Clearbeam Finance Gert Jan van Straalen · Interim Finance & Controlling
Interim finance management · Controlling · FP&A

Clear numbers.
Confident decisions.

Gert Jan van Straalen

Interim and consultancy finance for companies in any sector. I can support your CFO or Finance Director, or step in and own a finance function myself as interim country finance manager or head of controlling. I bring twelve years of finance experience in the insurance industry at Hiscox, in international, multi-entity environments. I work remotely from Lisbon with teams across Europe, and further afield, in English, Dutch, German or Portuguese.

Start a conversation See how I can help
  • 12 years in financial services
  • Lead or support: own the function or back up your CFO
  • Multi-entity & international
  • 4 languages: NL, EN, DE, PT
Gert Jan van Straalen
Services

Lead a finance function, or strengthen the team around your finance lead

Four ways to work together. On an interim basis I can own a function myself, below CFO level, or support your CFO, Finance Director or Head of FP&A. Everything here builds on work I have done in the role.

01

Interim country finance manager or head of controlling

When the seat is empty, I step in and run the function: the finance of a country or branch entity, or the controlling team, reporting to your CFO or group finance. I can also cover an FP&A or controlling role during a vacancy, absence, restructuring or busy period.

I own the budget, reforecast and expense planning, control actuals against them every month, handle month-end and accruals, and report to group finance, the CFO and the Board.

Built on running the full budget and reforecast cycle for a German country entity and supervising accounts payable and treasury for the Benelux.

02

Budgeting & forecasting cycles

I run or support your annual budget, reforecast or multi-year plan, including in Oracle planning, from preparation and challenging cost-centre inputs through to Board-level reporting.

03

Business partnering & fractional support

A senior finance partner for your Finance Director or CFO, part-time or a set number of days a week: budget conversations with cost-centre heads, preparation for strategic initiatives and presentations, and day-to-day support.

04

Finance change projects

Hands-on delivery when finance is changing: restructurings and expense ratio programmes, process redesign, ERP changes such as the move from Sun to Oracle and the ARCS rollout, cleanups, multi-entity reporting, and legal entity transfers like the post-Brexit move to a new Luxembourg carrier.

Engagements can be interim (full- or part-time), fractional, or project-based, and run remotely from Lisbon with on-site visits when needed. Terms are discussed per engagement. Interested in AI agents for finance processes? See AI agents for finance.

Who I help

Companies that need an interim finance lead, or someone ready to step up

I am that interim finance lead: I step in and own the FP&A and controlling cycle. And for companies looking for a head of controlling or finance director, I am the person ready to step up into that role. I have run the full budget, reforecast and controlling cycle for a country entity, working directly alongside a Finance Director.

My own background is the insurance industry: twelve years, most recently preparing the full budget and reforecast expense planning for Germany and Switzerland and controlling actual expenses against it. Along the way I supported the organisational restructuring of the German business, ran the future FTE planning, supported and executed the Group-wide expense ratio reduction programme, worked directly alongside the Finance Director, planned the set-up budget for a new Swiss legal entity, and redesigned the budget and reforecast submission processes for Europe. Insurers and financial services firms get someone who knows their numbers from the inside.

Who

  • Companies hiring an interim FP&A or controlling lead
  • Companies looking for a head of controlling or finance director who is ready to step up
  • CFOs, Finance Directors and group finance teams who need hands-on support
  • Country and branch finance managers in groups

Companies

  • Any sector
  • Insurers and financial services: twelve years of insurance experience
  • Mid-market companies
  • International groups and their country or branch entities
  • Multi-entity and multi-currency set-ups

Region

  • All of Europe as my home base
  • Worldwide, for remote teams anywhere
  • Four working languages: Dutch and English (native), German (B2/C1) and Portuguese (C1)

Typical situations

  • The budget or reforecast cycle drags on. Weeks of spreadsheet chasing and back-and-forth with cost-centre heads.
  • Pressure on expenses and cost ratios. You need someone who can plan costs and challenge cost-centre heads constructively.
  • A finance seat is empty. A country finance manager, head of controlling or FP&A role is uncovered during a vacancy, absence, restructuring or transformation, and someone needs to own it.
  • Manual, slow processes. Reconciliations, submissions and reporting packs that take too long and could be streamlined.
  • Restructurings. I reorganise cost centres, move FTEs and expenses to the new structure and track redundancies and savings, as I did in the restructuring of the German business.
Track record

What I’ve delivered across finance roles

Twelve years in insurance finance at Hiscox, covering the full finance cycle, from payables, treasury and accounting to FP&A, budgeting and controlling for a country entity. Before that, consulting projects at SOLVE Consulting and a transaction-advisory internship at Ernst & Young. The skills below carry over to finance teams in any sector.

