r a hills - personal profile

( 07917 691264

+ [email protected] Richard Allan Hills FCCA, AMBA

Personal Profile Qualified accountant & MBA with extensive project management, consultancy and line management experience obtained primarily within blue chip Financial Service organisations and SMEs in various sectors

Experience

iPEC Currently training to be a business & life coach through an accredited coach training programme

Prince2 Project Management

MBA* Master Business Administration, Ashridge Management College - 12 months full time sponsored programme

FCCA Fellow of Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants

DipM Postgraduate diploma in marketing with the Chartered Institute of Marketing - 5 weeks intensive course

* Obtained distinction for dissertation on “Competitive advantage through Service Quality”

Key Achievements Professional Qualifications

Client Acquisition Signed up 36 SME clients to business improvement programmes generating monthly fee

income. Over 75% conversion ratio on sales appointments.

Income Generation

Generated £0.22m fee income through account and project management of delivery of

consultancy services to 45 SME clients.

Finance Transformation

Delivered £1m p.a. cost saving and improved financial reporting at Barclays leasing subsidiary through project managing implementation of new Finance organisational redesign. Line management responsibility for 8 direct, 50 indirect staff. 25% productivity saving (60 staff) and improved outputs of central finance team at Barclays through project managing development & delivery of an organisation redesign.

Strategy into Action

Successfully implemented a mechanism to deliver a new business strategy at Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society. As Business Change Manager project managed the development and implementation of an integrated business / financial planning, measurement (via Balanced Business Scorecard) and performance management process. Facilitated implementation through involvement of all levels of management and staff.

Strategy development

Developed a new business strategy for Liverpool Victoria Financial Society as a member of special projects team. Developed and secured agreement for a new strategy for Halifax Insurance (Personal Lines insurer) to deliver competitive advantage in a crowded market. Set up & facilitated supporting change programmes to ensure employees could keep ahead of the needs of both the Company and the Markets.

Profit Improvement

Delivered £0.75m savings through project managing cost reduction initiatives at Abbey Life Assurance & Frizzell Financial Services.

Business Performance

Risk & Control

S166 Compliance Review

Achieved project management deliverables & multiple stakeholder expectations for s166 review for Sanlam Wealth Planning. Commissioned by FCA the project entailed a file review of over 200 cases to check if clients had been fairly treated & redress payment where this was not the case.

Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx) compliance

Achieved project deliverables for SOx s404 compliance for Group Support Functions at Barclays headquarters (Finance, HR, Treasury, Tax, Risk, etc). Highly complex project entailing continually changing scope & tight deadlines.

Financial Control Secured agreement and facilitated successful implementation of a new financial control framework at Frizzell Financial Services.

Decision Support Developed and successfully delivered new management information at Abbey Life Assurance & Chase Manhatten Bank improving control of the business.

Consultancy Selling, account & project management of delivery of

consultative services to SME clients across all sectors,

principally in Construction

Internal consultancy within Financial Services

Interim

Management

Line and project management to deliver cost saving, process

improvements & regulatory compliance in Financial Services

Project

Management

Stand alone and part of group wide Finance orientated

programmes to deliver cost, process and compliance benefits

in Financial Services

Strategy

Development

Development and implementation of strategies in Financial

Services

Business

Analyst

Process re-engineering to deliver cost, efficiency, effectiveness

& compliance benefits in Financial Services

Financial

Management

Line management of accounting teams in Financial Services

Accountancy &

Audit

Practitioner in all aspects of financial / management accounting

and auditing in FMCG, pharmaceutical and timber companies

( 07917 691264


Background

Set up my own practice in Nov 07 providing business advice and support to SMEs (typical

profile between £0.25 to £5m turnover, 5-20 staff). Initially operated independently acquiring

own clients and delivering services by myself. Subsequently established a working

relationship with another organisation providing similar services to the SME market focused

on the Construction sector. This relationship provided an opportunity for increasing my

portfolio of clients more quickly than if I operated independently. The result is I now have

skills and experience to effectively sell and deliver the following services to clients in different

sectors and achieve consistent successful results:

Achievements

Testimonials

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Planning for Success

Valuing a business and defining actions how to increase this

Preparing and communicating business plans, budgets and forecasts to bring focus to

where the business is heading or needs to go

Improving cash flow by knowing how to work out future liquidity needs, monitoring and

maximising the availability of cash in the business

Maximising shareholder value by protecting capital, succession planning & planning for exit

Improving Business Performance

Installing and running financial processes to effectively plan and control the business

Installing and running marketing processes and systems to generate new business and

improve customer retention, including:

