Sue Schaaf

Director

Summary

Sue has over 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, manufacturing/supply chain, and M&A in small and large companies. She enjoys collaborating with people across all functions to identify and create a path to financial improvement, growth, and success using a data driven approach to decision making. Sue has a passion for helping the companies she works with to drive business improvement and profitability by identifying areas of need and creating tools and processes to support the change.

Areas of Expertise

Financial Planning & Analysis

Having worked in both accounting and finance, I have the ability to understand the detail and communicate it down to meaningful, actionable information for employees at every level of the organization. It’s imperative for leaders to see the financial health, status and direction of their organizations. A financial plan is the roadmap to business success. I have led the financial planning and forecasting process, annual budgeting/operating plan, long-range plan, and strategic planning processes in multiple organizations. These plans help align to the business' strategic objectives. I have worked cross-functionally to complete profitability analysis and built business case models for decision support.

Business Partner

As a finance business partner, I believe a company's financials tell a story. I evaluate, interpret, and communicate the insights in a meaningful and actionable way. It's important to connect employees to their specific impact on financial results by breaking down the financials in a way everyone understands. I have a track record of partnering with leaders to provide workable, financially sound, recommendations. I have helped focus on overall profitability improvement, including gross margin improvement, sales cycles/revenue conversion, pricing, revenue growth, process improvements, cash flow strategies, and any additional requested analysis to help impact organizational results.

Financial Analysis & Decision Support

I have provided financial analysis and options to management teams to assist them in decision making and the road to get there. This includes financial analysis and modeling for M&A opportunities – on both the buy and sell side. I have built many financial reporting packages, BOD reports, KPI scorecards, proforma financial models, what-if analysis on varying business growth opportunities. Along with leveraging the current business, I enjoy the collaborative nature of thinking through a business issue, translating it into an easy-to-understand model or report, working through potential solutions to guide final decision making. I think it is important to help businesses see their options based on data. This helps them to fully understand the risks and opportunities related to the investment.

Operational Finance

My background in a variety of finance and operational roles enables me to identify opportunities for improvement and growth in many functions. I have extensive experience in manufacturing and supply chain finance and operations, including in depth gross margin analysis and improvement, COGS improvement, the impact of sales forecast accuracy throughout the organization, balance sheet improvement, and capital process for both R&D and assets. For the sales organization, I have experience evaluating the effectiveness of using permanent headcount with commissions vs outside sales distributers.


Industry Experience

  • Manufacturing
  • Medical Device
  • Supply Chain
  • Semi-Conductor Capital Equipment
  • Industrial
  • Healthcare

Strengths

  • Analytical
  • Problem Solver
  • Creative Thinker
  • Collaborative
  • Financial Training

Experience

Mergers & Acquisitions - Finance

3M

Sr. Financial Analyst

Veeco Instruments

Finance Manager - Projects & Analysis

Ecolab

Sr. Financial Analyst - Mfg Operations / Supply Chain Planning & Analysis

Ingersoll Rand/Trane

Education

MBA, Finance

University of St. Thomas

BA, Accounting & Business Administration

St. Catherine University

Certifications

CPA (inactive)

Six Sigma Greenbelt

Contact

Phone

Email

LinkedIn

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