Clark Pickett

Financial Systems Analyst
Kansas City, MO

816-304-0331
clark.pickett@gmail.com

• Financial Systems Analyst
• Implementations/Upgrades
• Financial Analysis

• Responsible for Financial Integrity of Project
• Analyzed Project Work Accomplished
• Calculated Contractual Payments
• Worked closely with Remote Team Members
• Provided Financial Insight on Projects
• Modeled Revenue Recognition
• Reconciled Revenue Recognition
• Reconciled Tax Calculations
• Updated Costs in Financial System

• Skills and Highlights
• Experience
• Education
• Professional Designations
• Recommendation

Skills

• Access Database Applications
• Excel Pivot Tables/Vlookups/VB Macros
• SQL Database Queries
• Crystal Reports
• Revenue Recognition Models
• Cash Flow Forecasting
• Financial Modeling

Highlights

• Proven competency in Accounting and Financial Reporting
• Documented ability with Financial Systems implementations and upgrades
• Advanced spreadsheet proficiency in Excel, including macros
• Substantiated ability to design all types of queries in Access
• Extensive experience writing queries in MS SQL Query Analyzer
• Recognized for financial process improvement
• Strong history with Oracle General Ledger and Accounts Payable
• Experience with PeopleSoft Financial, Comshare Data Loader and nVision

Experience

Applebees Intl., through Hunter Hamilton - April 2011 – Oct. 2011 Budget/Fin. Systems Analyst-Contract

• Processed PeopleSoft Financial allocations, reports and queries during semi-monthly financial reporting schedule.
• Used PeopleSoft Financial Tree Manager to maintain accounts, business units and projects in financial reporting hierarchy.
• Modified 81 financial report layouts in Excel add-in “nVision.”
• Managed financial data interface with Comshare Data Loader.
• Performed financial data archival using Access databases with saved imports and macros.
• Modified Excel macro to combine 94 sheets, streamline their content, and format them for printing.
• Installed user rights for Access databases for users.

F C Stone LLC, through Hunter Hamilton - July 2010 – Aug. 2010 Financial Analyst-Contract

• Compared 6,500 transactions from eleven months of Trading Log files to summary GL entries.
• Confirmed $56,000 in missed billings

Penton Media, Inc., Overland Park, KS 2009 – 2010 Financial Systems Analyst-project

• Analyzed nine months of inventory products received and prepaid/WIP reconciliations, resulting in the processing of 50 transactions to update accounting system.
• Calculated client-specific payments due, including to United Kingdom broker, based on contractual obligations involving 600 sources.

Penton Media, Inc., Overland Park, KS 2008 – 2009 Financial Systems Analyst-project

• Analyzed two years of inventory products received and prepaid/WIP reconciliations, resulting in the processing of 239 transactions to update accounting system.
• During software upgrade, reconciled journal entries from two different software versions, preparing presentation for CFO.

Swiss Re America Holding Corp., Overland Park, KS 2007 - 2008 2008 – 2008 Process Coordinator-Cash Operations 2007 – 2008 Cash Accountant

• Transitioned the daily reconciliation of receipts, Accounts Payable disbursements and monthly AP close, with annual cash receipts volume of $3 billion, from Armonk, NY to Overland Park, KS.
• Worked closely with remote team members daily in Armonk, NY for cash reconciliation and reporting.

Swiss Re American Holding Corp., Overland Park, KS (cont.) 2007 - 2008

• Related in diplomatic way to staff in Armonk, NY office who had been given notice and stay bonus offers.
• Calculated and prepared New York State Use Tax returns.
• Calculated and prepared New York City Commercial Rent Tax returns.
• Researched Use Tax laws in state of New York, Indiana, Kansas, Texas and Michigan.

Penton Media, Inc., Overland Park, KS 2000 - 2007

2000 – 2007 Financial Systems Analyst

• Managed financial output during fulfillment system implementation to provide timely and accurate financial reporting.
• Maintained cash flow forecasting worksheet, and issued monthly reports of cash forecasts vs. actual.
• Assisted with annual budget process for Information Data Products Division.
• Led team of two Business Analysts and Director of Revenue to develop Access application to forecast Subscription Sales, Earned Revenue and Subscription Liability using past behavior patterns of customer base.
• Reconciled state sales tax liabilities calculated by invoicing system with amounts calculated by TaxWare.
• Served as Finance member on interdepartmental team for software implementation and later upgrade.
• Managed financial output during fulfillment system implementation to provide timely and accurate financial reporting.
• Maintained cash flow forecasting worksheet, and issued monthly reports of cash forecasts vs. actual.
• Assisted with annual budget process for Information Data Products Division.
• Reconciled state sales tax liabilities calculated by invoicing system with amounts calculated by TaxWare.
• Created models for changing a) Sales pricing and b) Subscription revenue recognition method, using Excel and Alpha Five.
• Created MS Access applications: Years Sales on Hand, Month-To-Date Sales Reporting, Current Year Sales Campaign Compared to Previous Two Years Campaigns by Week, Ad Hoc Earned Revenue/Cost of Goods Sold/Variance Analysis.
• MS Access - Coordinated development of applications: Earned Revenue by Item by Customer application, Subscription Earned Revenue Forecasting application.
• MS Access - Performed back-up role to run daily Sales reports when Director of Circulation was out of office.
• MS Excel - Month-end Journal Entry/General Ledger Account Reconciliation, Financial Modeling for Cash Flow Forecasting, Sales Model Change, and Revenue Recognition Method Change
• Coordinated development of Journal Entry interface to Oracle General Ledger by consultant.
• Performed Weekly Reviews of Sales Orders reports for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
• Trained Staff Accountant to maintain Work in Process records and Cost Matching.

