1. JAMES R. BLACK
168 Morning Sun Drive • Mooresville, N.C. 28115
(614) 596-9029 JamesBlack.s1020194@gmail.com
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VALUE OFFERED AS A MANAGER, FINANCIAL OPERATIONS:
 Thinking strategically to create processes that drive down costs and improve efficiency.
 Understanding application of all financial systems—and how these integrate into the business plan.
 Collaborating with leadership and cross-functional teams to address and resolve critical problems.
 Developing and implementing quality and process improvement initiatives that reduce costs.
 Managing change and responding to critical issues during periods of growth and transition.
Process Improvement / Financial Modeling / Forecasting / Data Mining & Analytics
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH EXAMPLES OF ROI:
ABBOTT LABORATORIES – Chicago, Ill. 2004-2016
A $20 billion global, diversified health care company providing diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded
generic pharmaceuticals.
Manager, Manufacturing Accounting – Columbus, Ohio (10/2015-8/2016)
Promoted to this newly created position to provide analysis of manufacturing variances throughout all U.S.
manufacturing sites (7) in 6 states and acted as manufacturing accounting lead. Managed forecasting and
reporting of sourcing and methods variances to identify drivers impacting cost of finished goods. Prepared
monthly reports for division controller. Supervised 3 off-site financial analysts (Arizona, Michigan, Virginia).
 Developed standardized methodology and reporting process to consolidate reporting into a single
financial package. Prior to assuming new role, each site reported results in 7 disparate ways.
Collaborated with each plant to identify and meet needs of all constituents. Result: Streamlined
reporting and reduced annual labor costs by $400,000.
 Created tool to quantify financial impact of bill of material (BOM) changes compared with standard.
Used Cognos/Excel to design table. Result: Tool provides management with a financial summary of all
project costs affecting manufacturing operations, with variances due to commodity changes. Saved $12
million in 2015 based on domestic manufacturing throughput of $1.3 billion.
Finance Supervisor, U.S. Manufacturing – Columbus, Ohio (2/2014-10/2015)
Oversaw variances (materials) for 7 sites in 6 states, including forecasting cost fluctuations. Also, managed
standard costs of finished goods.
 Devised a process for loading next year standard cost into SAP for year-end cost rollover. Previously, 3
persons loaded costs independently, creating process gaps. Created project timelines with deliverables.
Result: Achieved 100% completion of next-year standard cost loading, eliminating gaps, and
facilitated accurate inventory valuation ($300 million).
 Formulated standard operating procedures (SOP) for a financial transformation project. Served as
subject-matter expert (SME) applying broad-based knowledge of U.S. manufacturing-related financial
activities. Conducted training for internal/external financial staff in month-end closing and reporting
activities. Result: SOP provided a consistent metric for reporting and journal entry preparation.
Senior Financial Analyst – Columbus, Ohio (4/2006-2/2014)
Served in three separate roles: Inventory, Logistics and Purchasing. Established key performance
indicators (KPI) for distribution centers. Supervised and trained financial analysts in vendor credits and
calculation of purchase price variance.
As inventory analyst, evaluated and recorded value of inventory. As logistics analyst, worked with
distribution operations in developing department budgets and forecasts, and recording monthly
performance vs. projections. As purchasing analyst, analyzed direct material purchases for accuracy, and
recorded purchase-price variances.

2. James R. Black page 2
(614) 596-9029 JamesBlack.s1020194@gmail.com
 Spearheaded development of a rules-based method of calculating financial reserves for at-risk
inventory. Met with 6 SBU analysts to create a standardized process for inventory valuation and
simplify reporting. Result: New process saved 40 man-hours monthly.
 Partnered with logistics director to create a long-range strategic plan for Abbott Nutrition distribution
network. Challenge: Senior leadership had tasked director with achieving savings of $30 million over 5
years. Co-developed financial model for distribution, including comparative analysis of labor rates
across all markets. Result: “Step-down” plan gradually reduced expenses through attrition and
creating efficiencies. Consolidated 18 distribution sites into 7.
 Created a report for identifying obsolete and excess inventory. Problem: Reserved inventory was not
being disposed of in timely manner and/or not written off. Abbott was assessed palette positions;
eliminating multiple palettes reduced inventory costs. Result: Saved $300,000 annually.
Financial Analyst – Columbus, Ohio (9/2004-4/2006)
Calculated R&D tax credit for R&D budgets totaling $88 million annually. Consulted with department
managers to prepare budgets and explain variances to their planned spending.
 Designed an automated process for purchase-order accrual for purchase orders received but not
invoiced. Trained R&D team in use. Result: Process was adopted as model within division.
MILL’S PRIDE – Columbus, Ohio 2002-2004
Formerly owned by MASCO, a $20 billion manufacturer of products for the home-improvement and new-home
industries, Mill’s Pride line was discontinued in 2010.
Financial Analyst
Prepared consolidated division-level budgets (Hyperion). Performed full P&L analysis, identifying anomalies
and provided corrections. Created sales/volume/mix schedules to explain margin impacts. Assisted in
relocation of corporate headquarters from Florida to Ohio.
 Developed daily analysis tool to forecast monthly sales using historical data and provide precise
predictions. Result: Tool provided an accurate, real-time overview of monthly sales.
Previous Experience: WorkflowOne, now a Standard Register Company, Dayton, Ohio as Senior Accountant,
1997-2002
EDUCATION:
M.B.A., Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 2014
B.A., Accounting, Cedarville University – Cedarville, Ohio, 1996
TECHNICAL SKILLS:
Advanced MS Excel, MS Access, MS PowerPoint; ERP (SAP ECC 6.0); multidimensional databases
(Hyperion); business intelligence and reporting tools (IBM Cognos and Oracle data warehouse)