Nicole Ortiz
Expertise
Throughout my finance career, I have been guided by three core principles that have been instrumental to my success: People, Process, and Product.
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People: Effective leadership requires empathy. In today's evolving work environment, prioritizing work-life balance is crucial. Understanding individual motivators – whether they be financial compensation, career advancement, or recognition – allows leaders to connect with their teams on a personal level and create a motivating environment that ultimately benefits the entire organization.
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Process: While often not directly associated with finance, creativity plays a vital role. Thinking outside conventional approaches enables us to develop and implement streamlined processes that minimize administrative overhead. This efficiency frees up valuable time, allowing finance professionals to focus on higher-value activities, such as insightful analysis and strategic guidance.
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Product: Finance professionals serve as trusted advisors, providing critical financial information to business partners. To be truly effective, we must deeply understand the specific needs of the business. This understanding, cultivated through clear and consistent communication, ensures that the right information is delivered at the right time, empowering informed decision-making.
Core Competencies
Budgeting
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Worked with management to collate and distribute annual Growth targets as developed by Divisional and Group leadership teams.
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Worked with Commercial team, providing historical trends and incorporating strategic initiatives for future growth to develop a sales budget that aligns to YoY growth targets. Tracked Sales forecast by product type and phasing.
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Worked with the Operations team to develop annual revenue forecast based on forecast carryover Orderbook and Sales budget, tracked by product type and phasing, ensuring that Revenue budget aligns to YoY growth targets.
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Worked with management to develop annual operating budgets, taking into consideration P&L categories, labor resource requirements, revenue and costs, ensuring that EBIT budget aligns to YoY growth targets.
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Developed complex budget templates using advanced Excel skills, formulas, hyperlinks, pivot tables, look-ups, etc.
Forecasting
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Implemented weekly flash forecast process for Sales and Revenues, tracking MTD and month outlook vs. forecast.
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Tracked forecast variance through QTD analysis and collation of risks/ opportunities from cross-functional teams.
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Worked with the Commercial and Operations team to understand fluctuations vs. prior forecast and incorporate into remainder year forecast during Quarterly forecast cycles.
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Provided variance analysis for YTD and remainder year forecast against prior forecast with detailed commentary at an entity and divisional level.
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Developed tools to track forecast accuracy with target of <>5% EBIT Variance, with well explained commentary for forecast variances.
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Developed complex Quarterly forecast templates using advanced Excel skills, formulas, hyperlinks, pivot tables, look-ups, etc.
Financial Reporting
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Provided financial support to business leaders through provision of easy-to-understand report formats and analysis; i.e. spend by cost category, MTD, QTD and YTD operation results vs. forecast and budget, headcount, working capital and ad hoc.
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Prepared and published financial statements in Excel and PowerPoint presentation formats.
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Developed and implemented standard reports for both local entity and consolidated region reporting.
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Developed KPI Dashboard for health check with summary data for Sales, Revenue, EBIT, cost by category and margins.
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Developed and implemented consolidated Sales and Revenue reports for a region with x7 ERP Systems, providing visibility to customer, product line, divisional and sales manager trends.
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Developed and implemented forecast accuracy and Finance team KPI trackers.
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Developed and implemented complex reporting structures using advanced Excel skills, formulas, hyperlinks, pivot tables, look-ups, etc. with demonstrated success in reducing the reporting cycle process and reduced overtime hours required by the Finance team to complete reporting cycles.
Financial Analysis
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Analyzed actual-to-forecast or budget variances on department, entity and regional financials monthly, quarterly and annually.
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Reviewed and analyzed spending to identify trends, explain key variance drivers and identify opportunities for cost reduction.
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Provided analysis and alerted senior management and finance of any issues or potential opportunities for performance improvements.
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Guided team towards utilizing the '5 Why' concept when carrying out variance analysis, so as to identify root cause of variances and take action to eliminate the cause.
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Excellent facilitation skills with proven ability to simplify, lead group discussions, collaborate, conceptualize and think strategically.
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Strong business acumen with ability to explain financial concepts to members at all levels of the organization. Aptitude for understanding strategies, thinking "outside the box", clarifying, formulating and illustrating key performance analytics.
Metrics, KPI's and Modeling
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Developed, maintained and monitored financial performance metrics and KPI's (YTD Revenue, YTD expenses, material margin, gross margin, A/R (Overdue Receivables and DSO) and Inventory (DOH).
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Developed, maintained and monitored operational performance metrics and KPI's (Utilization, Efficiency, On-time delivery).
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Disclosed and interpreted KPI's to senior management for informed decision-making to maximize profitability.
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Maintained Finance KPI's to track adherence to Group deadlines, audit finding resolution and forecast accuracy. Developed and implemented forecast accuracy and Finance team KPI trackers.
Process Development
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Collaborated with cross-functional teams, at all levels, to develop an understanding of business processes from Quote to Cash.
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Identified control gaps within process from Quote to Cash, provided training to non-finance personnel on business controls and supported process reviews and implementations to reduce risk.
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Completed ISO 9001:2015 training to partner with Quality Manager in identification and implementation of improvement opportunities for the quality management system, with specific focus on process streamlining.
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Completed training in Business Improvement Techniques with focus on improving operational performance through the application of lean manufacturing concepts.
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Applied concepts learned through Business Improvement Techniques qualification to finance function to streamline financial processes, with recognized improvements in time required to complete financial reporting and analysis, with in-depth and detailed analysis available within a shortened timeframe.
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Developed and implemented complex templates using advanced Excel skills, formulas, hyperlinks, pivot tables, look-ups, etc. to support process streamlining.
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Define (and learn) the systems, processes, and people. Develop a problem statement to communicate the gaps within the above elements, including system capabilities, non-value add or timely processes, and development opportunities within the team structure.
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Measure the process through development of current process maps and identify bottlenecks within the process.
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Analyze the cause of the bottlenecks. Carry out time and value add analysis studies. Focus on actual time work is done vs. time spent waiting or manually collating data and reports. Utilize 5 Why analysis to refine the problem statement. Brainstorm solutions to overcome the bottlenecks.
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Improve the process through development and implementation of streamlined report structures, the development of the team to support continuous improvement initiatives through enhanced skillsets and tool development to overcome the gaps identified within the systems.
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Implement controls to maintain the solutions implemented and ensure the process is being managed properly and embedded in the standard operating procedures. Continuously improve the process using Lean principles and promote a culture of continuous development. Expand the improved process throughout the organization. Apply new knowledge to other processes in the organization.
Let's Connect!
​"Networking is not about just connecting people. It's about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities." -- Michele Jennae
