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Customer Service Accounting

Location:
Thorofare, NJ
Posted:
June 28, 2020

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Resume:

FRANCIS M. BICKERT, CPIM

Greater Philadelphia, PA

856-***-**** linkedin.com/in/francis-bickert10 add6e5@r.postjobfree.com

CONTROLLER

A Financial Accounting leader with 25+ years’ global, multi-site corporate financial experience supporting diverse manufacturing firms such as food & beverage, specialty chemicals, paper & film, lighting, clothing, and packaging. Expertise includes budget preparation, financial modeling, forecasting, compliance, cost accounting, M&A consolidations, physical inventories, corporate turnarounds, and system conversions. Known for strong project management, best practices implementation, and operational enhancements.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Planning & Analysis

Financial Reporting

Sage & Fishbowl Software

Internal Controls

Project Management

Inventory Management

Incident-Free Audits

Best Practices

Capital Budgeting

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Improved Bread Partners’ cash flow and collection practices to reduce receivables from 50 to 35 DSO.

Selected & implemented Fishbowl Inventory Control System, improving on-time shipments from 80% to 98% and completing audit 90 days sooner.

Enabled LBO close at twice book value due to valuation of proprietary knowledge at Norquay.

Improved cash flow and recovered $80K in bad debt after instituting receivables insurance at CCT.

Increased gross margin by 10% after implementing Cost Accounting System.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Bickert Accounting Services, West Deptford, NJ July 2019 – Mar 2020

Professional Plumbing Group, Glen Mills, PA

A privately held national commercial plumbing distributor with ~500 employees.

Controller (contract)

Oversee managing bank reconciliations, conducting physical inventories, performing 1099 tax filings, conducting balance sheet reconciliations and implementing internal controls.

Conducted more than 40 extensive bank reconciliations

Led and completed physical inventory for $22M plant with ~35,000 unique part numbers

Identified and resolved $500K+ discrepancies in payables and receivables accounts

Bread Partners (BP), Cinnaminson, NJ 2018 – 2019

A $17M privately-held bakery with 50K-square-foot certified facility.

Controller (Contract)

Managed team of up to three (3) and led all facets of finance and accounting, including A/P, A/R, inventory, audit and controls, treasury and banking relationships, cash flow, planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, analysis, and compliance. Led quality assurance component of customer service function.

Improved cash flow and collection practices to reduce receivables from 50 to 35 DSO

Supervised issuance of 50 certificates of authorization/week for shipments to 70 customers

Implemented enhanced physical inventories under Sage 100, achieving nearly 100% accuracy

Partnered with service team to resolve accounting issues with 15 customer-specific programs

Expedited creation of 30 work orders/day to optimize production efficiency and accelerate shipping

Streamlined financial auditing preparation and processes, resulting in audit with no material findings.

Instituted best practices to improve cycle count accuracy, reducing variance from 25% to 5%.

Norquay Technologies Inc., Chester, PA 2010 – 2018

A $13M specialty chemicals firm serving large clients such as J&J, Dow Chemicals, and Grace Chemicals since 1987.

Controller

Oversaw financial accounting and treasury functions. Directed activities of A/P & A/R team and cost-plus contract billings. Enhanced financial controls; established fully-integrated supply chain system (Fishbowl

Inventory Control) that was focused on lean accounting methods. Replaced Peachtree software with QuickBooks Pro. Established cost-based pricing for 4K SKUs that included labor, overhead, and base cost.

Achieved 20% reduction in health insurance costs by switching to Professional Employer Organization

Decreased average monthly outstanding receivables by 25% with enhanced follow up procedures and focus on European and Far East accounts

Reduced on-hand stock and introduced quarterly physical inventories to increase profitability 20%

Implemented fixed asset accounting software to better track assets and calculate client depreciation

Positioned company for comprehensive unqualified audit and sale to PE firm

Prepared multi-year EBITDA models, growth projections, and proprietary knowledge valuation to enable LBO close at twice book value; partnered with attorneys to meet legal obligations

Seamlessly managed 3-month employee absence, ensuring no lapse in business continuity

Implemented system that managed customer order creation process, production batch tickets, picking orders, and customer shipments

Coating and Converting Technologies (CCT), Philadelphia, PA 2008 – 2009

A $20M privately-owned manufacturer of high-performance, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape and paper.

