David James 116 connections

International Liaison for Poland and..., Baker Tilly

Warsaw, Poland

Professional Summary

I'm a chartered accountant with the UK qualification and also the Polish qualification, and probably one of the most versatile finance professionals working in Poland with regard to number of languages spoken and breadth of varied experience. I am a generalist rather than a specialist in accountancy, but there are one or two areas which I both particularly like and believe myself to be able to deliver extraordinary value in. One is due diligence - the checking over of companies before the prospective buyer buys them, of which I've headed about 50 from acquisitions worth from about 100,000 dollars to 100 million dollars, and another specialism of mine is business planning. The techniques I use, which I developed, are simply very good at offsetting different things that can happen by dividing the business drivers down to their smallest component factors and finding objective variables for each of these which are midway between the maximum and minimum that the players in the field can find credible. The process for good business planning is consultative, and the result is a complex plan in Excel which will not only help you decide whether to do the project, but also to get finance for it if the project is worth doing as well as being a budget and a control document for mapping the progress of the live project later. I have recently been appointed for the senior role of International Liaison in Baker Tilly for Poland and the Czech Republic as the International Liaison. I will be looking after international clients and developing the business.

Contact Info

(work)

Phone

0048 725 000007 (work mobile)

00420 221 111 621 (work)

Website

http://www.bakertillyczech.cz (work)

Address

Baker Tilly Czech Republic
Hybernska 32/1271
110 00 Praha 1
CZECH REPUBLIC (work)

Work/Education

Work Experience

Baker Tilly / International Liaison for Poland and Managing Director Czech Republic

May 2009 - Present

Responsible for international as well as local client acquisition and ongoing care, while also practicing my technical specialisms. International liaison for Baker Tilly network, the eighth largest network of auditing and accounting firms in the world.

Grupa Strategia / International Liaison Partner and Vice President

2003 - 2009

They have audit, assurance, accountancy, tax advisory, legal, M&A due diligence, business start-ups, business and financial training, real estate, JD Edwards and other top level systems implementations and a number of other business services all under one roof in five cities in Poland. We are a leading advisor to middle tier business in Poland and to international businesses investing in Poland or Polish businesses starting to go abroad.

ViaSat / CFO Russian TV station DTV

2001 - 2003

In Moscow. Was CFO of decimetre TV station. Turned it around together with others in the team and especially CEO Mart Luik of Estonia. When we started the channel was at 16th place and when we finished it was in 10th place - after 1 and a half years of intensive restructuring. Viasat has excellent standards in planning, budgeting and controllership, and that's where I built my knowledge of these areas which I've developed on since with my own techniques.

Cleanaway / European Head of Internal Audit

2000 - 2001

Unfortunately a short stay, as a demerger lead to my department no longer being seen as desirabel as only one shareholder remained. Nevertheless, the year spent here was enough to develop a good deal with regard to internal audit techniques and knowledge of the waste management industry and environmental questions generally. I did operational review in landfill, sorting and logistical parts of the business as well as in technical waste (where I revised the whole pricing model and added a million pounds a year to the bottom line). Headed up with the CFO a very large due diligence when Cleanaway took over Serviceteam, which lasted three months and involved 15 of our people.

BDO / International Liaison Partner BDO Poland

1991 - 2000

On finishing my training contract as a Chartered Accountant I went to the totally new market of Poland and became one of the first and in the end longest serving British professionals in this market. We set up BDO here from scratch and were needing to learn on the job, as the profession at the start was finding itself here in post-communist Poland. Our board got the employee number up to 140 by 1998, when the merger with the former Moore Stephens firm took place. I worked after that for two more years closely with Messers Helin and Zorde, who remain conspicuous names in the market, but needed to return albeit briefly to the UK.

Hillier Hopkins / Trainee accountant

1987 - 1991

Training contract. I'm glad I trained with this 10 partner, three office firm in Hemel, Watford and Harrow. It has changed since then, my memories not, but I am 100% convinced it will still have remained a quality institution. The disciplines and proper working practices, as well as sheer professionalism I learned in this small firm have stood me in good stead over later years. My very first job there after leaving Cambridge was to make the coffee for the older trainees. This may sound disappointing, but it certainly gives you the moral right to get coffee made for you when your turn to be senior comes...

Education

Cambridge University

1987

Hemel Hempstead School

1982

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David James updated Work on his profile 2 days ago

Updated company	International Liaison for Poland and Managing Director Czech Republic, Baker Tilly (2009-Present) Responsible for international as well as local client acquisition and ongoing care, while also practicing my technical specialisms. ... more>
Updated company	International Liaison Partner and Vice President, Grupa Strategia (2003-2009) They have audit, assurance, accountancy, tax advisory, legal, M&A due diligence, business start-ups, business and financial training, ... more>