Craig Bell Email and Phone Number

Working in the Regulatory Finance team at NESO.NESO was formed upon divestment from National Grid in October 2024 and is an arms length government organisation.

I was the Financial Controller for the Managed IT division of Nasstar, a private equity backed group with a turnover of approximately £250m, continual growth being achieved through acquisitions. The division that I looked after has a turnover of approximately £50m and arose from two acquisitions in the past, the most recent being completed in early 2020.As part of my role, I reported monthly management accounts to the group centre, completed in 5 working days after month end (compared… Show more I was the Financial Controller for the Managed IT division of Nasstar, a private equity backed group with a turnover of approximately £250m, continual growth being achieved through acquisitions. The division that I looked after has a turnover of approximately £50m and arose from two acquisitions in the past, the most recent being completed in early 2020.As part of my role, I reported monthly management accounts to the group centre, completed in 5 working days after month end (compared to 15 working days when I took over), including full balance sheet reconciliations for each item in each company. I also successfully changed the accounting basis of the division from using International standards to FRS102 to match the rest of the group. I prepared and submitted VAT returns for the acquired companies (which retained their original group VAT registration), and oversaw the centralisation of payroll, expenses and statutory accounts preparation. I also dealt with the external auditors through two external audits which completed with no issues. I prepared detailed analysis of revenue by customer each month and provided explanations for any changes in revenue to the previous month.Initially taken on on a fixed term contract, I saw my contract extended twice during my time with the Group.Key achievements:• Improved month end reporting timetable by 10 days• Added new reports and analysis to month end reporting to explain all balance sheet accounts, revenue variations and costs by supplier• Changed accounting basis of an acquired Group from IFRS to FRS102• Managed two external audits (by a new audit company), supplying all deliverables and answering queries• Managed the run down, closure and eventual strike off of a no longer required New Zealand subsidiary• Changed company banking arrangements for seven companies, including foreign currency and direct debit origination Show less

In April 2018, the Electricity System Operator separated from the rest of National Grid. The ESO was previously part of the wider National Grid Electricity Transmission organisation, which owns the transmission system in England & Wales. The ESO has very few tangible assets, running the computer systems behind the national control room alongside systems to collect and distribute all the monies for the electricity industry in GB (over £4bn). As such, the ESO needs an entirely new price… Show more In April 2018, the Electricity System Operator separated from the rest of National Grid. The ESO was previously part of the wider National Grid Electricity Transmission organisation, which owns the transmission system in England & Wales. The ESO has very few tangible assets, running the computer systems behind the national control room alongside systems to collect and distribute all the monies for the electricity industry in GB (over £4bn). As such, the ESO needs an entirely new price control framework from April 2021, and I have been working on the small team (two finance people) defining and negotiating all aspects of this deal with the regulator, Ofgem.My main area of focus and specialty has been the financial model that is used to create financial projections for the next ten years of the business and has formed the basis of the model that Ofgem will use for the entirety of the price control period. The model analyses options and possibilities as well as creating traditional outputs in the form of profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and cashflow statements.Key achievements• Working alongside National Grid’s central Treasury teams to assess cost of debt and cost of equity requirements• Writing official documents and presentations and assessing the feasibility of plans in their entirety• Working alongside external expert consultants, guiding their work and reviewing their output• Writing sections of consultation responses and reviewing the entire documents before publication• Writing sections of published business plan documents• Preparing and owning all figures in published documents, and those submitted to Ofgem• Owning all models and writing programs to summarise all the scenarios being considered (there are over 50 cases being presented) Show less

This role involved managing a team of seven that administered all aspects of National Grid’s UK fixed asset register, supporting over £1bn of spend each year.Key achievements• Successfully integrated disparate teams to a single cohesive element• Implemented eight entirely new Sarbanes-Oxley controls for year-end (March 2018) and operated more than 20 with no deficiencies at the end of 2017-18 (a significant improvement for the company)• Set up joint working with Group… Show more This role involved managing a team of seven that administered all aspects of National Grid’s UK fixed asset register, supporting over £1bn of spend each year.Key achievements• Successfully integrated disparate teams to a single cohesive element• Implemented eight entirely new Sarbanes-Oxley controls for year-end (March 2018) and operated more than 20 with no deficiencies at the end of 2017-18 (a significant improvement for the company)• Set up joint working with Group Reporting to improve year-end understanding and accuracy• Supported Deloitte during their first audit• Realigned the team from a previous individual fuel focus to provide greater efficiencies and backup• Supported and developed team members through a period of intense change and uncertainty Show less