• Preparing content for web sites including case studies

• Preparing content for brochures, leaflets and prospecting literature

• Installing and building a CRN database

• Demonstrating or doing telemarketing either independently or via a Call Centre

• Demonstrating techniques for effectively closing a sale e.g. DISC profiling

Installing and running HR processes to ensure everybody is clear and focused on where the

company is going and motivated to achieve success

Cost reduction and management

Mentoring and coaching business owners in how to get the best from their people and

resources and to maximise their potential

Reaping the Rewards

Obtaining external recognition that the business has adopted best practices through

preparing for and obtaining Investors in People accreditation

Preparing Information Memorandum to market and sell a business

Marketing and selling a business for the best price

I am happy to recommend Richard Hills of Countess Associates to any one in

business who is mired down with the same old problems and with a narrow view about

their business as I was with McConnell Travel. Richard was able to take an objective

view and made me focus on the weaknesses that I knew existed but simply chose to

ignore. With this fresh outlook I was encourages to relocate premises, at a

considerable saving, re-mortgage, at a considerable saving, and, make the important

decision to sell the travel side of McConnell Travel Ltd which was going nowhere but

which was draining resources from other income streams. There is no doubt that had I

not been acquainted with Richard I would still be very much worse off. Tim McConnell - Travel Agent

Richard doggedly helped us to make the time to sit down as a management team

and take a long hard look at our business - where we've been, where we are and

where we want to be. Richard then assisted greatly in the production of a plan to

adjust what we are doing now & where we want to be in the future. Philip Warr - Property & Construction Surveying practice

Signed up 36 clients with a conversion ratio of greater than 75% on sales appointments

£0.07m fee income from grant funded activity for 19 clients

£0.15m fee income from non grant funded activity for 28 clients

Average retention / fee income of 7.5 months / £750 p.m. respectively for activity for non

grant funded clients

Achieved Investors in People accreditation for 6 clients

Improved bottom line performance through:

• Co-ordinating various cost reduction projects including finance outsourcing, office

relocation and staff reduction initiatives

• Development and implementation of marketing processes and systems

generating new business enquiries and customer acquisition

Improved personal effectiveness of SME business owners through one to one coaching

and mentoring in business and financial management

Client Acquisition and Income Generation Provision of business advice, practical help & support to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

( 07917 691264


Finance Transformation

Business Change Management of a large Organisation Design & SAP implementation at a Barclays subsidiary

Background Challenges

In 1999 the Barclays leasing subsidiary undertook a redesign of its business model,

covering all areas of its business. The Finance team was organised in a

fragmented manner including a mix of accounting & administration activity. A

radical new Finance design was developed & communicated to staff reflecting the

following features:

Achievements

Sponsor Feedback

Aggressive

headcount targets

The aggressive reduction targets were set in stone and we did not deviate from this plan.

This was reinforced by the Executive. Temporary resource was used for limited periods

to provide additional support, where required.

Transition to “End

State” design

whilst meeting

Business -As -

Usual (BAU)

requirements

This was the most complex and difficult challenge requiring a 40% churn of staff. We

needed to recruit a number of new lower skilled recruits, and complete handovers before

releasing displaced staff. I decided that the most sensible way to do this was to handover

existing processes to new staff before changing to new processes. This delayed

realising the full benefits of the new structure for c6 months, and placed a lot of pressure

on key members of staff, but was less risky than a big bang approach.

Managing complex

& diverse

stakeholder

expectations

Whilst I was implementing the new OD, a new Finance target model was being planned

for the Group, based around a new shared service centre, business partnering, & the roll-

out of SAP across the Group. My challenge was to ensure our OD was supportive of this

new target model, whilst not delaying realising the benefits required by local

management. This was achieved through my regular contact with the Group Finance

Change Programme and local Executive & ongoing review & alignment of our plans,

where required. I also needed to keep our auditors, governance bodies & external

regulators regularly briefed on progress and developments. Throughout the project

positive feedback was received from stakeholders.

Meet tight

timetable for

migration to SAP

We were one of the last Barclays sites to be migrated to SAP. The new OD had been

implemented ahead of this migration, where the benefits of the new technology were

required to support the planned resource savings. These problems aside, I identified &

seconded 4 BAU resource to work full-time on the SAP migration & backfilled these key

positions. These BAU staff ensured our interests were effectively represented, supported

staff training and they acted as implementation champions. The migration to SAP was

achieved within eight months and the required benefits realised.

Change in mindset

to new ways of

working

Initially staff (and some management) had difficulty relating to the new way of working

required in a matrix environment. I tackled this through the performance management

process supported by lots of coaching. There was no difficulty in convincing external

trainers of the merits of the new approach and I arranged a number of staff training

sessions to bring alive the new way of working. A number of communication events,

organised by the staff, were held to celebrate success & reinforce the message of what

we were trying to achieve. After twelve months staff had become comfortable with the

new way of working and much preferred it, as evidenced by excellent staff survey results.

