Sarah MacKay Smith
Auckland
Summary
- Accomplished Business Performance Manager with a proven track record of driving financial and operational success. Skilled in analysing data, identifying trends and implementing strategies to optimise performance and achieve organisational goals.
- Comprehensive knowledge of financial and accounting principles relating to budgeting and forecasting, including experience in areas of financial management and control.
- Strong leadership abilities, with the ability to build and motivate high-performing teams. Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex concepts to stakeholders at all levels. A strategic thinker who thrives in fast paced environments and is able to adapt quickly to changing priorities.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Credit Card & Merchant Banking Business Performance
Westpac New Zealand
07.2014 - 12.2015
- Leverage Credit Card and Merchant banking in a cross functional role, fostering collaboration to enhance product offerings and create a competitive advantage.
- Identify opportunities for Merchants to grow their business through acceptance gateway solutions, targeted repricing and payments strategy.
- Build on the strong existing products and business relationships in Westpac's Credit Cards portfolio, drive innovation through launch of new products and services across the product lifecycle, adopt new business models to help embrace new networks and build new service revenue streams.
- Monitor product performance, adoption and operational health, support and participate in post launch reviews and ensure feedback is reincorporated into enhancements. Promptly identify early warning signals and deteriorating trends, contributing to informed decision making.
- Own and drive all identified initiatives with the integration of the Airpoints programme into the Credit Card portfolio with full reporting to ensure complete monitoring and review where required.
- Liaise with all key stakeholders to ensure strategy has full buy in and support to ensure a smooth implementation following the Airpoints launch.
- Create insightful commentaries and appropriate reporting suites tailored to stakeholders. Provide weekly analysis of key drivers following Airpoints launch to CFO, with revision of forecast and initiatives to be delivered.
- Proven leadership with the ability to influence and develop people. Provide guidance and coaching to junior team members in understanding revenue drivers in forecast modelling and improve accuracy of performance reporting.
Credit Card Analyst
Westpac New Zealand
01.2014 - 06.2014
- Utilise strong financial and accounting background to contribute to improve accuracy and integrity of financial reporting and analysis for the Credit Card portfolio.
- Perform analysis to identify key drivers of portfolio returns, relative performance to industry benchmarks and forecast.
- Investigate and create opportunities for financial process improvements through automation and more efficient methods of creation and delivery, anticipating needs of internal stakeholders.
- Define strategies from a financial perspective, which support the objectives and strategic goals of the Credit Card portfolio.
- Deeply understand what drives conversion and deeper relationships to formulate and execute strategies that make a measurable impact. Ensure pricing strategies set are competitive and closely monitored.
Senior Financial Analyst - Institutional Bank
Westpac New Zealand
06.2011 - 02.2012
- Support WIB Business Relationship Manager whilst on Linc project, providing ad hoc analysis, modelling, planning and forecasting for WIB as required.
- Review of monthly financial reports. Initiated changes to enhance timeliness and accuracy of reporting. Supporting WIB staff to use revised reporting.
Senior Financial Analyst - Marketing & CFO Office
Westpac New Zealand
01.2011 - 05.2011
- Provide accurate, timely and relevant information, analysis, modelling and advice to assist with the achievement of Marketing and the Chief Financial Office's business objectives.
- Provide monthly and ad hoc financial reports and analysis to Marketing and the CFO Office. Engage with relevant General Managers and team leaders for monthly forecasting of FTE and expenses.
- Responsible for financial planning, working closely with team leaders to ensure Marketing and CFO Office plans align with Westpac's strategy and sales force initiatives.
Senior Financial Analyst - Retail Bank
Westpac New Zealand
04.2006 - 12.2010
- Provide analytical and modelling support through active participation in strategic, analytical and operational projects. Identifying and assessing proposed actions taken to realise future opportunities.
- Responsible for month end reporting, managing and mentoring of junior staff. Reviewing variances for revenue, margin, balance sheet, expenses, FTE and KPI's relevant to Retail Bank. Working closely with management and team leaders to understand key drivers and monitor performance against established targets.
- Establish strong working relationships with Finance peers and Retail Bank management to meet company objectives and develop efficient and effective cross-divisional relationships among core teams throughout Westpac.
- Coordinate staff and perform financial planning and forecasting. Working closely with Regional, Area and Branch managers and team leaders. Ensure clarity of plan strategy and assumptions for revenue, margin, expense, FTE and sales force initiatives are delivered. Identifying stretch and opportunities across Retail Bank. Provide product modelling tools for planning and forecasting purposes.
