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Accounting Financial

Location:
Independence, OH, 44131
Posted:
April 22, 2018

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Resume:

NICHOLAS KATZAKIS, CPA ac47s7@r.postjobfree.com

**** ***** **** *****, ***** Hills, OH 44131 216-***-**** SUMMARY

Senior finance executive with subject matter expertise in: Complex Accounting and Reporting (internal and external audits; revenue recognition; international financial reporting; registration statements; foreign income repatriation; multinational tax structures; mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; carve-out statements; and cost reduction planning and execution); Strategy/Financial Planning and Analysis

(design and implementation of: annual and/or quarterly business plans; zero based budgeting; and product and services costing redesign); Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Information Technologies (software selection; systems implementation planning; and post implementation support); and Compliance Risk Management Strategies for Regulatory and Financial Exposures (SEC compliance; corporate restructuring; public company investor relations; debt compliance; and corporate insurance programs). MBA; BS, Accounting; CPA. EXPERIENCE

QUE CONSULTING, LLC, Cleveland, OH 2016 - present

Principal

Founded this consulting firm in response to numerous requests for in-depth accounting and financial answers to the most pressing corporate questions. Named the Firm “QUE,” the Spanish word for “WHAT” because knowing the answers to “What" questions leads to more effective Board, executive management, and efficient workforce teams, which results in greater productivity and profits. Engagements include:

For a NASDAQ listed public industrial manufacturer:

Leading the Program Management Office and providing vital technical accounting support for the implementation of a new accounting standard, ASC 606. Review and understand all business requirements, ensuring compliance with new standards. Review contracts, prepare impact analysis assessments, create implementation roadmaps, and suggest process improvement.

Utilize financial reporting and technical accounting expertise to ensure financial reporting and audit readiness. Liaise with external auditors to discuss new arrangements and technical accounting issues.

Designed a corporate wide project plan to assess the impact of the new standard, identify key milestones and their owners, implement the new standard, and update company financials for ASC 606 adoption.

Developed technical training of the new standard and held regional and online sessions for key financial team members.

For a NASDAQ listed public telecommunications company:

Saved about $300,000 overall by redesigning corporate-wide insurance program: property, D&O, liability, and casualty health care.

Obtained two written offers within one month by remarketing idle real estate holdings that were without offers for an extensive time.

Proposed option to relocate corporate headquarters to a nearby facility that would likely save $2M annually in leasing costs.

Worked closely with Board to monitor progress of cost reduction/restructuring plan, resulting in an over 50% increase in cost reductions annually being identified and requested by the Board. Advised senior management on SEC requirements of new plan.

For a fast-growing private insurance firm, assisting senior management with defining their EPM and ERP systems and software selection needs, including process redesign of their order to cash, procure to pay, and hire to retire systems around key business cycles.

For a NASDAQ listed public advanced engineering company:

Avoided a possible stock price drop by correcting current currency conversions within their financial reporting and EPM tools to comply with U.S. GAAP rules via the redesign of their financial reporting software application to support international operations and multi-currency reporting, including the process redesign on their EPM applications to support multi-currency FP&A.

Conducted financial due diligence on their European, U.S., and domestic acquisitions. Provided post-acquisition financial reporting integration support for European acquisitions.

Offered technical accounting and SEC guidance on $150M public debt offering to finance European acquisitions. Analyzed new accounting pronouncements and assessed Revenue Recognition and Earnings Per Share and development implementation plans for adoption of the new standards.

CONNECTWISE.COM, INC., Tampa, FL 2015 - 2016

Chief Accounting Officer

For this software technology firm, managed a 35+ department of professionals with five direct reports (Controller; Director, Financial Systems and Process; Director, Revenue; VP, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations) and a Special Task Force of 10 top-tier senior accountants.

Re-engineered finance department from a private company perspective to encompass best in class IFRS standards. Coordinated the engagement of a leading technology consulting firm with deep IPO readiness expertise to assist in change.

Led creation of FP&A function and key financial/operational metrics (KPIs). Developed first ever three-year plan using Hyperion Planning. Directed the creation of the budgeting, reporting, and forecasting processes, with focus on rolling quarterly forecasts and supporting KPIs.

Created monthly financial analysis and delivered the related functional analysis to senior executives regarding budget to actual performance. Significantly reduced time for financial close to meet best in class standards.

Engineered a new capital structure to guide legal counsel that supported the merger of several entities into a unified company.

Reduced insurance costs by over 30% by implementing a self-insured employee benefit plan. Architected a new stock compensation plan and managed the implementation of a cloud-based stock compensation plan for over 500 participants.

