Maria Bickham Buck is a results-oriented senior financial professional with over 20 years of demonstrated success in com...
Maria Bickham Buck Senior Financial Professional Houston, TX 77479 Cell: (979) 299-8225 E-mail:
[email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/mariabuck/ PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY: Results-oriented senior financial professional with over 20 years of demonstrated success in comprehensive progressive accounting and financial operations. Articulate communicator skilled in preparing impeccable reports, tracking project progress, and strengthening relationships. Proven trainer of multidisciplinary teams in line with aggressive performance metrics. CORE COMPETENCIES Cost Control & Management Financial & Managerial/Operational Accounting and Reporting Microsoft Office, Advanced Excel Contract & Project Administration & Execution Budgeting & Forecasting Problem Analysis & Resolution Financial Analysis & Performance Appraisal Customized System Design & Utilization Maximization Continuous Policy, Procedure, Systems & Internal Controls Improvement WORK EXPERIENCE Property Facelift Services, LLC | C.P. Enterprises, Inc. 06/2009-Present A-1 Lone Star Construction, Houston, TX CFO | Controller | Project Coordinator | Administrator Oversaw all aspects of financial, accounting, cost control, cash management, reporting, budgeting & forecasting, projections and performance analysis for individual projects and for companies Performed month and year-end closings/GAAP-compliant financial reporting, preparation and presentation of related management standardized and ad-hoc reporting Accelerated the month-end close to the tenth calendar day of every month by providing accurate financial reports and initiating an income and expense flux analysis for the first working day Automated standard costing and bidding specification outlines to enhance proposal and negotiation efforts, identify all performance costs and expenses, and improve project profitability Achieved reduced cycle time to same day invoice submission zero errors through comprehensive customized project tracking system and maximized software utilization Designed specific reporting tools to create “exception” reports for cost overruns triggering review to identify potential change order and contract revision situations. TDW Offshore Services, LLC Houston, TX 04/2006-06/2009 Chief Accountant | Project Controller - Offshore Americas Oversaw all aspects of financial accounting including A/P, A/R, Collections, Budgeting, G/L and reconciliations, heavy I/C, Purchasing, Fixed Assets/Capex, Forecasting & P/R functions Directed cost control and management efforts for the Offshore America’s division and local Shared Services units Coordinated planning, budgeting, and periodic forecasting by meeting with individual department heads to understand their needs. Increased use of reports and decision maker attention to variances Prepared audit and reviewed audit work papers for internal and external audits. Participated in ISO 9000 certification activities. Passed 100% of audits. Developed financial controls that successfully scaled as the division grew. Noticed a weakness in calculated bonus and expense reimbursement; recommended quickly-adopted change
Designed and implemented local Shared Services allocations and setup related I/C schematics. Reduced I/C confirmation time through successful systems migration, conversion, and integration
Tax Fifth Avenue, Angleton & Brazoria, TX 11/1997-04/2007 Contract CFO | Controller | Systems Designer | Consultant Small business full-cycle bookkeeping & accounting including A/R, A/P, G/L, budgeting, job & project costing, monthly & annual closings and cost reduction efforts for a variety of companies Individual & the full spectrum of business tax preparation, quarterly & interim tax estimates and projections, and liaison with regulatory bodies (IRS, State, and Local) as needed Customized of computerized accounting and costing systems, follow-up training and debugging Supervised staff from 6-15 employees; provided training in accounting and bookkeeping, state and federal tax, G/L and account reconciliation, closing the books, and systems enhancement Main Client: Hawicz & Stait, Inc, Houston, TX Contract CFO/Controller. Performed the full realm of general and project accounting Automated progress billing system that reduced billing errors and effectively captured reimbursable expenses Main Client: Royal Landmark Structure, LLC, Houston, TX Designed from ground-up and oversaw all books providing initial and interim training to on-site accounting staff and providing periodic checkups, oversaw all monthly financial and tax reporting Automated and maintained a multi-state reporting system that satisfied all-50 states regulatory requirements, reduced related errors, failure-to-files, and penalties Streamlined interim parent company reporting by developing comprehensive tailored reporting tools Rio Marine, Inc. | Liquid Transfer Corporation, Houston, TX 12/2003-09/2004 Contract Corporate Controller | Systems Designer Oversaw the accounting functions (P/R, A/P, A/R, G/L, Fixed Assets, Cash, Collections, Inventory); trained and supervised related personnel Created costing models and results for companies to accommodate various aspects of operation; monitored cost control efforts; reported on key performance indicators Managed monthly financial activity; monthly close; management, tax, and class/project reporting Worked single point of contact for Purchasing with Accounting; automated preparation of “shadow system” reports and employed methodology to maximize cost savings Implemented a new core accounting system, which captured the budgeting/forecasting, financial measurement and reporting, and results analysis and performance evaluation phases Automated invoicing/billing to reduce invoice re-work rate by 75%; automated collections efforts to significantly reduce days sales out and allow for a smoother more predictable cash flow Sparta Enterprises Corporation, Kemah, TX 07/1995-11/1997 Chief Accountant | Controller | Office Manager | Safety Coordinator Oversaw full-cycle comprehensive bookkeeping & accounting oversight for 3 corporations, interim and year-end tax preparation Successfully learned entire OSHA code and became Corporate Safety Coordinator overnight Formulated and published related policies and ensured compliance with all applicable HSE and training specifications to salvage existing Exxon, Apache Oil, & Amerada Hess contracts Initiated design, continuous assessment, and implementation of streamlined systems, work procedures, and processes Introduced automated tools, programs, and systems to enhance efficiency and improve the bidding, contract negotiations, and proposal submission processes
EDUCATION M.S. in Accounting University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, TX
1996
B.S. in Accounting University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, TX
1993
Associates of Elective Studies Brazosport College, Lake Jackson, TX Adjunct Accounting Professor
1990
Master’s in Applied Project Management/PMP Prep & Six Sigma Green Belt Villanova University, Villanova, PA
2015
TECHNICAL SKILLS Orr tax, Ultra tax, Fast Tax, Turbo Tax, Am tax, E-smart Tax Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, PowerPoint); Super Office Great Plains, Dynamics, Microsoft Navision, Dynamics Axapta, QuickBooks/QuickBooks Pro, Quicken, JD Edwards, Microsoft Money, Peachtree, MAS 90, Ac Pac BPI, Solomon, CYMA, AS400, Creative Solutions, Ace Write-up, MYOB, Ceridian Harvard Graphics, Desktop Publishing, PageMaker, BNA, File Cabinet, CCH Pro-FX, Cognos TM1 Microsoft Project, Time fox, Intuit Quick base
