealth creation that firmly put the half-owner and the CEO onto the Top 100 Richest People in Slovenia list. Renishaw owns the other half.
- Completed an EU-funded R&D project to develop the new generation of the company's core technology, magnetic encoders. The three-year-plus project resulted in several patents and awards for innovation.
- Completed the relocation project, which included acquiring land and building new premises, including a positive-pressure clean room.
Focus areas: Project Management, Program Management, Project Portfolio Management (PPM), Corporate Finance, Forecasting, Business Systems, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Financial Modeling, Due Diligence, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Budgeting, Finance, Financial Management, Cash Flow Management, Cash Flow Modeling, Business Strategy, Optimization, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Revenue & Expense Projections, CFO, Board Presentations, Data Visualization, Storytelling, Grant Proposals, Cash Flow, Order to Cash (O2C), Restructuring, Organization, Excel Expert, Controller, Exports, Capital Investment Appraisals, Financial Systems, System Integration, Process Improvement, Quality Management, Process Mapping, Inventory Management, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Business Planning, CAPEX Budgeting & Inventory Management, Cash Flow Forecasting, Financing, Scaling, Audits, Turnaround, Accounting, Month-end Processes, Operational Finance, Operations, Performance Improvement, Business to Business (B2B)
Sole Trader
2006 - 2013
STRACO Saso Puksic s.p.
- Performed company valuations and other professional services.
- Advised on insurance and insurance brokerage services.
- Sold and implemented cashless payment solutions (POS card payments).
Focus areas: Valuation, Investments, Sales, Three-statement Modeling, Personal Finance, Personal Finance Management, Insurance Broking, P&C Insurance, Life Insurance, Client Presentations, Client Relations, Card Payments, Business to Consumer (B2C), Consumer Products, Operations, Business Services, Business to Business (B2B)
Financial Analyst, Advisor, and Head of Investment Committee
2007 - 2012
GBD BPD d.d.
- Advised clients (individuals and businesses), produced reports, recommendations, forecasts, news releases, and analyses (macroanalyses, industry analyses, company analyses, and individual financial instruments).
- Headed the investment committee from its inception in February 2009 until leaving in October 2009.
- Continued to work for GBD BPD part-time until 2012 after accepting the role with RLS at the end of 2009.
Focus areas: Financial Analysis, Derivatives, Stock Market, Stock Trading, Bonds, Buy-side, Sell-side, Investment Committee Advisory, Personal Finance, Financial Writer, Client Relations, Client Presentations, Business to Consumer (B2C), Cash Flow Forecasting, Financing, Business to Business (B2B)
Consultant | Sales Engineer
2002 - 2006
Various Employers
- Co-founded and served as the managing director of CRM sistemi d.o.o., a customer relationship management solutions provider.
- Served as a sales engineer and the RLS brand manager at RLS d.o.o., where I rejoined RLS in 2009.
- Introduced the 20 Keys program, a Japanese continuous improvement technique, to the team in post-communist enterprises in Slovenia at Deloitte.
- Consulted clients on implementing ISO 9001 and balanced scorecard systems at 5KMC.
- Coded custom Navision Financials ERP modules in C# and implemented the ERP known today as Microsoft Dynamics NAV at Adacta.
- Consulted an ERP vendor on business strategy development and led the business process reengineering project on two key processes that followed.
Focus areas: CRM Systems, Strategy, Business Process Re-engineering, Process Improvement, Quality Management, Sales, Distribution, Brand Management, Business Strategy, Company Strategy, Strategic Planning & Execution, Market Research, Client Presentations, Client Relations, Scaling, Business Services, Business to Business (B2B)
Education
2001 - 2004
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management and Organization
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics - Ljubljana, Slovenia
1997 - 2001
Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering with Business Studies
University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Economics and Business - Maribor, Slovenia
Certifications
SEPTEMBER 2017 - PRESENT
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
CIMA
OCTOBER 2016 - PRESENT
PRINCE2 Practitioner
AXELOS Global Best Practice
MAY 2013 - PRESENT
Mediator
Ministry of Justice, Centre for Judicial Education, Ljubljana, Slovenia
DECEMBER 2012 - PRESENT
Business Appraiser (Company Valuations)
Slovenian Institute of Auditors, Ljubljana, Slovenia
JULY 2011 - PRESENT
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA institute
JUNE 2008 - PRESENT
Stock Broker, Investment Advisor, Portfolio Manager
Securities Market Agency, Ljubljana, Slovenia
MARCH 2007 - PRESENT
Insurance Broker
Insurance Supervision Agency, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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