  • Budget ownershipPrepared the full budget and reforecast expense planning for Germany and Switzerland, and controlled actuals against it.
  • RestructuringSupported the organisational restructuring of the German business, as sales moved from six regional offices to a North, Mid and South structure. The marketing, propositions and technical underwriting departments were also restructured. I reorganised the cost centres, moved FTEs and expenses to the new structure, and tracked redundancies and savings with the management team.
  • Swiss legal entity setupHelped set up a new Swiss branch, run from the Munich office, and planned its set-up budget together with the management team and the relevant departments.
  • Future FTE planningResponsible for FTE planning: I led the conversations with managers on which new FTEs were needed, which would be cut and which would move to other parts of the organisation.
  • Expense ratio reductionSupported and executed the Group-wide expense ratio reduction programme for the German business, which aimed to cut pure expenses as a share of gross written premium by one percentage point a year.
  • Business partneringLed the budget conversations with the management team and directly supported the Finance Director with strategic initiatives and presentations. I was also business partner to the European Marketing & Direct department, with expense analysis and planning support.
  • Multi-entity planningContributed to the Business Plan and Reforecasts for the European business, and supported country Finance Managers with 3-year budget plans in Oracle.
  • Automatic reconciliation rolloutI led the implementation of Oracle ARCS, automated reconciliation for European businesses. It was part of the Finance Transformation Programme and covered the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal, and later Ireland. Seven countries all using the same automatic reconciliation process.
  • System migrationHeavily involved in moving the European business from the Sun accounting system to Oracle, as part of the company-wide Finance Transformation Programme.
  • Brexit – New Luxembourg Insurance CarrierAfter Brexit, the old European entity was merged into a new insurance carrier in Luxembourg. For the Benelux, I handled the preparation: moving bank accounts, gathering documentation for banks, the Chamber of Commerce, central banks and auditors, getting everything ready for the transfer bookings between the two entities. I also sat in the working groups and maintained regular communication with regulatory bodies.
  • Process improvementRedesigned and streamlined the budget and forecast submission process into Oracle with Smart View for all European countries, so actuals and forecasts came together in one simpler, more structured and consistent planning cycle. I gathered feedback from all the European finance managers and redesigned the process based on that.
  • Reinsurance calculationsManaged Quota Share reinsurance calculations and submissions (insurance-specific).
  • Benelux tax declarationsPrepared the yearly tax declarations for the Benelux, by country:
    • The Netherlands: prepared the yearly declaration of personnel expenses to the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) under the work-related costs scheme (werkkostenregeling), including the 80% final levy on anything above the tax-free allowance.
    • Belgium: prepared the yearly 281.50 tax forms for commissions paid to insurance brokers, filed with the Federal Public Service Finance.
  • Regulatory & industry reportingHandled the annual regulatory reporting to regulators and industry bodies, by country:
    • Belgium: filed the regulatory insurance premium declarations and the insurance and financial statistics with the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), and reported to the FSMA, TRIP (the terrorism insurance pool) and Canara (the natural catastrophe pool).
    • Germany: submitted the regulatory insurance premium declarations to the GDV (Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft, the German Insurance Association).
    • The Netherlands: prepared the regulatory insurance premium declaration for the Verbond van Verzekeraars (Dutch Association of Insurers).

Case studies in the insurance industry

Three pieces of work from my finance roles in the insurance industry. The descriptions come from my CV and the figures from my time in those roles.

Europe · Change project

Leading the ARCS reconciliation rollout

Accountant Benelux, Lisbon

As part of the company-wide Finance Transformation Programme and the move from Sun to Oracle, I led the implementation of Oracle ARCS automated reconciliations for the European businesses: the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal, and later Ireland. On the premium bank account, which handled thousands of transactions a month, ARCS matched our cash flow bookings against the bank statements using automatic rules. The majority of transactions were allocated automatically, and only a small part still needed manual allocation. That made the reconciliation much faster and more consistent.

Seven countries all using the same automatic reconciliation process.

Germany · 2022–2026

German business restructuring

Financial Planning & Controller, Munich

Supported the organisational restructuring of the German business, as sales moved from six regional offices to a North, Mid and South structure. The marketing, propositions and technical underwriting departments were also restructured. I reorganised the cost centres, moved FTEs and expenses to the new structure, and tracked redundancies and savings with the management team.

Cost centres, FTEs and expenses moved to the new structure, with redundancies and savings tracked with the management team.

Group · 2022–2026

Group expense ratio reduction

Financial Planning & Controller, Munich

Supported and executed the Group-wide expense ratio reduction programme for the German business, which aimed to cut pure expenses as a share of gross written premium by one percentage point a year.

It delivered roughly 0.7 to 0.8 percentage points per year when premium growth missed plan.

Approach

How I work

I run the finance cycle end to end. For a German country entity I prepared the entire budget and reforecast expense planning and controlled actual expenses against it, working directly with cost-centre heads on their current and future plans.

