In 2021, as the newly appointed group CFO at MP Biomedicals, Singapore native Hendry Lim faced a number of challenges.
Among its products, the company produced Covid-19 testing kits. While other markets and industries had suffered as the pandemic turned agendas upside down with plant closures, global supply-chain disruptions, talent shortages and technology limitations, MP Biomedicals had not closed any factories or cut any jobs, and in fact continues to take on new staff. However, the pandemic had shone a spotlight on traditional financial management processes, so for MP Biomedicals, a new strategy was on the cards.
‘One platform for reporting, control and analysis across all our divisions was essential'
CV
2021
Group CFO, MP Biomedicals, California, US
2018
Director, finance, Asia Pacific, MP Biomedicals, Singapore
2008
Senior manager, finance, Asia Pacific, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Singapore
2007
Accountant, United Engineers, Singapore
2006
Senior audit associate, LTC & Associates, Singapore
Time for transformation
Armed with years of financial management experience, a Masters in business administration, an accounting degree and ACCA Qualification that began his journey into corporate finance, Lim would embark on the transformation that would pull the business's finance function together.
MP Biomedicals is a diversified manufacturer/distributor of products for the life sciences, fine chemicals and diagnostic markets, with production facilities in New Zealand, Singapore, the US, Germany, India and China. Because of its global pattern of trade, Lim explains, supply and distribution conditions can change rapidly.
One of the key issues that needed to be resolved was that, with the existing technology, finance couldn’t get a complete view of sales, production and shipping. ‘Supply chain and logistics problems made finance transformation a top priority,’ says Lim.
From the corporate headquarters in Irvine, California, Lim started on several parallel projects. First, he tackled the need for finance technology standardisation across the company and proceeded to implement a global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
‘One platform for reporting, control and analysis across all our divisions was essential to understanding and managing performance, and the Covid-19 pandemic only demonstrated the urgency of that,’ he says.
Once the ERP was in place, Lim could then tackle financial process improvement through robotic process automation, which will eventually be rolled out to every local finance function. Beginning with accounts receivable and accounts payable (AP/AR), this will equate to efficiency for the finance teams, Lim says, and provide the opportunity for local finance managers to improve staff skills. ‘I’m encouraging our finance directors not to restructure their teams, but rather to upscale them to a different level,' he explains.
‘As a finance leader, we have to manage all these changes very carefully,’ says Lim. ‘There are many cultural differences between our global plants and between generations.’
'My strategy is to be very open with the direction we’re taking'
Basics
Headquarters in Irvine, California, MP Biomedicals is a global company committed to the development, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of diagnostic, life science, and fine chemicals products which cover various industries.
MP Biomedicals offers more than 55,000 life science research and diagnostic products that support academic and government research institutions, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as healthcare organisations.
MP Biomedicals has various manufacturing and non-manufacturing entities in the Asia Pacific, Europe, and America regions. MP Biomedical Asia-Pacific has entities in Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and China. The Europe region consists of entities in Germany, France, Russia, and Serbia. The America region is located in the US and Brazil.
Transparent approach
Following his experience in transforming the finance team in the Asia-Pacific region, Lim became well aware of the importance of effective communication and transparency. ‘When making these types of wide-sweeping changes, it’s critical to get buy-in across the whole company,’ he adds, ‘and my strategy is to be very open with the direction we’re taking.’
At the same time, Lim continued to untangle group transfer pricing issues, a project that he led during his tenure as finance director in the Asia-Pacific region. With support from external consulting partners, the group finance team developed transfer price documentations, documenting every inter-company related transaction that had a transfer pricing impact. ‘This unravelled some complex issues,’ says Lim, ‘concerning royalties, treatment of commission income, inter-company transfer price, and benchmarking against the industry.’
ACCA support
With Covid-related challenges nearly solved, Lim is focusing on growing the business through acquisition. ‘We are starting to shop around for M&A opportunities again, now that most of our technology challenges are being worked out,’ he says. ‘For this, I continue to draw heavily on my ACCA training,’ he adds.
Across Lim's career, ACCA has played an important role. While he initially studied marketing, as a new graduate Lim found it difficult to break into Singapore's job market. Having won a scholarship, he studied for the ACCA Qualification and gained a degree in accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
‘The ACCA Qualification is a very well-rounded certification. It’s not pure accounting or corporate reporting – for example, you can also study marketing and mergers and acquisition. ‘
Lim joined MP Biomedicals in 2018, initially as director of finance for Asia Pacific, with responsibility for seven entities. In May 2019, he took over the global consolidation in addition to his role where the global consolidation was done out of the US to Singapore.
‘I believe the organisation has given me this opportunity due to my dedication, strong leadership skills, ability to think strategically, extensive experience, and proven track record of success in a multinational organisation,' he says.
‘One of the biggest differences between California and Singapore is the pace of life'
Fresh outlook
Then came the move to California as group CFO, which meant bringing his family to the US. ‘California and Singapore are vastly different in terms of culture, climate and lifestyle,’ he says. ‘Some of the more interesting aspects of settling in California include experiencing a new and diverse culture, exploring the natural beauty of the state, and adapting to a more casual and relaxed lifestyle.
‘One of the biggest differences between California and Singapore is the pace of life. California is known for its more casual and relaxed lifestyle, while Singapore is known for its fast-paced and competitive culture. This can be a refreshing change for some, while others may find it difficult to adjust to the slower pace.’
As group CFO, Lim continues to pull his whole experience and education together to support his company and his finance teams, post Covid-19. ‘I know many CFOs in global companies experienced some of the same Covid-related issues as we did, and for our company there is a silver lining,’ says Lim.
‘We’re coming out of the turmoil stronger, with deeper insights into production and supply-chain vulnerabilities, a global view into performance and control through a single ERP, and an agenda for automation that includes upskilling and empowering our finance teams. ‘