“Richard’s attitude to change and commitment to his role, and his behaviours have

been exemplary. He has delivered a number of high priority projects for the

business. The most challenging were the implementation of the new OD and SAP.

Both contained enormous challenges and were business critical; both were

delivered successfully.

Richard is an enthusiastic and competent change and project manager in addition

to his accounting / management skills. He has proved himself to be comfortable

with ambiguity and he can, and has had to rely on, his inner strength to maintain

what has at times been a difficult momentum.”

Chris Boobyer - Finance Director, Barclays Asset Finance (Oct 2002)

I joined the company at the beginning of 2002 and my brief was to lead the

department through the change process & deliver the benefits. This included accountability for eight direct reports and sixty staff.

• Focus on core finance rather than administration or transaction processing

activities

• Spilt of activities between production and business partnering

• Multi-skilling - new roles defined offering more variety & flexibility, more scope

for exposure to different work and different areas of the business

• Leverage benefits of migration to SAP technology

After two & a half years the following was achieved:

• Finance cost base reduced by £1m p.a. through overall headcount reduction,

transfers, rebalancing of grade mix, and process efficiencies (25% efficiency

saving)

• Successful migration of General Ledger & Accounts Payable to SAP

• Top Quartile Staff Survey results

• Positive feedback from external auditors

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Finance Transformation Project management of a major organisation design of a central Barclays finance team

Background

The Barclays Group Finance team, located at the Group Centre, comprised 60 staff. The team was

responsible for group accounting policy, consolidation of the group’s results and external financial reporting,

and the provision of group management accounts and decision support to the Group Executive.

An organisation redesign was commissioned by the Director of Group Finance with the following objectives:

• Remove duplication in effort in external and internal report production

• Create a more business-facing structure with better career opportunities

Breaking the

mould

The new model challenged current convention that

management & financial accounting were two mutually discreet

areas. Through process analysis & interviewing staff it was

possible to demonstrate inefficiency through duplication of

effort.

Managing

difficult

stakeholders

As with any OD there are winners and losers. Rather than

impose one solution a number of options were developed and

the preferred option agreed. Stakeholder buy-in was obtained

through their participation & agreement in the design.

Change

mindset to

new way of

working

The new model is based on a matrix, rather than a silo based

working environment. This required a focus on different

behaviours. Role models were identified & used to

demonstrate the required behaviours. In addition,

communication events were used to reinforce the message.

Minimise

redundancies

Prior to the OD being finalised greater use was made of

temporary resource. Following definition of new roles and job

marching, redundancies were minimised through release of

temporary resource.

Transition to

End Sate

This is reality time when the good ideas on paper need to be

put into practise. This was achieved through planned

handovers and dry-runs, where the old & new arrangements

ran side by side.

Challenges

I was appointed project manager in Oct 2002 to manage this activity, accountable to the Barclays Group

Financial Controller.

Achievements

In consultation with stakeholders, I developed and obtained agreement to a new leading edge organisation

design (OD), within 6 months of the project inception. This new design provided two separate but

interrelated areas with the following features:

Group Financial Control

• A consolidated reporting function for statutory, management and regulatory reporting providing a

single point of contact between the centre and the business. This integration resulted in a 25%

resource saving.

• With the increasing regulatory environment (e.g. Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II, IFRS) a focal point and

source of dedicated expertise was provided on financial control, risk mitigation and accounting

policy across the Group.

• A new Group Information Management team to provide fast track response to customers for non-

standard information.

• A small finance systems capability to co-ordinate and prioritise systems enhancements and to

proactively intervene to ensure maximum benefits are achieved from all existing and future system

developments, particularly the group-wide investment in SAP.

Business Performance • Performance Management - a central team of business aware finance professionals working

closely with the business finance teams to establish, understand and interpret the consolidated

group-wide business performance

• Financial Planning - a team of individuals working closely with Group Strategy & Planning on the

financial aspects of the business planning process, as well as driving the annual budgeting process

across the organisation

• Cost Management - a central team and investment expertise which sets policies & guidelines

across the organisation, monitors financial & non-financial benefits delivered through the strategic

investment portfolio and drive group-wide costing & Revenue initiatives

Sponsor Feedback

“Richard played a key role in delivering the new Group Finance organisational

design to a tight timetable and involving a number of complex issues and

processes… He showed tact and care in managing the needs of the key

stakeholders which was very important in realising a successful conclusion.

Overall a very good piece of work.”

Jon Anderson - Barclays Group Financial Controller (May03)

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Strategy into Action Project managed the development of an integrated measurement, planning and performance management framework, fully aligned to a new company strategy at Liverpool Victoria


In 1996 Liverpool Victoria (LV) acquired Frizzell Financial Services (Frizzell)

and established new corporate objectives & business strategy for the Group.

