Akshan KumarFinance leadership & transformation
Outcomes

Finance Transformation — Selected Outcomes

Each outcome states the finance problem, the mandate, the action taken and the resulting financial or operating change. Client details remain anonymised throughout; employer operating experience is identified where approved.

01
Operating experience · Siemens

Restoring profitability in a digital business

CFO responsibility for a Siemens digital business, covering P&L, commercial finance, working capital, close governance and audit readiness.

Leadership mandate
Restore profitability within 12 months while strengthening the finance discipline behind commercial and operating decisions.
Challenge
EBIT margin was -4%. The response had to address pricing, cost drivers, operating discipline and finance capability together rather than rely on a single cost action.
What I changed
  • Separated the underlying performance drivers so pricing, cost and execution issues could be acted on individually.
  • Partnered business leadership on strategic repricing and the cost levers that would change the economics of the portfolio.
  • Strengthened the operating cadence and finance capability so actions were owned, tracked and sustained.
Operating change
Finance moved from reporting the margin problem to shaping the commercial and operating response with the business.
Outcome
EBIT margin improved by 36 percentage points, from -4% to +32%, within 12 months.
What this demonstrates
Evidence of full P&L ownership, commercial challenge and transformation delivery under a clear performance deadline.
02
Operating experience · Siemens

Turning working-capital pressure into governed action

Direct finance leadership across debtor management, order-to-cash and the hand-offs between the business and shared services.

Leadership mandate
Release cash, reduce overdue exposure and shorten cash application without weakening financial control.
Challenge
Process variation and fragmented ownership slowed cash application, reduced visibility over ageing and made recurring issues difficult to resolve at source.
What I changed
  • Mapped and standardised the end-to-end order-to-cash workflow, including the points where work moved between teams.
  • Introduced deterministic automation for repeatable steps and kept exceptions visible for finance review.
  • Established clearer ownership and a debtor-improvement cadence across finance, the business and shared services.
Operating change
The process became governed around owners, ageing and exceptions instead of relying on fragmented follow-up.
Outcome
Overdue receivables reduced by 15%. Cash-application cycle time reduced by 50%, from six days to three days.
What this demonstrates
Shows working-capital leadership that combines process redesign, automation and cross-functional accountability.
03
Client engagement · details anonymised

Managing finance operations as a controlled service

Finance managed-services leadership across technology and GCC environments spanning R2R, P2P and Finance Controlling.

Leadership mandate
Deliver reliable day-to-day finance operations while improving the operating model, controls and user experience across towers.
Challenge
SLA compliance alone does not create a controlled finance service. Different towers can still operate with inconsistent processes, fragmented escalation and limited visibility of value delivered.
What I changed
  • Established a governance cadence covering service performance, risk, escalations, transformation priorities and accountable owners.
  • Drove process consistency across towers and connected client stakeholders, finance specialists, technology teams and operations.
  • Translated recurring finance problems into solution priorities, delivery routines and adoption actions.
Operating change
The service was managed as one finance operating model, with delivery and transformation reviewed together rather than as separate agendas.
Outcome
A more consistent management rhythm centred on service quality, risk, ownership, transformation and sustained adoption.
What this demonstrates
Demonstrates the ability to lead complex finance delivery while continuing to redesign how the service works.
04
Operating experience · Siemens

Bringing finance discipline to capital and project decisions

Independent reviews of multi-geography industrial projects and manufacturing investment decisions during the Siemens finance leadership programme.

Leadership mandate
Give regional CEOs and CFOs an independent finance view before capital and commercial decisions were finalised.
Challenge
Project economics, contractual exposure, operating dependencies and investment assumptions sat across different teams and could not be judged from a headline ROI alone.
What I changed
  • Reviewed project economics, commercial terms, milestone exposure and the operating assumptions behind delivery.
  • Challenged ROI logic, capital requirements and sourcing dependencies in manufacturing investment cases.
  • Converted detailed findings into clear choices, risks and recommendations for regional leadership.
Operating change
Finance challenge was brought into the decision before commitment, with assumptions and exposure made explicit.
Outcome
Decision-ready recommendations delivered to regional finance and business leadership.
What this demonstrates
Shows independent judgment across capital allocation, project finance and senior stakeholder decision support.
Sector experience

Where the experience comes from.

Technology & hyperscalersDirect leadership experience
Industrial & manufacturingDirect finance experience
GCC / GBSFinance operating-model experience
InfrastructureProject and commercial finance experience
SaaSSolution development
FMCGSolution development
Data centresSolution development