Sara Foster
Finance & Operations Leader | Global Partner
- Role
- Finance Director, Seattle at Wunderman Thompson
- Location
- Seattle, WA, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Sara Foster
Accomplished finance/operations leader with eMBA and 13 years of progressive experience supporting the growth and profitability of Fortune 500 clients globally. Recognized for bottom-line business acumen, innovative problem-solving, and the ability to provide executive leadership with accurate financial and business performance data. Skilled at supporting both internal customers and external clients, in addition to implementing best practices and continuously identifying ways to improve business efficiency. Passionate about training and developing teams to reach their full potential and creating business cultures known for resiliency and high performance. Areas of Expertise: • Business Strategy, Planning & Operations Management • Budgeting, Financial Reporting & Revenue Forecasting • Team Recruiting, Training, Mentoring & Leadership • Financial Planning & Analysis (FP & A) • Dashboards, Business Intelligence & Decision Support • Process Improvement, Optimization & Change Management • C-level Presentations • Revenue & Profitability Analysis / Improvement • Global Marketing & Advertising Analytics • Risk Management / Regulatory Compliance / SOX Reporting • RFP Support, Pricing & Contract Negotiation • International Accounting & Finance
Experience
Finance Director, Seattle
Feb 2019 — Present · Seattle, WA, US
Transitioned from a global, client-focused role to an office leadership role responsible Wunderman Thompson Seattle financials.• Manage a Finance team of 9 and have supported the merger of three separate entities (JWT, Wunderman, POSSIBLE) into a single Wunderman Thompson brand presence—unifying disparate systems and streamlining reporting of all performance/financial data• Prepare quarterly financial forecasts, annual budgets and ad hoc reporting for the SVP, Operations — in addition to advising on pricing strategies and assisting with contract review/negotiations• Provide timely and accurate analysis of budgets, forecasts, and client profitability— as well as ad hoc financial reports and trend analysis — to inform Executive leadership of current office health/performance• Educate Project teams and the various Discipline leads on financial implications of their decision-making• Hold ownership of all office P&L and the month-end close process, including revenue recognition calculation, journal entries and account reconciliations• Ensure the integrity and security of financial systems and business processes to maintain legal and regulatory compliance (full scope SOX compliance)
Education
UW Foster School of Business
Master of Business Administration - MBA
2016 — 2018
University of Washington
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science and Comparative History
2003 — 2007
Skills
- Contract Negotiation
- Digital Media
- Analytics
- Team Leadership
- Digital Marketing
- Integrated Marketing
- Business Intelligence
- Operations Management
- Marketing Strategy
- Change Management
- Strategy
- Business Relationship Management
- Global Management
- Process Improvement
- Customer Service
- Online Advertising
- Management
- Digital Strategy
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