Crystal Grays, Cpa Email & Phone Number

Seattle, Washington, Us

Greater Seattle/Bellevue Area, Wa, Us

Leveraging "in the chair" experience to provide customized advisory services for strategy, turnarounds, transaction support and process optimization.

Kent, Washington, Us

Seattle, Wa, Us

As Chief Financial Officer served as a key member of the executive management team and strategic business partner and advisor to Chief Executive Officer. Provided input and leadership for the company’s overall business strategy by directing the organization's financial and strategic planning and accounting practices as well as its relationship with lending institutions and shareholders. Direct responsibility for Accounting, Finance, HR/Risk/Benefits, IT and Facilities.Significant involvement in day to day operations of up to 40 restaurants, 19 brands in 10 states. Annual restaurant unit volumes of $2.5M to $16.0M from polished casual to fine dining. Through cross-functional collaboration, provided essential performance metrics to allow for fact-based decisions ensuring food and beverage costs were in line with expectations, labor was effectively managed even in tough labor markets/minimum wage pressures and menu pricing was aggressive but guest centric.Effective cash management to balance Capital investments in the restaurants and repairs and maintenance while adhering to liquidity needs and debt covenants. Annual Capital and R&M spend from $5M to $10M. Integral in three major transactions spanning three and half years; two sale processes and one debt refinancing and two LOI’s. Required extensive due diligence, Quality of Earnings reporting, creation of Confidential Information Materials (CIM), 5-year prospective financial modeling and many management presentations/”road shows”. Third sale process was successful. Increased valuation approximately $30M to $55M or 6X forward EBITDA multiple from beginning of process to final purchase price.

Seattle, Wa, Us

Responsible for the maintenance of the organization’s financial reporting and control systems. Provided financial guidance and advice to CFO and senior management consistent with overall financial policy. Recommended and implemented appropriate systems and procedures. Directed the development, analysis and interpretation of accounting-related information in order to apprise senior management of operating results in terms of; costs, budgets, profit opportunities and policies of operation’s trends.Hands-on business partner to operational areas, focusing on continuous improvement, margin enhancement and financial expertise related to planning, strategy and execution. • Transformed the Accounting function by up leveling talent and bringing integrity and validity to RUI’s financial results. • Improved accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of accounting work; risk-based approach to Balance Sheet reconciliations and reserves.• Ensured all financial statements and reports were prepared timely and accurately in accordance with GAAP, including the preparation of year-end financial statements and footnote disclosures. Improved year-end audit filing by two months.• Monitored company’s compliance with debt covenants, provided quarterly compliance reporting and maintained all relationships with banks, lenders, investors, and outside analysts. • All Treasury management including 13 week cash flow, quarterly and annual cash flow forecasting.• Developed Accounting department budgets, monitored ongoing performance to budgeted spending and provided feedback to department heads – Annual G&A spend approximately $10M.• Responsible for elements of risk management including insurance programs, carriers, reserves, payments, rate negotiations and claims experience analysis.

Seattle, Wa, Us

Accountable for 3 key strategic areas of business: Gross Margin Management (GMM) & Global COGS Analysis – Launched GMM initiative from the CFO and developed the related workstreams to drive long-term leverage in COGS. Provided a progressive and comprehensive COGS analysis enabling internal business partners to make strategic and effective decisions that drive profitability in the business. Primarily focused on gross margin analytics: product margins; rate/volume/mix including commodity trends and supply chain operational drivers relative to P&L expense. Return on Invested Capital – Drove meaningful improvement in working capital leading to a (normalized) improvement in core working capital of $220M in FY14. Directed implementation of strategic business actions to drive significant reductions in net working capital. Strengthened company awareness and education to further promote improvements and sustainable initiatives for long-term growth.International FP&A; EMEA & CAP - Understanding regional business trends to benchmark segment COGS. Able to articulate transfer pricing and impact to local and segment P&L’s. Linking Segment COGS analysis to Global COGS analysis to understand similarities/differences between supply chain models. Accountable for forecasting, annual planning process, analysis and communication of results to senior leadership.Coordinated and developed Annual Supply Chain operating plan. Monthly reporting and presentations to senior leaders on all key performance metrics. Managed and developed team members and worked cross-functionally with all areas of operations throughout the supply chain.

Seattle, Wa, Us

Consolidated distribution centers - budgeting, forecasting and annual plan. Business partner to Operations.

