PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Confidential, Chicago, IL

Manager of SEC Content

• Responsible for authoring publications on technical accounting standards and rules/regulations from the Securities & Exchange Commission. This responsibility includes developing publications as an expert author on specific SEC rules, including Regulations S - X and S-K, quarterly and annual reporting requirements, proxy statement requirements, and executive compensation
• Author interpretations and other tools on new SEC reporting requirements including, XBRL, Smaller Reporting Company rules, fair value accounting, and various registration statement amendments
• Edit publications submitted by authors to ensure accurate information and presentation in a clear manner
• Lead the monitoring of “current events” or case law to communicate to our readership in the form of newsletters or white papers

Confidential, Chicago, IL

Director of Financial Reporting

• Responsible for filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission, including Forms 8-K, 10-Q, 10-K, and various registration statements. This responsibility included: (a) determining an SEC filing requirement existed and recommending such to senior management; (b) authoring an initial draft of an SEC filing; (c) managing the review of such filing by senior management, legal, and various operating or functional groups; (d) ensuring all required documentation and compliance with external auditor requirements and requests; (e) presenting the SEC filing and key highlights/disclosures to the audit and disclosure committees; (f) ensuring compliance with all disclosure controls and procedures; and (g) successfully filing the respective document with the SEC with the assistance of external printers
• Lead parts of the corporate investor relations responsibilities. This responsibility included: (a) authoring significant financial and narrative portions of corporate press releases, including those announcing quarterly earnings, new debt agreements, and renewal of asset securitization programs; (b) authoring portions of scripts used by the CEO and CFO for quarterly earnings calls; and (c) lead key calculations related to shareholder proposal considerations
• Counsel senior management and corporate business units on technical accounting and external disclosure requirements. This responsibility included: (a) significant “hands-on” research of generally accepted accounting principles; (b) application of those broad technical accounting principles to particular facts or proposed business transactions; and (c) making recommendations to senior management or operating/functional groups on the potential accounting and disclosure impacts and alternative solutions to consider
• Team lead on the following Sarbanes-Oxley 404 areas: (a) internal and external financial reporting process; (b) foreign currency; (c) consolidation; and (d) stock-based compensation. This responsibility included: (a) documenting the respective process; (b) presenting the process and key controls to management and external auditors; (c) ensuring required annual testing of key controls; (d) documenting any significant changes in key controls; and (e) maintaining key controls to ensure no deficiencies arise
• Responsible for leading a team of nine, including three managers, responsible for the financial reporting, inventory and payroll functions. This responsibility included: (a) hiring team members; (b) establishing broad objectives and specific goals for each function; (c) providing annual reviews for each individual; and (d) developing an environment where each team member was able to develop and provide value
• Responsible for various accounting entries and monthly closing requirements for stock-based compensation, asset-backed securitization and consolidation. This responsibility included: (a) gathering and monitoring monthly activity; (b) making necessary accounting entries in ledgers; (c) reconciling all applicable accounts; (d) using specifically tailored accounting software where required; and (d) providing analysis of specific highlights within each accounting as required
• Lead teams in providing corporate-wide internal financial reporting, financial analysis, dashboard reporting and other reporting solutions. This responsibility included: (a) preparing and reviewing consolidated and business unit financial statements tailored to internal management requirements; (b) ensuring compliance with all segment reporting requirements; (c) coordinating monthly business unit financial results review, including budget-to-actual highlights; (d) interact with business unit controllers or other staff to discuss specific accounting entries or specific transactions; and (e) monitor compliance by business units to corporate-wide internal reporting policies.

Confidential, East Lansing, MI

Tax Consultant

• Regional CPA firm serving a wide variety of clients, including individuals, corporations, partnerships and estates.
• Responsible for providing tax compliance and planning services to individuals, corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts
• Review staff prepared tax returns and filings for individuals, partnerships and corporations.

Confidential, Troy, MI

Policy Analyst

• Guided financial analysis for budgeting, corporate performance measurement and special project purposes including, consolidations, foreign currency transactions, goodwill, impairments and property, plant and equipment. This responsibility included: (a) monthly analysis of business unit results; (b) preparing narratives for senior management on key highlights of results-to-budget or results-to-prior periods; and (c) working with a diverse group of domestic and global locations to understand key financial measures
• Responsible for authoring, implementing and maintaining worldwide accounting policies for the entire organization and communicating such policies to the world-wide organization. This responsibility included: (a) developing an intranet website as a global tool to host accounting policies; (b) authoring global accounting policies that applied to all locations; (c) working with domestic and global locations on specific transactions to ensure appropriate accounting and a policy is established for future transactions; and (d) leading the global launch of corporate-wide accounting policy intranet site and rollout of new accounting policies and requirements
• Developed solutions to complex technical accounting issues including synthetic leasing, hedging and derivatives, capital accounting and revenue recognition principles. This responsibility included: (a) significant “hands-on” technical accounting research; (b) application of that broad technical accounting research to specific facts or transactions; (c) make recommendations to senior management or operational/functional units on accounting and disclosure implications and alternatives to consider; and (d) sitting on a derivative and commodities board with senior management to ensure compliance with all derivatives and hedge accounting requirements
• Authored comment letters to the SEC and FASB regarding proposed statements, interpretations or regulations. This responsibility included: (a) authoring comment letters to accounting standard setters; (b) working with senior management on ensuring the corporate views are reflected in our comments; and (c) interacting with the accounting standard setters to provide our comments

Confidential, Detroit, MI

Senior Auditor

• Led audit teams on a wide variety of engagements, including financial statement audits, regulatory audits, audits of defined benefit or contribution plans and pension plans. Primary client was the largest publicly-traded utility in Michigan.
• Prepared financial statements, letters of audit findings, debt comfort letters, and correspondence with regulators and reports to senior executives
• Prepared tax returns for individuals, partnerships and corporations