Waechtersbach, USA, Kansas City, MO - 1998 – 2000 Accounting Manager

• Managed Financial Reporting, Payroll, Benefits, and one Accounts Payable Clerk.
• Reported SG&A expenses on a monthly basis, including variance to previous month
• Performed Y2K data download from BPCS and re-mapping in Alpha Five for import to Great Plains Dynamics.

Harlan Global Mfg., Kansas City, KS - 1997 – 1998 Accountant-Cash, A/R, Collections, Payroll

• Performed work supervision of two staff: A/R-Collections clerk and Payroll Accountant.
• Improved daily liquidity accuracy by implementing Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable reporting controls.
• Developed and maintained cash flow forecasting on Excel worksheet.

Waddell and Reed Inc., Kansas City, MO - 1992 – 1997 Account Representative

• Built Financial Needs Analysis practice, providing mutual funds and life insurance.
• Established more than 100 households as new clients.
• Achieved $10 million of life insurance in force.

Commonwealth General Insurance Company, Kansas City, MO - 1990 – 1992 Assistant Treasurer-Senior Accountant

• Appointed Officer of Company when Positions of President and CFO were vacant.
• Prepared the Statutory monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements for two Property/Casualty insurance companies, the Consolidated Annual Statement, and monthly GAAP financial statements for the holding company. Managed two staff: AR Clerk and Junior Accountant.
• Shortened time for monthly close from two weeks to one week by implementing hundreds of links in two dozen Lotus 1-2-3 files which analyzed insurance premiums, losses and adjustment expense by Annual Statement Line and Accident year, using output from Policy Management System. Upgraded to new version of Lotus 1-2-3.

Zurich North America 1977 - 1990
(formerly Universal Underwriters Insurance Company), Overland Park, KS
1977 – 1990 Bookkeeper, Accountant, Senior Accountant

• Managed design, implementation and maintenance of self-reconciling financial database structure, which automatically assigned each new GL account to the appropriate financial statements lines.
• Reported financial results and detailed cost accounting: by product line, by geographical marketing division, by branch office. Provided Life and Health and Property/Casualty insurance companies’ financial statements-each in its respective statutory format, and the holding company’s financial statement in GAAP format. Accomplished by increasing report specification table size from 5000, lines to 140,000 lines using TSO/JCL on IBM mainframe. Presented in workshops during 1989 and 1990 Global Software User Conferences.
• Managed preparation of monthly, quarterly and annual P/C Insurance Company Statutory Reports and Management Company monthly GAAP Reports. Managed eight staff, five accountants, one bookkeeper, one senior bookkeeper and one reinsurance clerk.
• Automated most of the preparation of routine monthly manual journal entries and account reconciliations, using Global Software Transaction Analyzer reports.
• Trained accountants to prepare monthly manual journal entries and account reconciliations for Property/Casualty insurance companies.
• Prepared Property/Casualty premium tax returns for all 50 states and District of Columbia.
• Supervised accountant and bookkeeper in preparation of work papers for Georgia Rate Exam.
• Managed design, implementation and maintenance of Fixed Assets subledger.
• Reconciled interrelated account reconciliations: central bank account, 24 branch bank reconciliations, Accounts Receivable, and returned checks receivable.

Recognition

Penton Media, Inc.

• May 2003 CEO Award, for improving processes and improving management visibility of Directories & Books financial data.

Education

Master of Science in Management

• The American College, Bryn Mawr, PA

B.A. in Religion

• Emphasis in Pastoral Ministry, GPA 3.8/4.0 magna cum laude – Barclay College, (formerly Friends Bible College), Haviland, KS

Business Administration Diploma

• Emphasis in Accounting, 30 quarter credit hours in Accounting, equivalent to 20 semester hours, GPA 4.0/4.0
• Central Business College, Wichita, KS

Professional Designations

Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), July 2007, Association for Financial Professionals

Associate in Research and Planning (ARP), June 1987, Insurance Institute of America, Malvern, PA

Associate in Management (AIM), May 1981, Insurance Institute of America, Malvern, PA

Letter of Recommendation

October 7, 2008

To whom it may concern:

As a Director of Circulation working at Penton Media since 1989, I have seen many good people come and go. A few years ago, Clark Pickett was hired and included into the Advantage team. Advantage is the software we have used since 1999 to conduct business within a portion of Penton. Before Clark, no other Finance staff member would take full ownership of that portion of the Advantage software.

On complicated projects, Clark is able to visualize his goal and, where needed, break that goal down into a process designed to achieve his objective. Using Microsoft Access connected to a SQL database through ODBC, Clark has shown comfort working with Relational Databases. He works well with all the query types available to MS Access. He has written macros to automate the steps needed to achieve output and designed simple forms to help others execute those macros.

Since the time Clark started, Finance General Ledger software Infinium, that was always separate from the Book Operations software, changed and the existing setup within Advantage no longer matched the new Finance General Ledger software – Oracle. Clark worked with others on an interface software application – BizTalk – so that Advantage financial information could be translated from the former G/L structure and uploaded into Oracle. It has been Clark’s dream to change the financial mappings within Advantage to be more closely aligned with the current Oracle structure to provide greater transparency.

One of Clark’s accomplishments I have observed has had to do with other Finance staff asking him to provide detail of exactly what Advantage transactions went into a particular Oracle General Ledger earned revenue account. Clark has made huge strides in improving the financial reporting abilities within Advantage. During multi-stage conversion processes, he altered the Advantage G/L reporting structure to provide earned revenue and cost of goods sold information separately for each product and service. His success comes from his keen attention to detail with verifiable accuracy and his perseverance.

If you would like to contact me about Clark Pickett, you may call 913-967-1728 before 3:00 p.m. weekdays or by e-mail at terry.distin@penton.com.

Regards,

Terry Distin

Director of Circulation Penton Media