These new objectives needed to be translated into a set of measures and

targets and aligned with the planning and reward mechanisms.

Accountable to the HR & Change Director, I was commissioned in mid 1997

to develop and implement new processes that would provide a clear line of

sight from company strategy to business and individual performance, and

rewarded performance for appropriate behaviours based upon the company’s

values. In addition, staff awareness & understanding of the new company

strategy needed to be increased.

This was a major business programme that took 18 months to complete.

Some parts were led by external consultants, other parts I led directly myself.

Need to break

the mold &

obtain buy-in

The existing measurement & planning processes in LV were focused on

financial measures. There was no clear link between strategy, activity and

financial performance. The current measurement processes were

inappropriate and were designed to reward behaviours that were now

inconsistent with the strategy and company’s values.

A radical overhaul of the measurement, planning and reward processes was

required. There was a danger however that this would be perceived to be

another corporate fad, another new initiative that would fall by the wayside.

To address this, participation at all levels was encouraged in the design,

development and implementation of the new processes.

I personally became a role model for the new behaviours and demonstrated

these at all appropriate opportunities.

Linking

performance to

reward

The new framework required a significant cultural shift. The old command /

control mentality needed to be replaced with a new participative style of

management focused on coaching & support. New ways of working were

required based around team working, open communications and quality

outcomes. The challenge was to establish a suitable reward mechanism to

achieve this.

I participated in a review of available performance management frameworks

on the market. A new model was selected that combined the “What”

(business outcomes) with the “How” (required behaviours). This model

provided a clear link back to business activity plans and company values.

Raising strategic

awareness &

understanding

There was a lack of awareness of the new company strategy and how it

applied to day-to-day operations. To address this I organised and run a

number of communication events to raise awareness of the new company

strategy and to provide the context for the new planning & performance

management process. These events were designed to be interactive to

promote buy-in and encourage staff participation in the translation of the

strategy into action. Communication champions were identified from these

events and they were trained to run similar ones within their own business

areas.

An Executive balanced scorecard was developed combining financial and

non financial measures that supported the business strategy. I facilitated the

cascade of this into functional scorecards and established the MI

requirements to support these.

I facilitated the development of a new planning process that focused on

business activity required to support the new strategy. These activity plans

then provided the basis for the budgeting & forecasting processes.

I managed the roll-out of a multi-level training programme across the

company (c3000 staff) for the new performance management process. This

was achieved by the use of communication champions who were trained to

run a 2-day training session. Top management were invited to host these

sessions to provide business context and to demonstrate their commitment.

Positive confirmation from management and staff of increased awareness

and understanding of the company strategy

I successfully handed over the new processes to Business-As-Usual

operations.

Achievements

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( 07917 691264


Strategy Development Development & implementation of a service strategy and change programmes at Halifax Insurance


In the early 1990s the Halifax Insurance Board agreed that improved service

quality would enable the company to differentiate itself from its competitors..

I was appointed as in internal consultant and change manager to develop

and implement a new service strategy to support this aim.

The strategy took 12 months to develop and agree and was completed as

my MBA dissertation at Ashridge Management College. It entailed a

thorough review of all aspects of the company’s service operation. This

covered tangible elements such as its people and systems and intangible

elements such as the company’s culture.

The implementation of the strategy took a further 12 months. This required

commissioning and progressing various large change programmes.

Achievements

Managing

Sponsor’s

expectations

At the start of the project, the sponsor anticipated that the service strategy would work

within a structured framework of preparing the company for formal quality

accreditation. It soon became clear to me that developing a service culture was the

company’s most important priority. After completing an evaluation of the implications

for obtaining a service quality award, and seeking expert opinion, I was able to build a

convincing argument that going a for a quality award was not the best way forward.

Build trust &

confidence of the

Board

I was operating at Board level but was not a member of the Board. I therefore needed

the support of the Board without making them feel disenfranchised or threatened by

my presence. This was addressed this in a variety of ways. Firstly, through

maintaining regular contact with the Board members, both individually & collectively,

they were kept updated on progress and developments and discuss issues. Secondly,

through requesting the Board’s input in the design, development and implementation

of the new strategy through 1-2-1 sessions, participation in workshops, hosting staff

communication events, etc.

Build trust &

confidence of

management &

staff

In addition to the Board, I needed to build trust and confidence across all levels of the

organisation. I achieved this by not aligning myself with any specific group to maintain

my independence. I ensured that the purpose of all requests was explained and

understood. I fed back the results of any discussions to avoid misinterpretation or

misstatement of what was said. I encouraged openness and honesty by others and

ensured confidentiality was maintained, where appropriate. Finally, I presented things

as they are rather than how others would like these to be perceived.

