Q: What is involved in your new role as Chief Financial Officer at Farsound?
My role covers everything across the finance function from the transactional areas of finance like accounts payable and receivable, financial reporting to closing each financial period. Alongside that, they cross over with the more strategic and future focussed areas of finance, like financial planning and analysis, forecasting, and budgets for the next financial year. I have been focussing on strategic planning for the next five years and I work with various Farsound operational leaders to ensure that we make the most profitable and efficient decisions for the business.

Q: Does your role cover the finances of all Farsound’s global teams?
Yes, my role will cover all of Farsound’s facilities and finance functions. Besides overseeing the financial operation at our UK HQ, I also try to prioritise Canada where there is a specific finance function in existence. Over time I would expect this to expand to cover our new American facility in Texas that is currently under construction. I will also be working with our teams in Spain and Singapore. The Farsound finance team supports the operational areas of finance as well as the business decision activities like pricing and financial modelling of investment decisions.

Q: What are the challenges of managing the finances of a global business?
In my career I have been fortunate to have worked with international teams across various countries. The main financial challenge in any global business is all the different accounting and tax regulations that exist in different parts of the world. At Farsound we are shipping aircraft parts all around the world every day and so my team spend considerable time on foreign trade financial needs of exporting parts as well as assisting our international customers.

Q: Have you worked in the aviation industry previously?
I have worked across various sectors in my career including business technology, software, pharmaceuticals and automotive. I can see some similarities between the auto-manufacturing industry and aviation. The key differences for me are around the products and services. Finances for multinational companies regardless of the sector have the same requirements and functions. There are clearly nuances within the industry that take time to learn, but so far, I’ve been highly impressed with how willing people are to share that knowledge and to bring new team members up to speed with some of the more complex areas of the aviation industry that we operate in.

Q: How can Farsound improve profitability through investment in the latest technology?
Farsound continues to invest in the latest cutting-edge technology. At the Farsound UK HQ we recently installed a £1.2m robotic system for the automatic picking of aerospace parts. I believe that there is a significant return on investment to be had with the automation of these types of processes. They drive efficiency within the business and reduce the amount of manual work required. It reduces the number of errors that can happen from picking parts through to dispatch of parts to customers. Ultimately this technology impacts the bottom-line profit resulting in a very tangible return on investment over time.

Q: How does innovation at Farsound drive financial growth?
Innovation is a priority for the finance function. Innovation is very much built into Farsound’s growth strategy. I work closely with the Senior Management team to build multiyear financial plans to accommodate innovation and our customers future requirements for aircraft parts. Alongside this, there are multiple digital transformation opportunities across all Farsound functional areas that will help improve the efficiency of the business.