1. Curriculum Vitae
Nikolas Kostalas
31 Union Street, London, SE1 1SD, United Kingdom
M: 07967163208 Email: nikos_kostalas@yahoo.co.uk
A proactive and articulate individual with extensive knowledge of IT Financial Systems, strong academic credentials (BSc &
MSc) and excellent communication skills. Works well under pressure and to strict deadlines, both independently and in a
team. Enthusiastic in his work with proven record of achieving targets and goals and who is looking to obtain a new,
challenging role in the finance systems world.
May 2015 – Present, Lumata, Systems Accountant
 Integral part of the group finance function, reporting to the head of FP&A and supporting the senior finance team.
 Expert in leading finance systems development projects. Microsoft Dynamics, Navision, Pentaho, Alteryx, Tabelau.
 Prepare and support the consolidation of the group’s financial results such as P&L, balance sheet and ad-hoc reports.
 Build reports to aggregate different counties for month ends and help business understand their performance
 In-house expert in the BI system, training users to perform ad-hoc analysis.
 Administer changes to the structure of the finance system as required (e.g. new countries, new GL accounts).
 First-line support to users of the BI system, the finance system, the timesheet system and all excel spreadsheets.
 Identify ways to improve efficiency in finance through leveraging use of technology and make the most of database.
 Lead any projects to develop the BI and related systems further and lead testing and live implementation.
Feb 2011 – May 2015, Aviva, Senior Financial Systems Support Analyst
 Provide systems support for SAP Cartesis-Magnitude financial consolidation, Business Objects reporting and OPERA.
 De-bug and analyse financial reports during year end cycles, maintain accounting spread sheets & data modelling.
 Maintain up-to-date adequate documentation of processes for the support team, contribute to continuous process
improvement and best practice ideas, establish and maintain robust internal controls for global finance applications.
 Manage client relations to ensure that the customers’ direct needs are addressed during the implementation process
and resolve first level customer issues in a timely and responsive manner.
 Oversaw the Group Consolidation process improving the controls and streamlining the intercompany reporting and FX.
Oct 2006 – Jan 2011, Hilton International, Financial Systems Assistant
 Maintained Hyperion Enterprise and Essbase applications and support for more than 150 users.
 Responsible for the continual support, development and implementation of Hyperion Enterprise V4x, V6x and Essbase
V6x Systems along with ongoing development of metadata, schedules and reports, autopilot, data reconciliations, data
transfer between Enterprise and Essbase and upgrade to the most recent edition of Enterprise.
 Prepared and updated technical Hyperion and accounting documentation.
 Administered Hyperion Enterprise modules, including accounts, entity structures, formulas and security. Maintain and
create reports via Enterprise reporting writer and extensive use of Retrieve-Excel financial consolidated worksheets.
 Prepared and presented training sessions to management accountants and Directors and VPs.
Jan 2006 – Sept 2006 General Motors, Database Administrator (Contract Position)
 Maintained a tax data input system and lead a team of data entry users
Jan 2004 – Sept 2004 Olympic Games 2004, Venue Manager (Contract Position)
 Manage an Olympic Venue
Sept 2001 – Dec 2004 LogicDIS, Business Intelligence - BPM Consultant (Permanent Position)
 Visited clients to install, implement, support and maintain Hyperion Enterprise, Essbase and Pillar software packages
 Developed applications based on the financial user requirements and create Hyperion reports for management
reporting. Used Crystal reporting to produce invoices and reports.
 Used Hyperion Pillar to manage and set up cost centres, activity-based budget, project and capital planning, sales
forecast, reporting and analysis of clients such as Lafarge, 3M and Titan.
 Used Cognos Power Play to create new application based on multiple dimensions and create reports to help
management accountants analyse and reach their monthly and year end deadlines.
Profile
Professional Experience

2. Continued – Page 2 - Curriculum Vitae – Nikolas Kostalas
October 2007 – Present CIMA (Certificate level)
October 1998 – September 1999 Loughborough University - Master of Science in Management
October 1996 – September 1998 Luton University - Bachelor of Science in Business Decision Management
October 1994 – September 1996 Luton University - Higher National Diploma in Business Information Technology
September 1993 – September 1994 CASE College - A’ Level GCSE’s in English, Economics and Mathematics
September 1987 – September 1993 St Paul High school and Lyceum College - European Baccalaureate
 Write and speak three languages fluently: English, Greek and French.
 Extended knowledge of Microsoft Office Windows Word, Excel, Access, Power Point and Project Manager.
 Strong knowledge of Cognos Power Play reporting tools in order to create OLAP dimensions, import and export data for
creation of financial, commercial, sales and production reports for analysis.
 Map network drives, set up users on systems and monitor Citrix connections.
 Administer the Security in HLBFS Reporting system (Hilton financial reporting program).
 Extract data from Peoplesoft software and load onto Hyperion Enterprise.
 Understand and develop Excel Macros, SQL 2000, Oracle commands, scripts and queries.
 Strong record of day to day interaction with end-users in order to identify and analyse problems, evaluate situations and
opportunities and take critical decisions in order to maintain first class support and understanding of the systems.
 Manipulate and analyse data from an end-user’s approach and explain ways to demonstrate accurate results.
Armed Forces
March 2000 – August 2001 Greek Armed Forces: Rank of Sergeant Major
 Hellenic Armed Forces, in Electronics Warfare – Secret Intelligence: Responsible for organizing soldiers to carry out
their duties based on effective scheduling, prioritisation and time management to set up antennas and radio
telecommunications systems.
Part-Time Employment
October 1999 – February 2000 Carouzos Fashion Boutique: Customer Services Sales Assistant
 Supported the managers in the day-to-day operations of the stores. Responsible for daily sales, services, customer
support and logistics of two clothing stores.
October 2004 – December 2006 Maplin Electronics, Starbucks Coffees and Lismore Recr. Manager
 Managed in-store operations, staffing, customer satisfaction, product quality, financial performance and team.
 Responsible for the accurate and timely payment of salaries, resolved all pay queries, correction of errors and costing
adjustments.
Personal Activities and Interests
 Physical fitness, automobiles and motor shows travelling to experience other cultures, interested in nutrition and health
issues. Play basketball and other sports like football, beach volley and enjoys walking in the parks and country side.
 Available upon request.
Education and Qualifications Background
Key skills, Languages and IT Knowledge
References
Armed Forces, Part-time Employment and Personal Activities