In 2001 he was headhunted for the role of first country accountant within AstraZeneca’s European Business Services Centre (EBS) in South Manchester managing accounting, reporting & VAT oversight for both the United Kingdom & Ireland.
As a greenfield set up, he was heavily involved in systems testing, process documentation, service level definition & team mentoring as a further 13 countries joined over a period of 2 years. Following promotion in 2003, Owen managed financial reporting for all Western European countries, overseeing a multinational team of 26. These units regularly made up the majority of the top ten rankings in group reporting league tables for timeliness & accuracy.
In 2004, he was approached to design & implement a standardised accounting model, interfaces & reporting structures across the $16bn turnover International Sales & Marketing Division - embedding this first into central & local accounting systems and then into budgetary processes. The process, as first project data architect and then divisional finance manager for information strategy, took 6 years and necessitated significant travel across Europe, East Asia, North America & North Africa training the financial community.
In 2010 Owen set up Oligomer Accounting, which has offered freelance financial reporting, process & data consultancy services via intermediaries to clients in a variety of sectors including retail banking, insurance & pharmaceuticals in both the United Kingdom and overseas.
Owen obtained his CIMA fellowship in 2014 and his practicing certificate in 2017, enabling him to supply his services direct to clients of all sizes.
With his experience in practice & in business operations as a financial controller & business partner in both fast growing SMEs and larger corporates he is well placed to provide practical business advice. His background in process improvement & financial systems projects across the last 20 years enable him to assess your requirements effectively and provide you with the appropriate tools & information you require to support your business growth.
Outside work, Owen is married, with a son undertaking his master’s degree & a daughter completing her A levels. He has a wide range of interests including travel, archaeology & science and has pursued a significant interest in genealogy for more than 40 years. When not on a computer or with his face in a book, he enjoys distracting the family cats or walking in the Cheshire countryside.