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)