How to be

effective outside

of my comfort

zone

I was expected to be an expert on all areas of the business. My previous background

was financial and I was now getting into other areas of the business that I had limited

exposure to. I addressed this by utilising my network of business contacts to discuss

developments, critique material (e.g. interventions, surveys, reports, presentations)

and seek advice on the robustness of proposals before presenting these to the client.

Conflict of

priorities

The demands of the MBA were high & had to balanced against the needs of the Client.

Effective time management was critical to maintain focus on a variable and demanding

workload. This was achieved through detailed planning and organising to ensure that

best use was made of available time. I applied my other assignments on the MBA to

the development of the service strategy. This ensured that I maintained focus and

made best use of my available time.

Development and agreement of new service strategy. Obtained

distinction for strategy as main dissertation for Ashridge Executive MBA.

Planned and progressed change programmes to deliver the service

strategy, including:

- Multi-level management development to tackle cultural blockages and

improve individual performance

- Improved use of technology [e.g. Electronic Data Interface (EDI) with

intermediaries (brokers) to replace paper based processes].

- Business Process Redesign (BPR) of underwriting and claims processing

Successful hand-over of implementation plan to deliver strategy to

Business-As-Usual operations

Obtained positive Client feedback to consultancy and change

management support provided

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Profit Improvement Project & change management of various cost reduction & process improvement initiatives at Abbey & Frizzell


Achievements

£350k p.a. agreed cost reduction savings from review of Computer Network Services

& Facilities departments (Frizzell)

£250k p.a (30%) agreed cost reduction savings from redesign & reorganisation of

Customer Accounts department (Frizzell)

£150k p.a. (30%) agreed cost reduction savings from redesign of Management

Accounting department (Abbey)

Build trust &

confidence

How to overcome resistance when jobs & livelihood are

threatened. Open communications is the technique that has

worked most effectively for me. Explain clearly the purpose of the

exercise and emphasise the benefits. Keep people regularly

posted and be open & honest. Seek staff input and involvement

rather than assuming that there is only one answer and you know

what it is. Finally, be prepared to sacrifice your own position if that

is consistent with the principles that you are applying to others.

Manage

difficult

stakeholders

Cost reduction is not a topic that everyone is supportive of. The

technique that I use is to seek the involvement of difficult

stakeholders rather than keeping them at a distance or removed

from the process. They may have valid concerns and they are a

useful resource to help resolve these. As a general observation

there is much higher likelihood of buy-in if people feel they have

contributed to the outcome.

Aggressive

targets

Stakeholders often have demanding expectations that need

managing. A useful technique is to look for quick wins.

Establishing a track record of early delivery goes a long way to

raising stakeholder confidence.

Establish a

reliable fact

base

It is important to have reliable data and evidence to support cost

reduction proposals, rather than relying on intuition and

assumptions. These should be documented and verified with the

source. Workshops are a useful way of getting group input and

buy-in and stimulating ideas for further investigation.

Abbey Life

Assurance Co.

(Abbey)

In the early 1990s Abbey identified the need to significantly reduce

its operating expenses to improve its profitability. To this end it

commissioned a firm of consultants to carry out a major review of

its Head Office expenses. I managed the review of my department

and developed recommendations for cost reductions in line with

the required methodology. The savings were agreed and my

position became redundant as part of the required restructuring to

realise the benefits.

Frizzell Financial

Services (Frizzell)

In the period between 1993 & 1996 Frizzell commissioned various

initiatives to reduce its operating expenses and improve process

efficiency. In respect of these:

- I was appointed project manager by the FD to agree cost

reduction savings for the Computer Network Services &

Facilities departments

- I was appointed business change manager by the FD to deliver

required benefits from the redesign of the Customer Accounts

departments, as part of a company wide Business Process

Reengineering (BPR) initiative. This entailed leading a team of

40 staff for 18 months through a change process. This team was

involved in Treasury, Accounting and Credit Control activity.

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( 07917 691264


Regulatory Compliance - Sarbanes-Oxley Project management of the preparation of Barclays group central support functions (Finance, HR, Treasury, Tax, Risk, etc) for s404 compliance


In 2003 Barclays commenced preparation for a live SOX implementation at the

beginning of 2004. Following a deferral of the implementation date by 12 months

by the SEC, Barclays decided to press ahead and use 2004 as a dry-run. There

has now been a subsequent deferment of the implementation date by the SEC for

a further 12 months to Jan 2006.

I joined the programme in Oct 2003, initially to assist the mobilisation of the new

Group central programme team. This included standard Prince 2 start-up

activities, and setting up a new Programme Management Office (PMO).

In Jan 2004 I was appointed SOX Project Manager for a key business area -

Group Central Functions (GCF). GCF comprises all the group central support

functions (Finance, HR, Treasury, Tax, Risk, etc).

