Laura Beth Sheppard Email & Phone Number

United States

Engaged stakeholders to align ways of working, manage expectations, ensure Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are met, drove increased levels of customer satisfaction, responsible for troubleshooting and resolving complex issues with internal & external customers, including legal requests, escalated issues as required to guarantee timely resolution of issues, & monitored of external customer policies to be updated/agreed with internal customers; Partnered with management to provide the necessary customer or specific business knowledge to help guide operational improvements to processes or systems, contribute to key projects and initiatives in conjunction with business partners to drive performance, led scheduled meetings and monthly business reviews with internal customers, provide governance and oversight to the transactional team located in the GSK Operations Center in India. Integral to the integration of Accounts Receivable when the consumer division acquired Pfizer’s consumer products.

Rtp, Nc

Key contributor to the management of the finance transformation project that relocated the responsibilities listed below to a new Americas Hub housed in San Jose, Costa Rica. Managed the consolidated financial reporting for the Pharma division, the reporting of inventory and inventory reserves for NA Pharma, US Stiefel, & NA ViiV (joint venture between GSK and Pfizer) entities; the recording and reporting of the provision and expenses of the Operation Excellence Programs pertaining to the US Pharma entity; the reporting of royalty expenses for US Pharma; oversight of the month-end close process; reviewed and approved ~450 balance sheet accounts for NA Pharma & US Stiefel; ensured compliance for NA Pharma & ViiV with IFRS; led the transition of treasury functions formerly residing under another process tower (P2P). Acted as liaison for SAP ERP implementation for NA Pharma Record to Report & participated on Trading Partner ERP go-live team as representative for NA Pharma; Led the reporting of the integration of Novartis’ vaccine business into GSK’s financial systems; provided Balance Sheet commentary for significant variances on a monthly basis; coordinated Balance Sheet review for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance; key player in the integration of the Stiefel accounting processes to GSK during and following the acquisition of Stiefel; key player in integrating Canada and Puerto Rico into the GFS processes; Site Implementation Led the Intercompany Profit Tracking project implementation as well as key contributor for Bison (SAP FC) implementation for NA Pharma & ViiV; & was key contributor for accounting for inventory transfers in and out for both US and Canada for the Novartis asset swap deal. Served as Global Finance Services (GFS) Representative on the People & Values initiative, the Inclusion & Diversity Council and the BSC Operational Leadership Team. Managed up to 10 direct reports during this time.

Duluth, Ga

Duties include supervising the posting of cash receipts and adjustments for Accounts Receivable as well as supervising processing of invoices and managing and authorizing payments for Accounts Payable, 1099 reporting, and reconciliations. Ensuring compliance with company policies as well as local, state, & federal laws as well as enforcing strong internal controls that comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Also, instrumental in the implementation of loading fixed assets from legacy systems to SAP and did an in-depth, multi-year reconciliation of the construction in progress accounts.

Duluth, Ga

Managed all aspects of accounting department including General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cash Management, Payroll, & Fixed Assets. Ensured that all general accounting needs were timely and accurately processed and that financial reporting was timely and accurate. Performed all duties of supervising month-end close process. Set up remittance process for proper posting to external clients. Supervised the sales debt recourse and media processing clerks as well.

Pendergrass, Ga

Performed financial reporting (local and consolidated), budgeting, forecasting, and sales reporting. Supervised all aspects of accounting department including General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cash Management, Fixed Assets, Physical Inventory, & Cost Accounting. Reviewed all payroll transactions to ensure compliance with company policies as well as local, state, & federal laws. Ensured compliance and implemented accounting policies and procedures. Maintained strong internal controls that complied with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Hired and supervised all accounting personnel which included training, assigning responsibilities, & evaluating performance. Prepared in-depth financial analysis and reconciliations. Responsible for successful conversion from SAP to AS400 (Mapics) and implementation of all financial software systems including the set-up of the online banking system. Served as key member of the management team for the successful start-up of this affiliate company in the United States.

Duluth, Ga

Performed financial reporting, budgeting, and consolidation for multiple sites & divisions. Managed the Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Purchasing, Cash Management, Fixed Assets, and General Ledger. Reviewed all payroll transactions to ensure compliance with company policies as well as local, state, & federal laws. Ensured compliance and assisted in implementing accounting policies and procedures. Maintained strong internal controls that complied with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Supervised the accounting personnel, which included training, assigning responsibilities, & evaluating performance. Prepared in-depth financial analysis and reconciliations. Ensured compliance with Merck AgVet, Merial, & Hubbard ISA policies and procedures. Prepared the accounting transactions, and supervised the local Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable personnel which included selecting, training, and assigning responsibilities & evaluating performance. Reviewed all accounting transactions (General Ledger, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable) in accordance with company policies and procedures as well as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Coordinated fleet administration, corporate credit card administration, & construction project administration. Enforced compliance of purchasing procedures. Prepared & or reviewed payroll transactions to ensure compliance with company policies as well as local, state, & federal laws. Prepared internal financial reports (actual versus budget), sales forecasts, and sales reports. Assigned inventory valuations and quantitative inventory procedures.

Charleston, Wv

Performed financial statement audits, review, and compilations. Prepared individual tax returns and assisted with corporate tax returns. Obtained in-depth, hands-on knowledge of the financial institution, health care, commercial, school government, and not-for-profit industries