Dea Cekada
Verified Expert in Management Consulting
Management Consulting Expert
Steinhausen, Switzerland
Toptal member since March 16, 2022
Dea is a finance professional with 16 years of experience. She has worked as a controlling manager in an international company and as a manager in the Big Four. She has a keen interest in getting to know the core business and processes, including overall business acumen. Her strength is her curiosity for small things and business and finance strategy. Besides hard-core financial numbers, Dea strongly trusts in empowerment, collaboration, accountability, and developing strong teams.
Career Highlights
Certification Highlights
Case Studies
Investment Valuation Project
18-month Rolling Forecast Process
Product and Customer Profitability Analysis
Expertise
- Business Planning
- Finance Process Improvement
- Financial Modeling
- IFRS Consolidation
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Management Accounting
- Product Costing
- Rolling Forecasts
Work Experience
Manager in Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services
PwC
- Acted as a member of the finance of the future team, an initiative that supports the transformation and digitalization of finance function.
- Developed the IFRS 16 calculation tool that enabled the company to win numerous projects across the region.
- Took on the digital accelerator role, contributing to business development and technology solutions, leading internal process optimization, and inspiring and educating the community.
SAP Stabilization and Controlling Process Improvement
Lafarge Serbia
- Supported preparation for the LafargeHolcim accounting and reporting standards certification.
- Developed new analysis and planning tools in line with newly implemented ERP.
- Supported the local FI/CO team for the SAP go live and stabilization.
Controlling Manager
Holcim
- Transformed the controlling department from a reporting unit to a value-creating team with a hands-on approach to supporting the business focused on commercial orientation and cost excellence. I was awarded the company gold card for this achievement.
- Acted as a team member of Plan 2015+, a financial transformation project that supported the restructuring of the Holcim business unit in Croatia, resulting in positive net income after five consecutive years of reporting loss.
- Implemented a balanced scorecard, created top-notch planning and analysis tools, streamlining processes and integrating support systems, controlling team development, SNWC initiatives, and cost savings in SGA.
- Served as the COREP key user in SAP ECC 6.0 implementation in Croatia (FI/CO-REP); upon implementation, became a member of the European business intelligence process expert team and speaker on management awareness sessions.
- Acted as the LHIFT project leader in Croatia (finance integration of LH group after the merger) and active participation on a regional level (CEE cluster, Poland, and Serbia).
- Led the ASPIRE project in Holcim Croatia, new planning and reporting framework. Implemented SAP Financial Consolidation, 18-month ROFC, and mid-term plan (integration of financial plan, budget, BRM, and business plan into a single planning event).
Controller
Holcim Croatia
- Led segment monthly reporting (production, sales, and net working capital), SAP monthly closure activities, and planning, including ready-mix segment, cement, alternative fuels, and raw material segment.
- Managed monthly analysis, including fuel cost per GJ calculation and comparison, fuel mix analysis, gross added value of the AFR business calculation, plant master plan, and support in making business decisions for new projects.
- Acted as a Holcim Leadership Journey workstream leader, aiming to increase group profit by CHF 1,5 billion and including cross-functional implementation (customer excellence, energy, AF, AR, logistics, procurement, fixed costs) and reporting.
- Led a cost-saving project called Efficiency in Administration.
Education
Postgraduate Specialist Degree in Accounting
Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka - Rijeka, Croatia
Master's Degree in Management
Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka - Rijeka, Croatia
Certifications
Chartered Global Management Accountant
CIMA
Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)®
Corporate Finance Institute (CFI)
Management Seminar
Duke Corporate Education
Skills
Finance
Accounting, Management Accounting, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Budgeting, Forecasting, Revenue & Expense Projections, Financial Reporting, Controller, Financial Modeling, Three-statement Modeling, Internal Financial Reporting, Cash Flow, P&L Forecasting, Profit & Loss (P&L), Operational Finance, Finance Process Improvement, Financial Management, DCF Valuation, Valuation, Comparable Company Analysis, Profitability Analysis
Output Software
Microsoft Excel
Other
Business Planning, Management Reporting, Consolidation, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Key Performance Metrics, Rolling Forecasts, Management Reports, IFRS Consolidation, IFRS 16, Product Costing, Microsoft Office, Budget Modeling, Cash Flow Analysis, Sales Forecasting, Business Models, Business Plan Consulting, Financial Forecasting, Finance Reports, IFRS Financial Reporting, Functions, SAP Controlling (CO), Cash Flow Management, BI Reports, Economics, Management, Operations Management, SAP, SAP Implementation, IBM Cognos Planning, Balance Scorecards, Financial Integration, Business Restructuring, QlikView, SAP FI, SAP ECC, Digital Transformation, Business Development, Training, Operational Risk Management, FMCG, Leadership, Strategy, Negotiation, Change Management, Market Research & Analysis
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