Laura Baxter

Highly motivated and strategic thinking Chief Financial Officer with over 13 years of experience in leadership of accounting and finance, financial planning and analysis, operations, business systems, regulatory compliance, and cash management.  Dedicated to improving financial performance through financial planning and cost cutting initiatives and increasing revenue through strategic planning and implementation, whilst integrating ESG into best business practice.  Excellent leadership skills with a proven ability to build and manage high performing teams.  Proficient in financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting and risk management.  Strong communicator with the ability to effectively present complex financial information to stakeholders at all levels. Bachelors with Honours degree in Mathematics and FCCA qualified.

Passionate about continuously improving financial performance and driving business success.  Seeking a new role where I can utilise my experience to make a significant impact on the organisation’s financial performance.

BSL was a new entity incorporated in 2019.  The CFO role required me to lead the business and ensure sufficient delivery of the financial and strategic requirements of the business.

In my time as Chief Finance Officer, my key achievements include:

• Supported the successful negotiation of the first customer contract at a value of QAR 1bn over a 10-year period
• Designed and implemented a robust financial infrastructure including the internal financial control framework that has passed 3 external audits and is the internal benchmark of the business
• Implemented a new 5-year budgeting model and process (with focus on growth) that generated annual revenue growth starting at QAR 25m
• Developed and implemented a new risk management framework that improved overall risk exposure by 25%
• Spearheaded expansion of head office, including the finance team to keep up with company growth
• Led the successful set up of a UK subsidiary that secured a new cross border customer contract of QAR 150m
• Supported the design and implementation of a new customer pricing catalogue to maintain competitive advantage and secure business growth that has accounted for new revenue of QAR 12m
• Completed cost cutting initiatives by reviewing in-house vs external sources, saving QAR 1m per year on external payroll provider costs
• Ensured the company’s compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements by bolstering tax knowledge and streamlining accounting practices reducing cross border tax exposure
• Increased profits by QAR 1m last year by developing and implementing accurate forecasting, risk management and cost reduction procedures

January 2013 – September 2019     BAE Systems Air

Jan 2019 – Sept 2019                          Finance Manager

Samlesbury Aerodrome                     BAE Systems Air – E&I

In my time as Finance Manager my key achievements included:

• Leading the financial compliance and reporting on complex customer cross border contracts, including complex terms such as bank guarantees, contract liabilities, Governmental offsets
• Aided in building a collaborative alignment and business partnering team to support in the delivery of customer contracts 
• Lead my team in a sustainment investment strategy which elongated the lifespan of the company product by understanding, planning, and successfully reducing obsolescence risk by 10 years  
• Implemented process and governance understanding throughout the team that improved business partnering
• Managed a team of 10

Jan 2013 – Jan 2019                            Senior Project Accountant

Prestwick Airport                                 BAE Systems Regional Aircraft

In my 6 years at Regional Aircraft, I was promoted from management accountant to Financial Accountant and then onto Senior Project Accountant; managing a team of 3; my key achievements included:

• Maintaining the books and records of the company with annual turnover of £50m and assets of £100m
• Maintaining working capital and liaising with external stakeholders including auditors, customers and suppliers
• Cash, P&L, Order Intake and B/S forecasting
• Completion, consolidation and reporting of the month end and year-end figures, consolidating several subsidiaries, including a foreign AUD subsidiary
• Aiding in the completion and building of the business budget and forecasts; assisting the business in ensuring that the yearly budget is delivered
• Building a Project Accounting area, for live contracts and bids resulting in the successful bidding for the MOD 146 Queen’s Flight ISSAC Program and successful delivery of the profitable program over the first 2 years
• Contributor to the creation and agreement of a gain share / pain share mechanism which increased profitability by £1m

Sep 2009 – Jan 2013           ACCA Trainee, Accounts Preparation and Tax Dept

Perth                                      Morris and Young, CA

Throughout my three years of training, I had experience of bookkeeping, completing annual and management accounts and audit.  I completed both personal and company tax returns for a variety of clients with different, complex backgrounds, including sole traders, partnerships and limited companies.  In my final year I established my own client base in varying sectors including hotels and restaurants, farms and construction.  I aided the clients in the requirements of their businesses and helped improve their efficiency and margins.  I also have experience in companies with foreign aspects and mainly dealt with clientele with assets worth up to £2m and turnover of up to £1m. 

October 2022                       Institute of Chartered Directors – Certificate of Company Direction

Dec 2012 to Aug 2015        Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA)

Glasgow                                 Fully completed and qualified

Sep 2004 to May 2008       University of Strathclyde

Glasgow                                 Mathematics BSc (Hons) (2.2)