Seattle, Wa, Us

Demonstrated leadership by setting goals for team, communicating key responsibilities, promoting successful attitude and teamwork, and developing organizational capability. Developed strategic and operational plans for the teams, executed and measured results. Managed processes and procedures, including month-end and quarterly financial deliverables. Provided expertise and executed responsibilities in compliance with policies & GAAP. Subject matter resource: reviewed results with senior leaders; identified and communicated risk areas and emerging trends; took action as appropriate. Challenged, inspired and led team of 13.• Accountable for 5 manufacturing plants, COGS analysis (including quarterly commentary for Investor Relations/CFO), and transfer pricing to Global Business Units. • Performed Cost Accounting Integration for La Boulange Bakery. Developed standard costing from ground up & integrated ERP systems.• Improved collaboration and teamwork between global supply chain and Business Units in driving visibility and transparency for P&L results; product COGS, manufacturing (MUV/PPV) and distribution. • Instrumental in defining and executing at-risk inventory policy. Effectively communicating with each Business Unit to identify inventory at-risk of expiration/obsolescence and to identify mitigation strategies in place to sell through such inventory risk. Ensuring proper inventory reserves and valuation.• Designed and reorganized retail inventory team to better align responsibilities post Oracle upgrade, elevated the accounting experience requirements and provided an entry point into the Cost Accounting department. Realigning the team provided a better opportunity for success at the partner level as well as for the organization.• Supported implementation of North American accounting software project; Oracle upgrade; including identifying resource needs and critical design points to ensure successful project launch.

Seattle, Wa, Us

Managed the month-end close, eliminations and consolidations process for the international segment. Provided leadership to the operations team in bringing a systematic, disciplined approach of applying a risk-based methodology to meet department’s objectives. Assisted and supported the team in the identification of process improvements leading to time and cost savings for the organization. Developed best practices for consistent measurement and reporting across all markets. Oversaw and reviewed monthly and quarterly reconciliations, financial deliverables and governmental reporting. Mentored and developed staff of 3.• Implemented process improvements that reduced close and management reporting by more than 250 staff hours per month.• Provided leadership, coaching and development plan to successfully promote two employees on my team.

Bellevue, Wa, Us

Managed accounting, including pricing, forecasting, margin analysis, and validation of sales figures. Developed and maintained pricing models to optimize transparency and accountability. Collaborated with sales in preparation of budgets and plans to grow market share.

Bellevue, Wa, Us

Oversaw all daily accounting operations, including lease accounting, financial reporting and general accounting for financial services subsidiary. Managed $34M annual SG&A budget, SEC reporting and monthly forecasting and closing. Provided analysis of balance sheet reserves, spread calculations, and related financial metrics. Led projects to analyze and improve company performance. Trained and supervised 20 employees. • Facilitated implementation of global treasury and cash management system by serving as accounting lead, ensuring effectiveness of application consultants, and assessing progress.• Enhanced accounting and senior management’s ability to analyze month-end spread and cost of funds (margin analysis) by improving financial tools to enable real time availability of data.

Bellevue, Wa, Us

Managed accounting, including financial analysis, policies and procedures, internal controls, and GAAP compliance. Assessed data and identified opportunities to decrease costs and maximize operational efficiency. Designed controls to monitor SG&A costs and safeguard assets. Prepared budgets, cost analyses, and forecasts. Participated in development of systems to integrate operational and financial functions. Trained and oversaw 15 person staff. • Decreased monthly labor hours for 2 locations by bolstering management reporting process through deployment of mainframe reporting application.• Spearheaded implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements for balance sheet line items.

Bellevue, Wa, Us

Played key role in major product development initiatives, including comprehensive business plans and financial analysis of business and strategy decisions. Delivered presentations to senior management on progress of multimillion-dollar projects. Liaised between engineering and other departments. Assessed financial amounts and assumptions, including MLO, cost savings, warranty expenses, tooling costs, and supplier quotes. Reviewed project spending and provided accounting data to engineering department. Tracked cost overruns and project performance. Analyzed and explained variances from projections. Oversaw implementation of target cost reductions and baseline comparisons of prototype and production chassis. • Monitored $50M engineering budget, protected company assets by verifying engineering group ROI and business plan calculations, and identified areas for possible spend reductions.• Substantially contributed to increased efficiency of cost tracking and baseline cost comparisons through participation in development of an in-house application-tracking tool.

Bellevue, Wa, Us

Bellevue, Wa, Us

Bellevue, Wa, Us

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Accounting

Women Board Directors Development Program, Executive Education