Controller

Led all aspects of financial analysis, management, and reporting. Prepared month-end and year-end closings, daily sales, and back order reports. Reconciled daily cash availability. Managed balance sheet accounts inclusive of cash management, receivables, perpetual, and physical inventories. Introduced automated payroll system. Implemented disciplined collections processes.

Resolved 12 months of backlogged bank reconciliations within five (5) days

Implemented safe harbor plan and lowered employee 401K administrative costs from 1.25% to 0.25%

Conducted cost benefit analysis to capitalize on growth and profit improvement opportunities

Reduced outstanding receivables by recovering $80K bad debt after instituting receivables insurance

Resolved internal controls issues by implementing independent audit function

Formulated, justified, and analyzed annual multi-million-dollar capital budgets

Skinny Nutritional Corporation, Bala Cynwyd, PA 2007 – 2008

A $3.5M start-up offering nutritionally enhanced bottled water to retail facilities and distribution centers.

Controller

Developed and implemented comprehensive infrastructure guiding corporate banking and insurance programs to finance inventory, oversaw investor relations and internal / external audits, and established QuickBooks Payroll System.

Prepared quarterly and annual SEC reports on time for Board, counsel, and public accountant

Instituted factoring of receivables to improve cash flow; reduced DSO by 30 days

Penn Emblem Company, Philadelphia, PA 2005 – 2007

A $30M international emblem embroidery manufacturer / distributor.

General Accounting Manager

Oversaw A/P team. Acted as CFO when incumbent resigned without notice five (5) days before year-end. Instituted best practices to improve efficiency and accuracy of A/P operations.

Resolved year-end issues relating to data recovery and bank reconciliation discrepancies

Worked with auditors on issues relating to inventory perpetual records and monthly inventory reports.

When data backup malfunctioned, single-handedly verified three (3)-months of data

Simkar Corporation, Philadelphia, PA 1998 – 2005

$110M privately-held manufacturer lighting fixtures for commercial, industrial, and residential applications.

Financial Analyst Financial, Operations, and Cost Accounting

Created and instituted financial management programs in support of CFO and VPs of Production and Sales.

Selected and implemented premier imaging system (IMS) that converted all financial and management documents into searchable PDF database that improved accuracy and timeliness of customer service

Performed complex financial analysis / modeling and legal due diligence for two (2) multi-million-dollar corporate acquisitions, expanding product portfolio to include high-end and decorative lighting

Generated monthly sales reports that analyzed volume price mix and unit volume by customer and product class. Enabled data-based decisions that improved gross margin by 3%

Utilized payback, IRR, and NPV to ensure capital expenditures surpassed 25% hurdle rate

Mapped production workflow and identified process improvements to increase output by 10%

EARLY CAREER

Senior Cost Accountant, Tape Division, American Biltrite, Moorestown, NJ, Accountant, Grow Group, Inc., Pennsauken, NJ, Foreign Exchange Accountant, Crown Cork and Seal Company, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION

Bachelors of Science, Accounting, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia PA

Certified Production and Inventory Management (CPIM)

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Candidate, Certified Management (CMA) – Passed Exams:

Economics, Finance, & Management

Management Reporting, Analysis, & Behavioral Issues

Decision Analysis, Information Systems, & Management Control

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Microsoft Office Word, Excel (Pivot Tables), PowerPoint; QuickBooks Pro and Enterprise Solutions; Paychex and ADP Payroll Systems; SAGE 100 (cloud-based inventory management & ERP Software); Fishbowl ERP (manufacturing, warehouse, & inventory management software)



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