Alex Cannings
Perth,WA
Summary
Experienced client focused and detail-oriented Certified Public Accountant, adept at providing comprehensive audits and financial analysis to facilitate educated business strategies. Looking to secure a position at a forward-thinking organization that allows for further career growth.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
Work History
Finance Manager
MORE OPPORTUNITIES
07.2024 - Current
- Company Overview: NDIS service provider with over 200 employees
- Leadership of finance team (3 direct reports) and office site manager (7 staff)
- Oversee all financial operations including budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management, and financial reporting
- Manage the preparation and presentation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements including BAS, superannuation filings, invoicing, and payroll
- Managing day-to-day financial operations including invoicing, overseeing payroll, payments, procurement, and reporting to ensure smooth and accurate functioning
- Providing financial guidance, collaborating closely with the director
- Analysing complex financial issues to develop actionable strategies and solutions, advising on and assisting in implementing key financial decisions
- Restructing business operations and offering alternatives to director re running of business by investing more into technology and reducing overheads, identifying and enforcing permanent employee placement in areas reliant on casual staff on high hours
- Negotiating property leases both for office space and for commercial operations
- Finding synergies between other affiliated business within the industry and establishing partnerships
- NDIS service provider with over 200 employees
Owner/Director
Entertainment Business
10.2014 - Current
- Company Overview: Owner and Director of Perth Based Live Music/Entertainment Business
- Owner/Director of live music entertainment business since 2014
- Pty Ltd Company, full time operation
- Keeping and lodging own books via Xero
- Employing over 10 contractors
- Submitting quarterly BAS and Superannuation payments for contractors
- Managing P/L, balance sheet, cash flow, and submitting annual reports
- Years of experience and communication within minesites and community engagement
Commercial Manager (News & Public Affairs)
SEVEN NETWORK
08.2014 - 10.2014
- Company Overview: Highest rating free to air commercial television network in Australia
- Commercial Manager News & Public Affairs for Seven Network Limited
- Business Partnering and Cost Control - supporting and building trust with Seven Network News & Public Affairs Australia wide
- Contract position ending Oct-14
- Monthly Management and Financial Reporting - review of production costs, salaries, depreciation, and overheads v budget & forecast, production accounting
- Staff Management - CA trained accountant as direct report
- Understanding nature of the business' operations and identifying cost implications of current month activity that has not yet been recognised and accruing/prepaying accordingly
- Navigating complex management systems, co-ordinating the overlap between interstate and national operations and identifying appropriate management accountability
- Preparing formalised justification for approval of Capex and significant operating expenditure items for the expense committee
- Review of annualised salaries v budget and use of casuals, analysing recruitment proposals, pay rises and restructures, recommending courses of action and approving employment positions with department managers
- Assisted in Income Tax Return for News & Public Affairs
- Accounting for FBT - car leases, functions and sporting events, telephone & internet reimbursement, other employee benefits and corporate hospitality events
- Overseeing short term projects for major news stories - procuring sponsorship and managing overseas travel expenses
- Approval of per diems, cash advances, direct debit accounts, international currency claims, and other expenses
- Internal audit and review of travel and entertainment costs against company travel policy
- Ensuring and monitoring correct use of company fuel cards for vehicles and helicopters
- Highest rating free to air commercial television network in Australia
- Achievements: Developing an automatic system of accruing/prepaying contractual payments for assistant accountant
- Analysing new system aimed at increasing transparency to the relevant business leaders regarding manager engagement of casual staff
- Evaluated that cost reductions had been achieved in relation to those being monitored, recommended department wide implementation
Management Accountant
FOX SPORTS
09.2011 - 06.2014
- Company Overview: An Australian group of sports channels owned by News Corp, aired on pay TV network Foxtel
- Supporting, controlling cost, and building relationships with producers and management within outside broadcast, studio, talent, promotions, and digital (website/mobile/tablet) departments
- Collaborating with business unit managers to assist in preparation of business plans for new channels and outsourced production agreements for CFO
- Manage reporting of outside broadcast and studio programme productions, talent, promotions, and digital (website/mobile/tablet)
