Chris Benton Email and Phone Number

- Owned the annual planning process, quarterly board financial reporting, monthly/weekly/daily internal reporting, & forecasts- Hired, led, and developed high-performing team of analysts/senior analysts for high-growth startup with multiple business lines- Developed and owned the 5-year financial model for Series B & C funding rounds- Worked closely with senior executives to provide data-driven insights, facilitate decision making, and influence strategy with monthly business reviews, weekly sales & prime-cost reports, scenario-based financial modeling, & dashboard development- Fostered collaborative relationships with business teams, implemented new processes, and drove continuous improvement through insightful analysis, building accountability and predictability of financial performance- Built out the process, framework, and systems supporting the consolidated business for 300+ units & 900+ brand locations- Established budget and KPI tracking while continuously updating and leveraging the financial model to unlock new insights- Developed and implemented guidelines to ensure reporting integrity and efficient close processes to deliver timely, complete, and accurate financial information to operations, management, and executive teams- Served as a thought-partner to leaders across the organization on strategy, headcount planning, and how to scale efficiently

- Led analytics for some of the most important strategic, tactical, and operational initiatives for IHOP with the objective to grow revenue, reduce costs, and improve operations & efficiency- Developed and owned the financial forecast model for over 1,700 domestic IHOPs- Proactively monitored business results and preemptively brought forth quantitative and technical analysis explaining “why” and discovering the root causes behind shifts in performance- Regularly interfaced directly with operating company senior management & business unit leaders- Acted as a strategic partner and provided thought leadership in developing practical solutions to complex analytical problems by synthesizing big data, and packaging the information into compelling visualizations to influence logical decision making - Created action plan and recommendations for strategic long-term growth and unit development- Assisted marketing team with lift analysis and forecasting financial results of various menu tests, product tests, and LTOs

- Acted as a driving force behind critical strategic, financial, operational, and organization initiatives in Southern Pacific region- Built custom zero-based annual budgets pertaining to sales, margin, and labor for 60+ individual units across 4 states - Collaborated with multiple departments to update and run the rolling annual forecast and quarterly re-forecast process in BPC- Principal model developer for use in sales/margin forecasting, labor budgeting, shrink minimization, and regression analysis- Acted as strategic thought leader for new and efficient data-supported solutions that impacted various company initiatives leading to increased revenue through better marketing, decreases in food waste, and improved relationships with managers- Regularly performed variance, diagnostic, ROI, and breakeven analysis for strategic initiatives and development- Significantly improved the daily financial reporting to executive & operations teams via PowerShell and VBA automation- Collaborated monthly with global network of FP&A analysts across 12 regions on processes for 300+ stores in an effort to give FP&A team members the chance to share knowledge, inspire, lead, teach, and learn ways to continuously improve

- Custom built a highly dynamic 5-year financial projection model in Excel with full P&L and integrated BS & CF statements- Generated zero-based annual budgets for 22 individual restaurant locations: including sales, prime costs, and all expenses - Principal model developer for forecasting sales, cogs, labor, throughput, pricing initiatives, KPI’s and other ad-hoc analysis- Partnered with CFO for all financial and covenant reporting to shareholders, investors, banks, and the Board of Directors- Successfully crafted analytical tools and dashboards to aid operational and executive teams in making important decisions ranging from optimal labor scheduling and specials pricing to outsourcing catering functions and new restaurant development- Lead the initiative to implement BizNet Software for cloud-enabled reporting from Intacct and managed the data migration- Developed processes, infrastructure, and automation that significantly improved the accuracy and speed of month-end close- Assisted accounting team with full P&L management including: journal entries, month-end close, reconciliations and reviews

- Supported the Senior Auditor with audit/review/compilation preparations for mid-market corporations - Conducted audit procedures including: confirmations, inspections, observations, reconciliations, & analytical testing - Assisted the Senior Staff Accountant with processing and finalizing tax returns for high net worth clients