Having successfully completed the dry-run the ongoing GCF SOX requirements

has now been handed over to Business-As-Usual (BAU) operations.

Achievements

Evolving &

subjective

requirements

The s404 requirements were evolving & open to interpretation during the project. It

was also a case of “one size doesn’t fit all” for application across the Bank and there

was no “right answer”. For GCF I addressed these issues by managing a cross

discipline team of financial control, risk & project practitioners. This team met regularly

to monitor progress and to provide direction to the functions.

Conflict with other

regulatory

initiatives

Barclays, along with other Financial Services organisations, is now faced with meeting

a large number of complex new regulatory requirements, including SOX, Basel II,

Turnbull, Corporate Governance and IFRS, to name a few. I recognised that these are

all playing in the same space, albeit with its own individual focus & requirements. To

address this, I adopted an approach for SOX whereby existing documentation was

utilised, where possible and the outputs shared with other initiatives.

Managing difficult

stakeholders

I formed a Steering Group that included representation of all GCF Function Heads

impacted by the requirements. It would be true to say that not all stakeholders

embraced meeting these as readily as others! I maintained regular contact with

difficult stakeholders to reinforce the message and obtain buy-in. I also ensured that

compliance with SOX requirements became an integral part of the performance

management process. I provided monthly progress updates to the Steering Group and

briefed the Accountable Executive briefed, identifying where his specific intervention

was required. The outcome has been that SOX is now firmly on the management

agenda and positive feedback has been received on stakeholder management.

Change in

mindset to new

ways of working

There was a problem with some areas being ill equipped and lacking the appropriate

skills & understanding to meet the SOX requirements. This required tact & care in

managing the needs of these stakeholders whilst maintaining the focus on the key

delivery dates. Help was provided by myself, and support requested from other areas

of expertise, as appropriate.

Increasing

complexity

The volume of work grew exponentially during the year due to the sheer complexity of

what was involved. This included the impact of remediation and integration, the latter

being the agreement of all process hand-offs across the Bank. I needed to recruit

additional high skilled resource and obtain agreement to extend the dry-run by three

months to the end of March 2005.

• All key risks & supporting key control activities (c200) of material financial

processes (25) documented to an auditable standard.

• Entity level controls & General Computer Controls identified and documented.

• Audit plan in place to test all controls prior to go-live date and substantially

completed.

• New remediation process in place to address all items in a timely manner to

ensure s404 compliance.

• New Target Operating Model developed, agreed and handed over to BAU

operations to ensure ongoing compliance with s404 requirements.

• All project close-down criteria achieved and agreed with central programme team.

Sponsor Feedback

“…Throughout the year, Richard has always endeavoured to do what is right for

Barclays and has put in many long days without complaint. He has also provided much

needed help and support to those areas that were overwhelmed by what was required.

His attitude has been one of the consummate professional that has been noted by those

around him. Richard has been a driving force within the GCF / Central Support team to

ensure that we are SOX compliant going forward.”

Jo Fraser - GCF Change Portfolio Director (Feb 2005) Go to page

( 07917 691264


Improved Financial Control Project management of the development of a new Financial Control framework to support a company wide Business Process Re-engineering initiative at Frizzell


In the mid 1990s Frizzell Financial Services (Frizzell) decided to carry out a

major Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) of its legacy systems

covering its personal lines business activity. As a result of this initiative a lot

of the financial controls previously applied by the Finance division were to be

either automated, or responsibility transferred to the business, to improve

service response times.

A complete rethink was required of how financial control needed to operate

in this new automated environment.

I was commissioned by the Finance Director to develop a new financial

control framework and to manage the implementation of the new controls.

Achievements

Obtain business

support

The business did not welcome accommodating additional financial control

requirements, when its focus was on saving cost and improving customer service.

The trick was to keep it simple and ensure focus was maintained on the key

areas. To achieve this I adopted a risk based approach. I facilitated a number of

cross-functional workshops to agree the financial risks attached to each new

process. Key controls were defined for each risk and circulated to the business

for review & challenge. After an iterative process, sign-off was obtained from the

business to the new controls.

Financial Control

expertise

The development of a financial control framework ideally required input from the

auditing as well as the business community. The auditors were reluctant to assist

with the definition of the controls as this would compromise their independence. I

addressed this problem by using my accountancy & internal auditing knowledge to

draft proposed controls, & obtained audit feedback on its appropriateness.

Pressure on

delivery dates &

to reduce costs

Due to the scale and complexity of the BPR programme there was pressure to

descope financial control requirements or defer to a later release. This required

care and tact to resist compromising financial control requirements. I addressed

this through highlighting to the key stakeholders the risks and impact of any

descoping proposals. I requested the Finance Director’s support to reinforce

areas of concern, where appropriate.