- Preparing weekly management expenditure reports in regards to above for News Ltd ownership
- Creating and processing production/adjustment journals to ensure expenses are recognised in the correct period
- Monthly review of WIP and reconciliation of production expense to general ledger
- Preparation and review of month end reporting - monthly preparation of actual v budget v forecast profit & loss reports, analysis of major variances against each
- Internal Audit
- Providing information for external audit
- Preparing annual budgets for outside broadcast and studio programme productions, talent, promotions, and digital (website/mobile/tablet) departments
- Obtaining business unit manager input, accountability, and buy-in, presenting to CFO, and finding savings where necessary
- Preparing 5 Year Plan per above and updating quarterly
- An Australian group of sports channels owned by News Corp, aired on pay TV network Foxtel
- Achievements: Effectively managing budget & forecast expectations collaboratively with production & creative department executives, identifying and ensuring specific overruns are met with savings identified elsewhere within their budgets
- Solely responsible for creation of annual budgets for production and creative departments $150m
- Assisting in development of new AFL channel (started 2012) - calculating cost impact of increased coverage, talent, staff, and new facility and providing operational recommendations (now #1 Pay TV Channel in Australia)
- Lead analyst on pricing of outsourced production agreements for AFL, NRL, and A-League
- Analysing 5-year supplier tenders from outside broadcast providers (major production cost) against competitors, budget, and forecast
- Dealing with suppliers direct during negotiation process and recommending most suitable supplier to management and CFO
- Each deal $50m-$60m for 5 years
- Maintaining own trial balance (production ledger), managing WIP function, ensuring accuracy for external audit
- Managing increased workload due to growth of company - more production & increased digital presence
Management Accountant (Seven Sport)
SEVEN NETWORK
06.2009 - 09.2011
- Company Overview: Highest rating free to air commercial television network in Australia
- Preparing annual budget
- Presenting budget to executive team
- Month end management reporting - review of production costs, salaries, and overheads v budget & forecast, production (WIP) accounting
- Supporting and building trust with Sport department
- Reporting to business managers in more 'decision useful' formats (i.e
- Non-accounting language)
- Review of broadcast agreements and license fees, employee contracts and benefits for 5 Year Plan
- Providing information for external audit
- Payment of all on-screen talent
- Accounting for FBT - employee benefits and corporate hospitality events
- Internal Audit
- Analyst role in other business units
- Highest rating free to air commercial television network in Australia
- Achievements: Preparing and presenting annual budget for Seven Sport to an audience of 9 people including Head of Sport, CFO and COO $50m
- Lead analyst on potential sporting acquisitions - obtaining revenue forecasts, calculating production & rights cost and communicating bottom line to CFO
- Analyst on transition of 'Sunday Night' - relocation costs, advised on buy v hire of edit suite equipment, engaging casuals v permanent to CFO and business manager
- Built trust with business managers - given opportunity to experience operational side as Unit manager on TV Productions (Sydney to Hobart Race, AFL)
Auditor (Consumer/Industrial Markets)
KPMG
01.2007 - 05.2008
- Company Overview: Large global professional services partnership, one of the Big Four audit firms
- Auditing financial statements
- Year end substantive testing - balance sheet liabilities
- Identifying weaknesses within a clients internal controls
- Working in a team environment, supporting members of the audit team
- Allocated larger clients, which involved more ad-hoc analysis - eg
- Comparing use of fuel by Qantas to prior year
- Keeping in touch with day-to-day developments of clients, and keeping the rest of the team informed
- Performing stocktakes and overseeing client's stock counting procedures
- Researching prospective audit clients
- Main Clients - Qantas, GWF (Tip Top) Baking, The Salvation Army, Kookaburra Musicals, The University of NSW, Compass Mining, Veolia Transport, NIDA
- Large global professional services partnership, one of the Big Four audit firms
Education
CPA Qualified -
12.2011
Bachelor of Commerce - Accounting, Finance
University of NSW
01.2006
Secondary Education -
Marcellin College Randwick
01.2003
Skills
- Microsoft Excel
- Xero
- Share Point
- MYP
- Proda
- Word
- Power Point
- Technology One
- Finance One
- Microstrategy
- Mobius
- PSE
- ScheduALL
Timeline
Finance Manager
MORE OPPORTUNITIES
07.2024 - Current
Owner/Director
Entertainment Business
10.2014 - Current
Commercial Manager (News & Public Affairs)
SEVEN NETWORK
08.2014 - 10.2014
Management Accountant
FOX SPORTS
09.2011 - 06.2014
Management Accountant (Seven Sport)
SEVEN NETWORK
06.2009 - 09.2011
Auditor (Consumer/Industrial Markets)
KPMG
01.2007 - 05.2008
CPA Qualified -
Bachelor of Commerce - Accounting, Finance
University of NSW
Secondary Education -
Marcellin College Randwick
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