- Work closely with Product Managers to understand key drivers of fee income, volume and margin rate variances to monthly forecast.
- Collaborate with BT Funds management to interpret monthly WRAP income. Gaining insight into key drivers in changes to Funds Under Management. Ensure all revenue and expenses in their cash account are reflected in the general ledger.
- Collaborate with the Business Information Group to develop new reporting and analytical tools in Microstrategy to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of monitoring Retail Banks performance. Managing to tight time and resource constraints
Management Analyst
UDC Finance
06.2004 - 04.2006
- Responsible for the completion of monthly financial reports for UDC Finance and release to external parties inclusive of Esanda, ANZ Bank and Financial Services Federation.
- Analyse department profitability reports, discussing these with business managers, highlighting emerging trends and identifying underlying business performance drivers. Ensuring these issues are reflected in company budgets and forecasts.
- Instigated the development of the 2006 budget model for UDC Finance. Accurately analysing individual cost centres business drivers and financial results. Ensured assumptions embedded in the budget model are consistent with those assumed and agreed with by the business.
- Development of additional analysis and reporting on an ongoing basis to ensure monthly financial reporting continues to meet the needs of the business.
Freight Analyst
Air New Zealand Engineering Services
12.2003 - 06.2004
- Solely responsible for the financial management of all freight vendors with an annual expenditure of $12 million.
- Coordinate data entry staff ensuring timely entry of invoices.
- Establish high level analysis for actual freight cost versus budgeted costs. Initiate corrective action within ANZES to increase accuracy levels to further improve budgeted cost effectiveness.
- Coordinate with purchasers, cost planners, warehousing and dispatch for confirmation of order costing.
- Project work involving the implementation of a financial interface upgrade in SAP.
Inventory/Rotatable Asset Analyst
Air New Zealand Engineering Services
09.2002 - 12.2003
- Responsible for the accurate and timely completion of all monthly financial reports to Air New Zealand and its subsidiary companies on their fixed assets. Ensure integrity of billing, posting to general ledger and clearing of accounts.
- Ensure inventory and fixed assets are valued correctly and agree with the general ledger.
- Control of Bax Global freight invoicing interface process with an annual expenditure of $9 million, ensuring corrective action is taken to resolve issues and problems.
- Responsible for management and clearing of the price difference balance sheet account, ensuring correct moving average prices, price revaluations of inventory and investigation of foreign exchange rate differences for inventory.
- Variance analysis between actual and planned freight costs to allow for assessment of key performance indicators for each purchasing departments budget.
Vendor Performance Analyst
Air New Zealand Engineering Services
06.2001 - 08.2002
- Create awareness of vendor activity through regular reporting and analysis of vendor invoices, quality; turn time, warranty and an overall performance report, inclusive of overdue orders.
- Analyse monthly stock turn, disposition and gross return of inventory. Also providing weekly inventory disposal and stock on hand reports to vendors.
- Responsible for the vendor database management and development. Assessing and interpreting data, to provide awareness of trends to management.
Education
Bachelor of Business Studies - Finance And Banking
Massey University
Palmerston North, NZ05.2001
Skills
- Product Performance Management
- Product Launch Planning
- Project Management
- Financial Management
- Business Analysis
- Financial Analysis and Modelling
- Revenue and Expense Forecasting and Budgeting
- Leadership
- Strategic Thinking
- Influence at all Levels
- Collaborative Problem Solving
Affiliations
- Glendowie Primary School Parents Association Treasurer - 02/2016 - 09/2020
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Credit Card & Merchant Banking Business Performance
Westpac New Zealand
07.2014 - 12.2015
Credit Card Analyst
Westpac New Zealand
01.2014 - 06.2014
Senior Financial Analyst - Institutional Bank
Westpac New Zealand
06.2011 - 02.2012
Senior Financial Analyst - Marketing & CFO Office
Westpac New Zealand
01.2011 - 05.2011
Senior Financial Analyst - Retail Bank
Westpac New Zealand
04.2006 - 12.2010
Management Analyst
UDC Finance
06.2004 - 04.2006
Freight Analyst
Air New Zealand Engineering Services
12.2003 - 06.2004
Inventory/Rotatable Asset Analyst
Air New Zealand Engineering Services
09.2002 - 12.2003
Vendor Performance Analyst
Air New Zealand Engineering Services
06.2001 - 08.2002
Bachelor of Business Studies - Finance And Banking
Massey University
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