WILLIAM L GIDDENS
Atlanta, GA . 770-***-**** . ******@***.***
Summary
A seasoned Financial Accounting Manager with qualifications in directing,
managing, and financial reporting for multi-million dollar operations at
Mid and Large size companies; my objective is to use my experience and
business acumen in a business operation or financial accounting role. My
core strengths cover Leadership, Departmental Management, Manufacturing,
Corporate Operations, Compliance, Business Process, and Controls. Also,
experience with various system implementations and Policy Development,
along with the ability to train and develop successful teams.
Professional Experience
Consulting/Contract
(Present)
2009 - 2013
Senior FA in support of Global Data Center Consolidations responsible for
financial reviews and reporting, providing direction and reviews to Project
Managers and PMO office Teams to address required guidelines. Ensure
adequacy of Forecast and Actual spend reporting, provide Sr. Mgmt Team with
status and variance analysis.
Director of Finance for a Metal Service Center supporting the CFO
overseeing day to day accounting and finance functions. Reviewed the
monthly g/l, a/p, reporting, and Division recurring/accrual expenses.
Managed Export
Controls, monitored daily Visual Compliance, and created internal P&P in
line with Corporate Export Policy.
2007 - 2009
Interim Controller for client, supporting the CFO and Plant VP addressing
financial and accounting issues, oversaw Finance and Accounting, Inventory,
Cost, redesigned monthly Financial Reporting Package for management, and
provided support for organizational direction ($70 - $90 million
business). Co-managed Annual Physical Inventory Process reduced PI time
from two weeks to three days with an accuracy of 98.5%.
Directed an audit team in Audit of a Federal Bank's Human Resources
Division for the bank's Internal Audit Group. Responsible for overall
management of audit, completed the assignment under budget and earlier than
scheduled, exceeded customer expectation creating a win/win for client and
agency.
Provided Leadership role as Consultant to improve process in client's
Corporate Finance Group in areas of Account Reconciliations and their HR
Shared Service Payroll Operation. I identified multimillion dollar
processing errors ($21m) and an overpayment resulting in a $150 thousand
refund for the client. Also, provided interface with State Auditors,
Outsource Payroll Group, IT Teams, as well as other internal Finance, and
IT functions to resolve issues related to
SAP FI and HRIS.
2006
Consulting for Clients Project and Controlling Function, reviewed and
consulted on Order Management Process (SAP), procedure
recommendation and policy establishment for record retention program.
Review and approval of invoices, audit documentation and assist with
Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) update.
2004 - 2006
Consultant on a long term assignment in the Health Care Industry, providing
consulting in account reconciliation, documentation of key accounting and
financial data for restatement purposes. This assignment covers various
other projects as well (Forensic Accounting, Audit Support, Cash Analysis,
Partnership, Leases), with current client.
2003
Special consulting assignment with an International Company in the Chemical
Industry to evaluate and assist with SAP R/3 installation at a newly
acquired site (FI/CO modules) provided input related to the functional
financial process and reporting to Division VP for their Functional Review
Process.
Provided account reconciliation direction to client in the travel industry
to address reconciliation issues within PeopleSoft system (G/L) to bring
accounts up to date and review process issues as a Consultant. Special
assignments on an as call basis, performed Finance/Accounting task on a
Temp/Contract bases work was with local company in their post-
implementation cleanup work on SAP System. Assisted with report
verification and corrections of data transferred into SAP.
Compaq - H/P, Houston, TX
(1998-2002)
Senior Manager Finance/Accounting, Corporate Controllers Organization
Ensured spending within guidelines and managed to annual budget of $10
million, provided management assistance with the annual, quarterly, and
monthly operation budget/forecast and managed the ongoing close process.
This included direct responsible for payroll accounting support of more
than 35,000 employees, totaling several billion dollars annually in
salaries and appropriate tax payments.
Key role was overall direction of the Finance / Accounting team,
Policy/Procedure direction, and Payroll Accounting for the post merger
Corporate Disbursements Group. Established processes and conducted the
review and approval of all Accounting, Accruals, Reconciliations and
Budgeting /Forecasting for the Group on monthly bases.
. Provided consulting to Corporate Accounting, and worked with other
corporate functions on special projects. Managed the research of the
Payroll Group for Corporate G/L Accounting, resulted in saving the
company several million dollars in Tax Payments and Penalties (Est. $3
million).
. Established formal account reconciliation processes for the Corporate
Disbursements Group, which provided a more formal standard method to
use consistently on all reconciliations and streamlined the process of
maintaining required documentation for all account activity. This
proved beneficial at review times with internal / external audit
groups resulting in a reduction of Audit time/cost.
. Established and managed a staff to support accounting related to
Canada, including Balance Sheet Reviews for Payroll & Payroll Tax
issues for Canadian Controller.
. Developed and lead Accounting Staff in addressing management and
employee issues/concerns. This included U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and
others.
. Established processes and directed business controls for financial and
accounting functions for the Americas Financial Operations
Organization, the corporate consolidation point for U.S., Canada, and
Latin America.
