KARA GEAUGH

***** ** ** - *******, ** *****

574-***-**** – ac2ev8@r.postjobfree.com

CONTROLLER / SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Highly motivated and enthusiastic accounting professional with over ten years of experience that include five years as a controller in a manufacturing environment. Reputation for investigating and resolving issues and constantly striving for process improvement. Independent, creative, and critical thinker with sound judgment and strategic decision making competencies as well as ability to prioritize and manage time effectively. Ability to work autonomously and as a team player. Proven ability to learn and master new skills quickly and thoroughly. Adaptable to change and responds to challenges with confidence, determination and focus.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Complex Expense Reporting & Reconciliation Research, Investigation & Resolution

Financial Statements & Preparation Organization & Process Improvement

General Ledger & Journal Entries Supervision & Mentorship

Reconciliations & Remittances Project Management

Excellent Customer Service Problem Solving & Analysis

Inventory Management ERP Systems

Variance Analysis Standard Cost Analysis

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

CONTROLLER 2011 to 2016

Wieland Designs, Inc. Goshen, IN

Review and analyze margin reports, conduct research and perform analytical studies in regards to cost analysis and profitability and determine root-cause for each significant variance.

Found a 1% material variance which led to an initial $150,000 credit and $75,000 a year added to the bottom line each year. Identified an error with charging freight, which added another $30,000 a year to the bottom line.

Development and implementation of new procedures to enhance the workflow of the department and create instruction manuals.

oReduced the staff needed by 1 person, saving about $40,000 a year.

Prepare financial statements and related analytical reports and assist CFO with presenting results to executive team.

oTook monthly statements from 8 days to 5 days and year end close from 5 weeks to 3 weeks.

Coordinate and make all preparations for the year-end financial audit/review.

Manage the accounting staff and all operational functions and provide training when needed.

Lead for year-end physical inventory, including auditing counts and analyzing large discrepancies and confirming accuracy.

Member of the executive team meetings to report on KPI’s and give input on increasing company profitability.

Prepare the sales and use tax returns, coordinate filing of property tax returns, and oversee the preparation of various income tax reporting returns.

Provide timely explanations of variances between actual results and forecasts/budgets; provide corrective action recommendations to management, where necessary.

SENIOR STAFF ACCOUNTANT 2007 to 2011

Wieland Designs, Inc. Goshen, IN

Manage month end close, including monthly journal entries, allocations, and accruals.

Monthly reconciliation of balance sheet accounts.

Review and analyze general ledger account balances per the established guidelines.

Set-up of two new financial reporting systems, FRx and XLConnect, and provided training.

Key role in the implementation of the new ERP system, Epicor. Became the “go-to” person.

Manage all fixed assets with Sage FAS Asset Accounting software and create depreciation schedules.

Served key role in the introduction and integration of ADP with new ERP system.

Lead in coordinating yearly standard cost roll-up and analyzing large variances.

Coordinated the clean-up of the DMR and RMA modules.

oInitial clean-up of DMR resulted in nearly $70,000 in credit and approximately $50,000 on an annual basis going forward.

Coordinated clean-up of obsolete inventory, finding and eliminating root causes, and thus preventing arbitrary year-end reductions in inventory investment. Initiated the creation of dashboards for buyers to review, based on last time used and demand in system vs actual inventory.

STAFF ACCOUNTANT 2006 to 2007

Wieland Designs, Inc. Goshen, IN

A/R, Daily invoicing and cash receipts. Advise Controller of potential collection issues.

A/P, ensure invoices are entered within discount terms and process check runs.

Created standardized template for employee expense reports.

Manage and perform the payroll function for hourly employees.

oLead on transitioning time punches from Kronos to Epicor. Created new processes and spreadsheets to take the payroll process and reports from nearly 8 hours to 2 hours.

Maintain and distribute various reports:

oDaily Sales Report (Compare Actual to Budget)

oWeekly Labor Efficiency Report by line

oEmployees designated as Directed Labor that transferred to Indirect Labor for the week.

oWeekly Flash Report that compares current week to prior week. Includes cash balance, A/R balances by customer with notes on collection issues, orders received, Aged Payables, Inventory received but not entered into payables, and insurance claims paid.

EDUCATION

Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI

Bachelor of Science in Business, Accountancy (Cum Laude), May 2006

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