I looked after all areas of System Operator controllable cost reporting, working with Business Partners to bring timely, useful information to Business Managers that they used to keep track of all operations. I also looked after the monthly review and all associated controls covering the entire System Operator P&L account as well as all National Grid regulated income.Beyond the System Operator I had responsibility for the National Grid Transmission Balance Sheet and Cashflow reporting,… Show more I looked after all areas of System Operator controllable cost reporting, working with Business Partners to bring timely, useful information to Business Managers that they used to keep track of all operations. I also looked after the monthly review and all associated controls covering the entire System Operator P&L account as well as all National Grid regulated income.Beyond the System Operator I had responsibility for the National Grid Transmission Balance Sheet and Cashflow reporting, dealing with all Group submissions and queries.As well as actual reporting (including all Group submissions and variance explanations) of over £100m of cost each year, I was responsible for leading all forecast and budgeting activities across the area, completing Group reviews and providing information for investor KPI calculations.Key achievements include:- Rewriting monthly (internal) reports to give more information in a clearly understandable way (while streamlining preparation)- Gaining recognition for improving quality of month end reviews and Sarbanes-Oxley control compliance- Supporting other team members through workload peaks and covering for other members of the management teams during holidays- Calculating, explaining and publishing cost absorption rates across National Grid- Creating new Balance Sheet reporting models that allow quicker, more detailed analysis of all Balance Sheet items (previously only available from consolidated figures)- Develop team members to support succession plans - three direct reports have had significant internal promotions in the past six months Show less

I looked after all areas of electricity income for National Grid in the UK, amounting to some £3bn. Specific achievements have been:• Improved management reporting of Electricity System Operator income in quality, but also reducing time taken from around 15 days to 2 days per month• Corrected an error in the calculation of System Operator revenue (by a third party) that uncorrected would have resulted in £16m too little being billed• Reviewed operation of the balancing Energy… Show more I looked after all areas of electricity income for National Grid in the UK, amounting to some £3bn. Specific achievements have been:• Improved management reporting of Electricity System Operator income in quality, but also reducing time taken from around 15 days to 2 days per month• Corrected an error in the calculation of System Operator revenue (by a third party) that uncorrected would have resulted in £16m too little being billed• Reviewed operation of the balancing Energy model to ensure fit for purpose (Energy model calculates around 50% of the target figure for the Balancing Services Incentive Scheme)• Finance responsibility for both System Operator and Transmission Owner income within the Electricity business• Provide support and review to all areas of Transmission Owner revenue activities which take place outside of Finance• Involved in licence evolution for Electricity Market Reform and new balancing activities, ensuring that solutions are achievable and maximise revenue• Led the review of Ofgem legacy models that calculate additional revenue for the RIIO price control period as a result of events in the previous price control period• Managed the move of the Transmission Finance business to the new Smart Workspace (working with project team from design to implementation)• Led initiatives to understand and document some of the more complex areas of income in the company. For example, I have prepared and circulated papers on the impact of weather on revenues, the basis and method of calculation of incentives across both gas and electricity, and the calculation of gas revenue drivers.• Collated and managed various activities across the team, from the list of issues on licence drafting (and how they impact regulatory reporting) through to the process excellence methods being used to manage team availability Show less

UK General was formed in 2009 through the merger of two insurance underwriting agencies – PBS Holdings and Longhawk Insurance.UK General consists of an insurance company, three insurance underwriting agencies and a claims handling company, handling insurance policies with premiums in excess of £150 million annually. Amongst other areas I was responsible for the claims handling activities across the Group, dealing with over £21 million held on behalf of other insurers for the purposes… Show more UK General was formed in 2009 through the merger of two insurance underwriting agencies – PBS Holdings and Longhawk Insurance.UK General consists of an insurance company, three insurance underwriting agencies and a claims handling company, handling insurance policies with premiums in excess of £150 million annually. Amongst other areas I was responsible for the claims handling activities across the Group, dealing with over £21 million held on behalf of other insurers for the purposes of paying insurance claims.I also dealt with ad hoc requests from the board and shareholders on specific areas of concern – including the review of capacity contracts and the terms therein – and I reviewed the Group banking operations, changing the supplier in the process.When PBS Holdings was a stand alone company, I also took on several other roles that are now centrally managed in the UK General organisation:• Managing risk across the business• Head of Internal Audit for the business (and liaising with outsource providers)• Finance responsibility for the underwriting system• Procurement across all businesses, reviewing spend and identifying opportunities for savings Show less

My role in this temporary contract included:• Benchmarking the internal control processes at the three manufacturing plants against those in use at Ford’s North American plants• Creating a new internal control document for the organisation• Assisting with the attestation process for the 2006 accounts, to ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley

I was working at the divisional level of the UK’s largest train operator, with nine franchises across the country and a turnover of £1.7 billion. My role included:• Producing proposals to the Strategic Rail Authority for funding of new services within existing businesses• Preparing documents for the basis of renegotiation of the c2c London commuter business.• Lead role in group-wide finance system selection• Lead finance role in group-wide tender for provision of spare parts… Show more I was working at the divisional level of the UK’s largest train operator, with nine franchises across the country and a turnover of £1.7 billion. My role included:• Producing proposals to the Strategic Rail Authority for funding of new services within existing businesses• Preparing documents for the basis of renegotiation of the c2c London commuter business.• Lead role in group-wide finance system selection• Lead finance role in group-wide tender for provision of spare parts (£30m)• Group reporting for the Association of Train Operating Companies.• Preparing management accounts for the divisional holding entity. I also spent four months working on cost absorption pricing as part of the integration process for a previously stand alone maintenance company. This also meant helping to prepare the budget for all six depots involved. Show less

I worked as part of a small team that provided the overall management structure for Arriva’s overseas operations, which had turnover in excess of £400 million. The team also investigated potential new acquisition opportunities for the Group and implemented Group policies in all new ventures.