Florencia Piccolotto

As a Financial Accountant at Buckman Europe, managing 12 legal entities within EMENA, I focus on maintaining accurate financial records, improving processes, and supporting the company’s overall financial health.

My key responsibilities are:

· Monthly Close Process: Played a key role in completing the month-end close, ensuring that all transactions are accurately recorded and reconciled within the specified timelines. Manage the preparation of month-end journals, including accruals, provisions, and necessary adjustments.

· Balance Sheet Reconciliations: Prepare and review balance sheet reconciliations, promptly identifying and resolving discrepancies to maintain financial accuracy.

· Intercompany Reconciliation: Oversee the reconciliation of intercompany transactions and balances across multiple entities, ensuring full compliance with transfer pricing regulations.

· Financial Compliance: Ensure that all financial activities adhere to company policies and both global and local accounting standards and regulations.

· Financial Analysis: Conduct detailed month-over-month analysis of the balance sheet, P&L, and cash flow statements, identifying variances and providing actionable insights to support better decision-making.

· Reports for Senior Management: Prepare financial reports for senior management, including sales reports, price variance reports, freight and shipping analyses, and customer profitability reports.

· Tax Compliance: Manage the preparation of VAT returns, Intrastat declarations, and other local tax filings for Belgium, Austria, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, and Poland.

· Cash Flow Management: Review and monitor cash flow to ensure adequate liquidity for ongoing operations, minimizing the risk of late fees related to taxes and VAT.

· Bank Reconciliation: Ensure accurate reconciliation of bank statements, investigating and addressing discrepancies in a timely manner.

· AR/AP analysis: Review accounts receivable and payable aging reports, ensuring timely follow-up on overdue payments and recognition of potential bad debts.

· Audit Support: Assist in internal and external audits by providing accurate documentation, addressing auditor inquiries promptly, and ensuring compliance with audit standards.

· ISO Audits & Process Improvements: Certified as an Integrated Auditor by Amelior, I conduct internal audits to assess compliance with ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), and ISO 45001 (Health & Safety) standards. I have audited and improved processes in areas such as Customer Service, Warehouse, HR, Laboratory, and Finance, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

· Process Optimization & Automation: Identify opportunities for efficiency improvements and drive process enhancements. Led a global project to standardize Procure-to-Pay (P2P) processes in collaboration with McKinsey, ensuring consistency across regions. Partnered with IT to automate payment runs and bank statement processing in SAP. These initiatives resulted in significant improvements in operational efficiency and a substantial reduction in manual workloads.

• Credit management: Analyzed financial statements and credit reports, and established credit limits and payment terms for customers in alignment with company policies.
• Cash Receipts Reconciliation: Reconciled daily cash receipts with general ledger entries to ensure accurate recording of transactions.
• Customer Account Reconciliation: Reconciled customer accounts to ensure accuracy, addressing discrepancies in payments or invoicing as they arise.
• Reporting for Management and Sales Team: Prepared weekly and monthly reports for management and the sales team, including aging reports, collection status updates, bad debt analysis, and credit risk exposure assessments.
• Month-End Closing Support: Assisted in month-end closing activities by preparing journal entries (bad debt provision, revenue accrual) and performing sub-ledger AR reconciliations with the general ledger.
• Intercompany Invoices and Intercompany reconciliation : Prepared intercompany invoices for recharges (services and shared expenses) in accordance with transfer pricing policies. Reconciled intercompany balances between entities, ensuring all transactions matched, and investigated and resolved discrepancies in intercompany accounts.
• Audit Support: Assisted with internal and external audits by providing documentation and addressing auditor inquiries.

· Financial Operations Oversight: Oversaw billing, accounts receivable, treasury operations, and bank reconciliations, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of financial records.

· Financial Reporting: Prepared financial statements and year-end reports for senior management review, providing a clear view of the company's financial position.

· Financial Data Analysis & Strategic Recommendations: Analyzed financial data, including sales performance for B2B and Marketplace channels, and provided actionable insights and strategic recommendations to drive revenue growth.

· Financial Process Documentation & Compliance: Created and documented financial processes and procedures to ensure compliance with local laws and regulations, ensuring streamlined operations and legal adherence.

· Tax Compliance Support: Provided essential data for tax filings, ensuring full regulatory compliance.

· ERP Implementation & System Management:Led the implementation of Odoo ERP software, overseeing data migration, system setup, and user training. This initiative significantly increased operational efficiency across the organization.

· Credit Risk Management: Reviewed credit applications, credit reports, trust deeds, and insurance coverage to assess and mitigate potential credit risks.

· PPSR Management: Managed the registration, maintenance, and release of PPSR (Personal Property Securities Register) to ensure proper security over assets.

· Legal Accounts Reporting: Coordinated with internal finance teams, Rabobank, external solicitors, liquidators, insolvency accountants, and insurance providers to report and manage legal accounts effectively.

· Accounts Receivable Reporting: Prepared and presented accounts receivable reports for management, providing insights into outstanding balances and collection performance.

· Intercompany Reconciliation: Reconciled intercompany accounts to ensure accuracy and alignment across multiple entities.

· Cash Review & Allocation: Reviewed unallocated cash to identify discrepancies and ensure proper allocation within the system.

· Collaboration with Treasury & Finance Control: Worked closely with the Treasury and Finance Control teams to align financial processes and improve cash flow management.

· Invoice & Expense Management: Ensure timely booking, processing, and payment of invoices and employee expenses.

· Purchase Order Control: Control purchase orders (POs) and validate them against vehicle parts’ standard costs from the Cost Control department.

· Employee Expense Monitoring: Manage employee expense reports, corporate credit card usage, and staff fleet expenses.

· CAPEX Oversight & Documentation: Oversee CAPEX compliance, ensuring projects meet contractual conditions and documenting exchange rate differences for EUR/USD billing.

· Account Reconciliation: Reconcile supplier and intercompany accounts to ensure accuracy.

· Treasury Coordination: Provide information to the treasury department to ensure accurate payment processing.

· Supplier Relationship Management: Efficiently manage inquiries and requests from national and international suppliers.

· Process Improvement & Procedure Development: Develop and implement new procedures to enhance financial operations.

· SAP System Parameterization: Collaborate with IT to parameterize the SAP system, specifically the AP module.

· Treasury Management: Managed treasury functions, including daily bank reconciliations and cash flow forecasting to maintain liquidity.

· Budget Planning & Financial Analysis:Led budget planning processes and conducted financial analysis to provide insights that support strategic decision-making.

· Accounts Receivable & Payable Oversight:Supervised accounts receivable and accounts payable, ensuring timely processing and accurate recordkeeping.

· Tax Compliance Support: Assisted with the preparation and filing of tax declarations, ensuring full compliance with local tax regulations.

· Annual Accounts Preparation: Contributed to the preparation of annual accounts by providing accurate and timely financial data to support reporting requirements.

· Credit Management Support: Assisted in credit management functions by monitoring overdue invoices and preparing detailed credit reports to assess credit risk.

· Treasury Operations Assistance: Supported treasury operations by monitoring cash flow and managing intercompany transactions to ensure smooth financial operations.

· Audit Preparation & Compliance: Contributed to both internal and external audit preparations, ensuring adherence to organizational standards and regulatory requirements.