Sales Management
Resume:
John M. Ferrara, MBA
Fenton, MO 63026
************@***.***
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Executive possessing multi-faceted accounting and finance abilities and a
thorough understanding of the accounting lifecycle, financial reporting,
budgeting and forecasting, cash management, process improvement, and
benefit administration. Ability to produce quality results within
extremely tight deadlines, increases cash flow through creative strategies,
and reduces costs while adapting to a rapidly changing business
environment. Areas of expertise include:
General Ledger Maintenance Banking Relations and Cash
Management
Financial Planning, Forecasting & Extensive Software and Computer
Analysis Skills
Operations and Process Strategic Planning
Improvements
Personnel Management Gov't and IRS Accounting
Compliance
HR / Benefit / Payroll Communication and Presentation
Administration Skills
SUMMARY OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Responsible for the direction, planning, coordination and execution of the
financial accounting department, the month-end close process, revenue and
expense budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, cash flow analysis, and
the calculation of key financial and operational metrics necessary in
driving performance.
Experience includes financial statement preparation, financial reporting,
general ledger / balance sheet maintenance, supervision of accounting (AR,
AP, payroll, and administration) staff, and profitability analysis.
Experience includes contract negotiation and administration of human
resource benefits including: 401(k)/profit sharing plan, cafeteria plan,
health, life, long and short term disability, workman's compensation
insurance, and development of policies and procedures employee handbook.
Management experience includes accounting and operations departments
ranging from 3 to 35 employees.
CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND HISTORY
Franklin James Capital Corp., Fenton, MO 2012 -
Present
President / Founder
. Financed small to medium sized businesses when traditional sources were
not available;
. Responsible for the overall direction and everyday operation of the
business;
. Founded company in November 2012.
Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C., Clayton, MO 2007 - 2013
Director of Finance
. Created financial operating plan and annual budget to Management
Committee; advised committee on strategies necessary to achieve firm
financial objectives and goals;
. Re-wrote the policy regarding WIP write-downs/write-offs. The result was
an increase in annual billings totaling $600K/year;
. Developed and maintained relationships with commercial bankers; oversaw
cash flow and liquidity management; reduced LOC interest $50K annually
through more efficient cash management controls;
. Reduced monthly billing cycle by 5 days while dedicating additional
resources to the A/R collection effort resulting in an increase of
collection realization from 87% to 94%;
. Directly supervised 6 accounting and 2 file room employees;
. After identifying a need to bridge the gap between attorney and
accounting personnel communications, I restructured the accounting
department. The result was a $100K/year reduction in salary and a
dramatic and sustained improvement in communications and flow of
information throughout firm;
. Reduced month end close cycle from 15 to 5 days; compiled and presented
on a monthly basis the Partner Pack (an assimilation of MTD, YTD, and YOY
financial statement data, performance metrics, and cash-flow analysis) to
Members;
. Maintained General Ledger, generated and recorded journal entries,
reconciled balance sheet and income statement accounts, and
confidentially maintained attorney production and compensation
information;
. Liaison to independent CPA firm; assimilated all tax information
necessary for preparation of annual partnership tax return, member K-1s,
and the 5500 benefit plan audit;
. Generated and presented annual budget to Management Committee; advised
committee on strategies necessary to achieve firm financial objectives
and goals.
Savvis Communications, Inc., Town & Country, MO 2004 -
2007
Senior Financial Analyst
. Identified pricing deficiency and implemented the Co-Location Renewal /
Price Strategy program which generated $530K/month in revenue and profit;
. Improved processing of financial information by developing Co-Location,
CDN, and Wam!Net (Digital Content Services) models which streamlined the
reporting of actual results and provided the tool necessary to forecast
and budget accurately. Compared actual, forecasted and budgeted data and
provided meaningful variance analysis on a monthly basis;
. Generated, issued, and communicated to Executive Management a monthly
Product Pack, a compilation of monthly and YTD Co-Location, CDN, and
Wam!Net financial, operational and key performance information used for
decision making purposes;
. Employed database management skills to cleanse and facilitate
interpretation of large volumes of data for the Co-Location and CDN
products;
. Effectively interfaced and communicated with multiple world-wide Savvis
operating locations and various corporate departments personnel in order
to share performance data and improve the product profitability.