Led the upgrade of the company’s ERP system and redesigned the software to activate multi-currency capabilities to support international growth. Redesigned and improved quality of training and talent acquisition and retention procedures. NICHOLAS KATZAKIS, CPA PAGE 2 OF 2

EXPERIENCE continued

IMG Worldwide Holdings, Inc. Cleveland, OH 2011 - 2014 Chief Accounting Officer (CAO)

For this over $1.7B privately held global sports/media/entertainment firm, led a team of international finance professionals engaged in controlling company finances. Oversaw comprehensive financial reporting in over 30 international offices and while coordinating the external audit teams. Ensured compliance with U.S. GAAP on complex international transactions and operational accounting.

Re-implemented SAP Business, Consolidations, and Planning module (SAP BPC), realigning budget/actual revenues/costs for the budgeting and planning process along profit centers for seven multi-national business units to support the strategic planning process.

Strengthened internal controls and remediated material weakness in preparation for S-1 registration filing and/or debt offering.

Reduced time from 15 to five days to provide monthly financials to management by directing SAP BPC re-implementation.

Reduced annual external audit by 45 days by redesigning the year-end closing process. Led Internal Audit team on multinational audits.

Directed buy/sell side financial due diligence for the Company and related financial integration of the acquired entities, both domestically and internationally. Enabled a new transfer pricing program and accounting for international hedge strategies.

Designed/delivered a financial training program to reduce down time and improve job knowledge of financial systems.

Reengineered the payroll and fixed asset management and accrual processes for internal control framework compliance.

Utilized software revenue recognition accounting, including when managing major events such as the British Open and Wimbledon. FERRO CORPORATION, Cleveland, OH 2007 - 2010

Chief Accounting Officer

Recruited by this $2.2B global specialty materials NYSE listed global public company to rebuild accounting organization following restatement. Assembled a team on four continents with a worldwide staff of 220 to ensure the development of relevant business information and related systems, accurate accounting systems, treasury controls over foreign currency and precious metals hedging, timely financial reports and accurate external disclosures.

Reestablished timely SEC reporting following restatement of financial statements and interacted with the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee on the financial and corporate strategic objectives.

Successfully mitigated several “material” and “significant” SOX Reporting Control deficiencies.

Led development of business control processes to protect assets, optimize use of funds, generate cash, and successfully transition services for divestitures. Initiated monthly business unit EBITDA as a key tool to manage working capital.

Led financial recapitalization team: prepared registrations statement for $250M common shares/public debt offerings totaling $422M to restructure long-term debt. Reduced internal reporting cycle from 50 days to 5 and SEC filing from 40 to 25 days.

Saved $3M+ yearly by championing conversion of international defined benefit pension plans into defined contribution plans.

Saved $8M in G&A expense and reduced by $4M audit fees by establishing a centralized “shared services” center.

Developed transfer pricing design for automating the process within SAP for global operations.

Delivered financial due diligence and SAP integration for 3 acquisitions in Austria, Egypt, and US. Led financial sell-side due diligence for divestiture of $60M chemical manufacturing business with global operations.

Initiated automated controls enhancements within SAP ERP system, leading to Procure-to-Pay cycle redesign into a standard worldwide deployment process. Managed SAP conversion of legacy mainframe general ledger and fixed asset systems.

Eliminated currency exposure and preserved over $50M in foreign tax credits by collaborating on global tax planning strategy. U–STORE–IT TRUST, Cleveland, OH 2004 - 2006

Vice President, Controller & Chief Compliance Officer In anticipation of IPO of this $1.7B self-storage operator, recruited to build accounting capabilities, including forecasting, SEC reporting & compliance, business metrics, and general accounting. Represented executives on the Audit and Compensation Committees of the Company.

Selected the NYSE trading specialist for IPO and managed NYSE compliance requirements.

Created executive financial dashboards to quickly identify key financial indicators. Developed scenario analysis models to forecast income and cash flow, which resulted in higher quality information available to formulate sound business valuations.

Partnered with CFO to establish Investor Relations function that generated a high level of long-term institutional holdings.

Prepared predecessor financial statements. Facilitated the audit of previous 5 year statements for IPO registration statement.

Reduced by $1.5M consulting costs for the secondary offering by optimizing staffing.

Structured process to become SOX compliant in the first year as a public entity. Reduced the financial close by 10 days.

While serving as interim Chief Information Officer, built the IT infrastructure to support 3-year growth plan using Microsoft Dynamics.

Managed the acquisition integration of 250+ properties, including ERP and synergy execution.

Generated $50k annual savings by championing consolidation of national fleet operations. Nick started as a Senior Auditor from 1980 to 1984 for Deloitte (fka Touche Ross & Company); then moved from Audit to International Finance from 1985 to 1988 with Harris Corporation, a $3.8B global semi-conductor manufacturer; followed by time as the Accounting Manager from 1989 to 1999 for Preformed Line Products Corporation, a $216M publicly held global hardware and systems manufacturer; and the Controller from 1999 to 2004 for A. Schulman, Inc., a $1.4B global plastic resins manufacturer, before starting with U-Store-It.



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