Change in

mindset to new

ways of working

The new way of working required the business to be more aware of the need for

financial control. I obtained this awareness through involving key representatives

from the business in the development and agreement of the financial control

framework. After I had defined the framework I assigned responsibility for its

implementation and ongoing operation to the business. I subsequently monitored

the quality of the implementation.

Managing

diverse

stakeholder

expectations

I needed to manage a variety of stakeholders who each had their own specific

interest in developments. I achieved this through one-to-one meetings,

engagement of stakeholders in workshops, regular project updates to the Finance

Director (Sponsor) & to the Programme Executive, and communication bulletins to

staff.

• A new Financial Control framework, developed, agreed and implemented

covering all aspects of customer and supplier interactions.

This framework was documented in a Controls manual, showing detailing

the key financial controls for each business process. For each key control

the following information was provided:

Control objective; key risk being addressed; description, responsibility &

frequency of control.

The business used this policy framework to set-up & implement supporting

working practices and procedures.

• Responsibility for the execution of the controls was successfully handed to

Business-As-Usual operations. The Finance Director was responsible and

accountable for the overall financial control framework.

• Positive feedback received from sponsor & key stakeholders

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S166 Compliance Review Project management of client review to establish where best advice had not been provided & redress payments where this was not the case


Following a complaint to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) a s166 review was

undertaken of the company’s file. This review highlighted a number of risks

relating to the company’s approach to replacement business. A further s166

review was requested focused on Pension & Investment switching from a 3rd party

fund sponsored by the company that was closed. I was recruited to project

manage this review in conjunction with a Skilled Person appointed by the FCA.

The purpose of the review was to assess if the company’s clients were treated

fairly following the withdrawal of the 3rd party fund in which their funds were

invested. Should the review find that any client was not fairly treated & led to

financial detriment then appropriate redress was to be made. The scope of the

review was approximately 210 contract.

Achievements

Project

Management

expectations

This project is viewed as being high profile so proper project management disciplines are

expected. To this end the project has being organised and run on Prince 2 standards

Managing

difficult

stakeholders

The project has involved managing the expectations of the Regulator whilst being

sensitive to the low enthusiasm by the client for the review. This has been achieved by

maintaining clear, effective communication with all stakeholders throughout the process.

Maintaining

effective record

of results of

review

Set up & maintained PC spreadsheet recording the key results of the review, workflow

and quality checking status. This spreadsheet has grown into a large database that is

shared by a number of users for inputting and interrogation purposes

Focus on

quality

A s166 review is serious so the results of the review need to stand up to close scrutiny by

the Regulator (via its appointed Skilled Person). This has been provided by

implementing effective quality management involving quality control & quality assurance,

with support for technical issues arising.

• File review completed on schedule & graded to standards required by Skilled

Person appointed by Regulator

• Client contact & redress currently in progress in accordance with approach agreed

with Regulator

Richard quickly got to grips with what needed to be done to meet the requirement for a

s166 compliance review commissioned by the FCA. He turned this complexity into a

clear plan of action that was signed-off by the internal executive & the FCA without

amendment. He then effectively managed and gelled internally seconded and external

recruited contract resource into a motivated team that met all that was required from

them. Importantly he provided confidence to a variety of senior internal and external

stakeholders that the project was being effectively managed and under control. This

took the pressure off myself enabling me to focus on other business priorities requiring

my attention. I would have no hesitation recommending Richard for a project or change

management role where planning & organising, communication, people skills are

required & credibility at a senior level is essential.

Nick Scarrett - Head of Distribution Compliance, Sanlam Wealth (Nov 2014)

Sponsor Feedback

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Improved Management Information Managed the successful development of financial reporting processes at Abbey & Chase to deliver improved information & decision support to management


Achievements

Improved distributor reporting system providing better and more timely information on

distributor’s sales & costs in respect of Shulton’s products. (Shulton)

Identified and implemented a significant cost saving opportunity that resulted in less less tax

being paid to the authorities on imported goods. (Shulton)

Improved cost control through development & implementation of cost control systems that was

perceived to be of value to Marketing as well as Finance. (Playtex)

Refocusing performance reporting to a forward rather than a backward looking perspective.

This was successfully achieved through the development of a forecasting capability and focus

on activity drivers, rather than focusing on actual versus budget comparisons. (Chase)

I successfully convinced the sponsor of developing a PC based rather than a mainframe

costing solution. By keeping it simple I was able to design & deliver a solution on time that

successfully met all the stakeholder expectations. (Abbey)

A summary of highlights of my early career achievements during the mid to late 1980s. Build trust &

confidence

(Shulton)

Finance had previously been excluded from commercial dealings

with overseas distributors due to personality problems. A lot of

careful stakeholder management was required to repair this

relationship. This was achieved through my seeking opportunities

where I could demonstrate that I could be of value. Once I had

made a breakthrough, I was successfully integrated into the

management team.