  1. Into your cycle in week one

    I learn your budget, reforecast and reporting timetable: who owns what, the systems and the open issues.

  2. I run the cycle

    I prepare budget and reforecast expense planning end to end and control actuals against them every month.

  3. Variances with a reason

    Every gap against budget comes with an explanation, agreed with the cost-centre head who owns it.

  4. Reporting leadership can use

    I turn the numbers into Board-level reporting and presentations for the Finance Director.

  5. Agentic AI Finance

    Simpler processes, carefully automated

    [coming soon]

    I streamline submissions and reconciliations as I did with the budget and reforecast submission process, and the ARCS reconciliation rollout across seven European countries. I'm learning agentic AI for finance now, starting small with pilots where I approve every output.

Growing practice

AI agents for finance processes [coming soon]

AI agentic finance for finance teams is in progress and coming soon: AI agents that support FP&A, budgeting, forecasting and controlling workflows, with people approving every output.

Alongside my finance work, I am working with AI agents to improve financial processes within companies, such as reporting, reconciliations and variance commentary. It is a growing practice, and I am open about where it stands.

Read about my AI work
About

Gert Jan van Straalen

Financial Planning & Controller with twelve years of progressive finance experience across FP&A, controlling and accounting in international, multi-entity environments. Specialist in budgeting, forecasting, expense management and variance analysis, with experience owning the full budget cycle from preparation through cost-centre challenge to Board-level reporting. Experienced in partnering with Finance Directors and senior stakeholders on strategic initiatives, organisational restructuring and finance transformation programmes. Motivated by precision, collaboration and driving impactful financial outcomes.

All twelve years of my in-house career have been in the insurance industry: from Benelux accounting and treasury, through European business planning and Quota Share reinsurance calculations, to running expense planning and controlling for the German entity. For interim roles I can support a CFO or Finance Director, or own a function as country finance manager or head of controlling.

Experience

  1. May 2022 – Oct 2026

    Financial Planning & Controller

    Hiscox · Munich, Germany

    I prepared the full budget and reforecast expense planning for Germany and Switzerland, and controlled actual expenses against it. I worked directly alongside the Finance Director on strategic initiatives, meeting preparation, presentations and running the finance department day to day. I held the budget conversations with cost centre heads, supported the restructuring of the German business, and supported and executed the Group-wide expense ratio reduction programme.

  2. Sep 2020 – May 2022

    Financial Planning Junior Analyst

    Hiscox · Lisbon, Portugal

    I helped build the business plan and reforecasts for the European business, and supported country Finance Managers in delivering their three-year budget plans in Oracle. I redesigned and streamlined the budget and reforecast submission process, and controlled and analysed the budget inputs from business partners. I also managed the Quota Share reinsurance calculations and submissions.

  3. Sep 2017 – Sep 2020

    Accountant Benelux

    Hiscox · Lisbon, Portugal

    I controlled Benelux expenses every month against budget and reforecast, booked the monthly accruals, and supervised accounts payable and treasury. I prepared the yearly tax declarations for personnel expenses in the Netherlands and broker commissions in Belgium, plus the quarterly and yearly declarations to the National Bank and other industry bodies. As part of the Finance Transformation Programme, I led the rollout of a new automatic reconciliation tool across seven European countries.

  4. Aug 2014 – Sep 2017

    Accounting Administrator Benelux

    Hiscox · Lisbon, Portugal

    I ran the accounts payable and treasury processes for the Benelux, and controlled the bank accounts, claims management and cash flow systems. I delivered the periodic reporting to the National Banks, along with the IPT tax calculations and declarations, and sped up the reconciliation of internal systems.

  5. Jan 2011 – Aug 2012

    Project Manager

    SOLVE Consulting · Rotterdam, Netherlands

    I led consulting projects for Erasmus University's social enterprise consulting organisation, helping non-profit organisations in the Rotterdam area work more efficiently and effectively. I managed the client relationships, discussing progress and keeping expectations aligned.

  6. Jun 2011 – Sep 2011

    Intern, Transaction Advisory

    Ernst & Young · Netherlands

    I supported merger and acquisition projects and due diligence work. I helped with a cost of equity analysis for a large toll-road provider by mapping its toll-road projects worldwide and their returns, and I researched private equity firms and potential acquisition targets.

Contact

Let's talk about your finance team

Whether you need interim cover, support through a budget or reforecast cycle, a finance partner for a few days a week, or extra capacity for a finance project, I'd be glad to hear from you.

Available from November 2026

Email

[email protected]

Phone

+351 926 526 571

LinkedIn

linkedin.com/in/gertjanvanstraalen

Location

Based in Lisbon, Portugal · working remotely with teams across Europe and worldwide · English, Dutch, German and Portuguese