. Ensured financial and business operation processes and applications
met or exceeded the company' expanding needs in A/P, Payroll, Employee
Expense area.
. Lead a team of subject matter experts in establishing and documenting
policies/procedures for post merger of three major companies (Compaq,
Digital, & Tandem). Identified and implemented necessary process and
procedural changes for corporate wide implementation.
Digital Equipment Corporation, Boston
(1993 - 1998)
Manager, Finance/Accounting, Digital Corporate Controller Group
Senior Financial Analyst for five major contracts, in support of the
Customer Management Program Teams responsible for management of all
financial aspects for these customer service programs, business controls,
analyses, consulted on financial matters, forecasting, managing P&L, and
tracking revenue and expenses. Also, prepared and provided monthly reports
to program managers and company management.
Business Controls Manager, Digital Corporate Services Group
In support of the Services Group VP and staff, I managed the Internal
Controls Program for the Headquarter Services Group. This included Multi-
Vendor Customer Services, Network Systems and Integration Systems, and
Operations Management Services businesses. Provided Quarterly and Year End
Compliance Letters, sign off with Sr. Management attesting to adequacy of
Internal Business Controls in Compliance. In this position I was the focal
person for all Internal Controls related to systems and major process
changes impacting the service business, which was comprised of more than
40% of the Corporation's total revenue.
Shared Service Center, Business Controls Manager
As manager of Business Controls, provided consulting and direction to the
Americas Financial Management Center (Shared Services), in the areas of
Internal Controls, Financial System reviews, planning, and quarterly
reporting. Managed the Audit review and reporting Liaison for all internal
and external auditors as part of ongoing Compliance Program. Prepared and
sign-off on Year End Compliance & Ethics Letter with Director, attesting to
adequacy of Business Operations activity.
In addition, Responsible for Co-Managing a "Business Controls/Audit Team"
review of the implementation of an SAP R/3 System at company Semi-Conductor
Manufacturing Plant to ensure effective operations. Also, took
responsibility for FI-CO section review. Assisted Corporate Internal Audit
by conducting special audits and collaborated with the development of audit
programs.
Managed team of 30 business control auditors (self-test program)
responsible for creating, updating, monitoring, and reporting on business
control compliance testing, quarterly reports, and annual compliance
letters. Consulted with operation managers to ensure adequacy of controls
and issued recommended solutions.
Financial Accounting Manager, Digital Manufacturing Plant -
Boston
Acting Controller during controller's absence, overseeing more than an
approximately $50 million operation. Provided management with all financial
data, internal and external management reports (Balance Sheet Reviews).
Also, oversaw all accounting functions, and financial reporting for the
plant. Finance member of Boston Manufacturing Plant Operations Management
Team, chartered with overall responsibility for all day-to-day operations
within the plant.
Developed and trained a cross-functional Business Controls Team, Finance
Representative on other teams and task forces (TQM, MRP, Six Sigma, and ISO
9000 Certification). Overall responsibility for managing Accounting
Department, including site Payroll, General Ledger, Monthly Closings,
Reconciliations, AP/AR, and Employee Disbursements.
Finance Manager/Controller, Shrewsbury, MA-Northeast Technology
Oversaw the financial and administrative operations support for twelve (12)
departmental cost centers. This included managing a $20 million budget
with a staff of two, trained/developed staff. Established and allocated
site charges to all organizations (multi-tenant facility), and managed
capital tracking of all (multi-million dollar) construction projects for
this Digital Equipment Corporation Site. Established internal controls,
provided budget, forecast, and variance analyses reporting for the HR and
Facilities Group for monthly, quarterly and year-end management
reporting.
Other
Senior Staff Auditor, Acton, MA - Digital Corporate Internal Audit
Department
Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, MA - Manager Corporate Employee
Disbursements
Johnson & Johnson Ethicon Division, Somerville, NJ - General Accounting
Supervisor
RCA Astro Electronics - Government Systems Division, Hightstown, NJ -
Financial Operations Capital Appropriations
Education
MBA Management, Regis University, Denver, Colorado
BS Business Administration/Accounting, The College of New Jersey, NJ
AAS Business Administration/Accounting, Mercer County College, NJ
Advanced Training and Continuing Education
Harvard University, Graduate level courses in Management and Finance
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Graduate level courses in Marketing and
Accounting
Technical Skills
Windows, MS Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SAP, MS Project, Lotus Notes,
Outlook, PeopleSoft, and Quick Books
Professional Organizations
Current Member of Financial Executives Network Group (FENG), Institute of
Management Accountants - Houston, Past Director, National Association of
Accountants - Director for various Programs-Technical Director, Assistant
Membership Director, and IMA- Program Director - Chairperson Special
Program Committees; Past Member Diversity Steering Committee, Digital
Finance POC Leadership Forum; United States Marine Corps Reserves,
Honorable Discharge, Former - Member of Local USMC-Honor Guard.
General Manager