Orius Corporation, Gray Summit, MO 2003 - 2004
Director of Financial Accounting and Analysis
. Oversaw the financial transition of duties and responsibilities between
the former headquarters in West Palm Beach to the St. Louis location in
Gray Summit; Areas transferred: Fixed assets, AP, vehicle lease and
title maintenance, and Corporate payroll;
. Implemented cash collection program for A/R department. The company's DSO
decreased 28 days by the end of the sixth month.
Epsilon, A Relizon Company, St. Louis, MO 2001 - 2003
Director of Finance and Client Services
. Prepared annual manufacturing budget, analyzed variances to budget and
forecast, and worked with cost reduction team to determine a course of
corrective action when unfavorable variances were noted;
. Analyzed and reconciled the flow of costs per job from inventory through
work in process to the general ledger;
. Corrected postage accounting masking error in the programming of the
company's industry specific software that resulted in savings of $800K.
Swank Audio Visuals & Motion Pictures, Inc., St. Louis, MO 1999 - 2001
Corporate Controller
. Drove the "Quote to Cash" program, which will result in a 1-day
turnaround on issuing an invoice; current billing turnaround is 12 days,
down from 31 days in the previous year;
. Implemented a bar-code scanning inventory control system to 140 locations
nationwide. Realized a 50% reduction of time spent in the inventory
counting process and a lost inventory reduction of 25% per year;
. Created the "Semester Report Card", a compilation of new and lost
accounts, discounts, credits, and shipping shortages per semester that
informed the College sales staff and management of sales productivity;
. Responsible for implementing rate card pricing grids for two (2) motion
picture market segments which enabled the sales staff a more efficient
means of pricing while conducting direct sales;
. Enhanced and redefined the cash collection incentive plan for the Motion
Picture A/R department. The company-wide DSO decreased an average of 12
days.
Mueller, Prost, Purk & Willbrand, P.C., St. Louis, MO 1994 - 1999
Corporate Controller/Firm Administrator
. As the only member of the accounting staff, I was responsible for
maintaining the General Ledger, all journal entry preparation and entry,
account reconciliations, and management of the administrative staff.
. Responsible for the contract negotiation and administration of the
401(k)/profit sharing plan, cafeteria plan, health, life, long term
disability, and workman's compensation insurance;
. Implemented account collection incentive bonus program, which resulted in
a monthly average decrease in outstanding receivables by 20%.
Waste Management Technologies, Inc., St. Louis, MO 1988 - 1993
Division and Entity Controller / Operations Supervisor
. Responsible for the accounting and finance functions for three
environmental services divisions of Waste Management Technologies, Inc.
(a Fortune 500 company) including Waste management of Missouri, Inc.,
Pezold Hauling, Inc., and Milam Landfill and Compost Facility, Inc.;
. Developed and implemented a marketing promotions program, which reduced
customer attrition by 10%, and increased residential sales by 7%;
. Designed, maintained and audited driver routes to maximize profitability
and productivity.
Anders, Minkler and Diehl, CPA's 1986 - 1988
Auditor
EDUCATION
Master's Degree in Business Administration
Fontbonne College, St. Louis, MO
Rank: 1 of 24
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO
AFFILIATIONS & CERTIFICATIONS
1981 - Present St. Louis University High School Board of
Directors
2010 - Present St. Louis University High School Advisory
Comm. for Student Affairs
2010 - Present Institute of Management Accountants Member
2003 - 2010 Community Assn. for Financial Education Senior Advocate
2003 - 2010 Missouri Dept of Insurance Life & Health
Insurance License
2003 - 2010 Nat'l Assn of Security Dealers Series 6 & 63
Certificates[pic]
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