Managing

stakeholder

expectations

(Playtex)

Whilst the need for cost control was understood Marketing needed a

better way of recording costs, rather than in a format which was only

of use to Finance. I successfully addressed this problem by seeking

Marketing’s involvement in the design and development of a new

cost reporting system that met both Marketing & Finance

requirements.

Lack of

experience of

my team

(Chase)

The Finance Director (FD) had a reputation of being a hard task

master who often had unrealistic expectations. Care & tact was

required in these expectations due to the lack of experience of the

finance team. I addressed this through regular meetings,

confirmation of understanding of requests and seeking the FD’s

involvement in the development of solutions.

New approach

to Reporting

(Chase)

There was a perception that the performance reporting process kept

score rather than providing useful decision support information for

management. The challenge was to balance the demands for

producing monthly reporting whilst developing and implementing

improvements. Due to the inexperience of my team I undertook the

development of improvements myself in consultation with interested

stakeholders. I then involved my team in progressing these when

they had capacity to do so.

Managing

stakeholder

expectations

(Abbey)

I was faced with high expectations and a tight timeframe to deliver a

solution. I persuaded the Sponsor that the best way forward was to

develop a PC based solution, rather than the previously favoured,

mainframe solution. I then formed a cross functional working party

to participate in the development and implementation of this system.

This obtained buy-in.

Shulton (toiletries)

The Overseas operation involved the management of distributors and

agents in a number of markets, the largest being in Europe. The

products were sourced from two locations in England and Holland.

I was appointed as Finance Manager with responsibility to provide an

effective financial service to Overseas management, as well as

ensuring proper financial control was maintained.

Playtex (lingerie) The Finance division was based in Scotland whilst the sales &

marketing team were based in the south of England. A new Finance

Manager position was created to be based with the Sales & Marketing

team. I was appointed into this position.

Chase Manhattan

(Chase) - Financial

Services

There had been a complete replacement of staff following the decision

by the company to relocate its support services from London to

Bournemouth. I joined the company at the time of this relocation.

Abbey Life (Abbey) -

Financial Services

The business had a need for reliable costing information to support

product costing, actuarial and embedded value reporting calculations

A new FD had been appointed and this was his immediate top priority.

I was commissioned to manage this project & had no previous costing

experience.

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Agreed recommendations for correction of unsatisfactory conditions and to make

improvements in operations. (Cyanamid)

Improved financial controls at subsidiary (Montague Meyer)

Miscellaneous Achievements Project & line management of various initiatives during the late 70s & early 80s

Background

Achievements

Challenges

Steep learning

curve

(Cyanamid /

Montague

Meyer)

In both cases I was diving in at the deep end where I had

not yet learnt to swim. I addressed this lack of experience

& need to get up to speed quickly by consulting others for

guidance & support, where required, as well as accessing

my own learning material.

I adopted a style of applied learning and was happy to

experiment with new ideas and learn by my mistakes. I

regularly sought feedback and did not wait for it to be given.

Finally, I was prepared to put in whatever effort was

required to get a result.

Build trust &

confidence

(Montague

Meyer)

I addressed my lack of experience by projecting a calm

image to staff whilst buying time to decide out how best to

solve problems. I would not expect staff to do something

that I was not prepared to do myself. Through

demonstrating that I knew what I was talking about, and

projecting a calm image, I was able to quickly build trust &

confidence.

Cultural

differences

(Cyanamid)

We were often dealing with people from a different culture

& background to our own. I adopted a consultative, non

confrontational style where through the frequent use of

open questions I was able to collect a lot of data quickly.

This enabled me to decide on appropriate coping strategies

and how best to build relationships.

Cyanamid

(Pharmaceuticals)

A new internal operations audit department had been established in

the UK with responsibility for Europe, Middle East & Africa. I joined

as a junior auditor with no previous audit experience. Assignments

were mostly in Europe, where not everybody spoke English. I was

viewed as being the German expert on the strength of having studied

German at school.

I progressed to senior auditor where I took charge of my own audits.

Montague Meyer

(Timber)

There had been a deterioration in the collection of sales ledger,

settlement of accounts payable balances, and wages control resulting

from the introduction of new systems and staff turnover. In addition

the General Ledger was incomplete and not up-to-date.

Having just completed my accountancy studies I had no experience

of managing an accounts office. I saw this as an opportunity &

volunteered to take on the vacant role of Divisional Accountant & sort

out the problems. My request was accepted and I fulfilled the role for

two years.

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r a hills - personal profile

Documents

project management of

new business strategy

extensive project management

complex project

new strategy

levels of management

business life coach

master business administration