Controller, VP of Finance, Director of Reporting, CFO

**** ****** ***** *****: 516-***-****

Gary Bernstein, CPA

Baldwin Harbor, NY 11510 ********@***.***

Summary Qualified financial professional with almost twenty years of financial, accounting, and auditing experience. Five years of

public accounting experience in numerous industries. Strong supportive financial role working with corporate visionary and top

management and staff to implement change. Skilled at analyzing financial position as well as market opportunities and direction.

Experienced in developing and implementing proactive solutions for wide variety of financial matters. Skill set includes GAAP

and SEC reporting, acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, and other strategic partnership agreements. Experienced at negotiating

advantageous terms and contracts under adverse circumstances. Self-motivated and able to excel in both a team situation or alone.

Employment Atlantic Express Transportation Corp., Staten Island, NY (www.atlanticexpress.com)

History Assistant Controller

May 2003 - Atlantic Express is the third largest provider of school bus transportation in the US and the leading provider in NYC. It has over 40

Present operating companies, over 8,000 employees and approximately $400 million in revenue. When joining AE in May 2003, the Company

was in Ch 11 and had an inadequate accounting system. Since then, the Company has exited Ch 11, became publicly traded, raised

over $500 million and signed over a billion dollar contract with the DOE. Streamlined a more reliable accounting system that reduced

head counts and costs by more than 70% and reduced our reporting process from over 60 days to becoming SEC compliant.

• Prepare all SEC filings as required, including S-1 and S-4 registration statements, and 10Q and 10K reports.

• Implemented and designed a new streamlined Great Plains accounting system migrated from an inefficient Solomon system.

• Responsible for all facets of the budgeting & forecasting process, including setting up templates and reports to help handle

the company’s cash flows, in addition to managing the Company’s compliance with its financial covenants.

• Liaison between middle and upper management for all reporting and budgeting functions.

• Develop and maintain supporting schedules for the month end close including detailed fixed assets for a fleet of over 5,000

vehicles, notes, leases, deferred financing, inventory, prepaid expenses, accruals, interest, etc.

• Interface with the external auditors, (BDO Seidman) and outside council, (Latham & Watkins) to facilitate the quarterly

reviews and annual audits.

• Identify inefficiencies along with internal control weaknesses as well as initiate new policies and procedures to

improve reporting and operations in connection with the process of becoming compliant under Sarbanes-Oxley.

Aug 2002 – Independent Consultant, Tri-state area

Apr2003 Gilman & Ciocia, (www.gilcio.com) GTAX.BB, Sceptre Ireland (www.sceptreireland.com) and several small companies.

Worked independently, with various companies, helping them through their temporary predicaments, including drafting a

10K, helped prepare applicable schedules, and acted as a liaison with outside council and accountants for a company that

provided financial planning services such as securities brokerage, tax planning, insurance and mortgage agency services with 118

locations and $100MM in revenue. Set up accounting system for a $50MM company in the travel industry, including migration

to a new accounting package and new travel system and assuring proper interface. Helped several other smaller companies, set

up accounting systems and advancing the strategic goals and efficient operations by implementing organization-wide standards,

accountability and reporting improvements.

June 2001- TheGlobe.com, New York, NY (www.theglobe.com) TGLO.BB

Aug 2002 Corporate Controller / Corporate Secretary (Acting Chief Financial Officer)

TheGlobe.com arguably was the most successful IPO in history, and was frequently ranked as one of the top 30 websites

in the world with over 17 million monthly users in the late 90’s. I was hired as Controller, and in September 2001 the CFO

left and I assumed that role until July 2002. The Company had excessive debt and had over $200 million in net operating

losses. I worked closely with the CEO to implement significant cost containment initiatives and to manage large and legally

complicated liabilities. As a result; The Company’s cash burn rate went from over $3.0 million a month to less than

$100,000 a month and almost $40 million of real and contingent liabilities were negotiated away, saving the company from

involuntary bankruptcy and the Company’s remaining businesses were in the hottest industries. In August 2002, the board of

directors moved the corporate headquarters to Fort Lauderdale, Florida where they took over as upper management and

invested their own money in hopes of rebuilding the Company. The Company showed their first profitable quarter in that 4th

quarter of 2002, and within the next year the stock went on a run from a few pennies to a couple of dollars.

• Reported to CEO, responsible for preparing and filing all SEC filings as required such as 10K, 10Q, Proxy, 8k, etc. for a

high profile publicly traded company.

• Prepared consolidated financial statements in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and responsible for all

general accounting functions including, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and commissions

• Represented company with outside accountants (KPMG ) and attorneys (Fried Frank).

• Successfully managed and trained a staff of nine accountants in a volatile environment.

• Created credibility throughout the organization and with the Board as an effective developer of solutions to business challenges.

• Developed a reliable cash flow projection process and reporting mechanism, which included a minimum cash threshold to meet

operating needs.

• Provided strategic financial input and leadership on decision-making issues affecting the organization; i.e., evaluation of

potential alliances, reverse mergers and/or potential sale of company.

• Responsible for financial oversight on all contracts which the company had entered.

• Coordinated and oversaw financial functions with remote international and domestic subsidiaries.

• Provided cost analysis for the publishing of Computer Games magazine, a leading consumer print publication for games.

• Valuated and controlled inventory levels for Chips & Bits a leading e-commerce games distribution business.

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April 2000 – LuxuryFinder.com, New York, NY

June 2001 (www.eluxury.com)

Controller

Reported to the President with responsibility for a staff of two. Engineered a successful financial strategy, which led to the sale of

LuxuryFinder’s assets to E-luxury.com thereby averting bankruptcy. LuxuryFinder.com was a leading e-commerce provider for high-

end goods. Responsibilities included all facets of monthly financial and statistical reporting in the up and about pace of the dot.com

environment.

• Involved in the designing and implementing of the dynamic and ever changing accounting system.

• Analyzed and maintained general ledger, with month-end journal entries and comprehensive closing.

• Prepared highly detailed schedules, such as fixed asset depreciation schedules, various income amortization schedules,

intensive inventory valuation schedules, accruals and prepaids.

• Assisted with annual reports and interfaced with investors, examiners and auditors.

• Prepared projected financial statements, cash flow forecasting, necessary managerial and budgeting reports.

Oct 1995 –– Klinger& Klinger, LLP, Great Neck, NY

April 2000 Accounting Manager

Direct report to managing Partner in this small CPA firm, which specializes in insolvency, forensic accounting and litigation

support. As a result of the firm’s small size, I was exposed to a significantly broad range of responsibilities and hands-on experience.

• Advised clients about restructuring their business activities pursuant to Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings, and prepared

operating statements as required by the United States Trustee.

• Compiled financial statements with their related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in

the United States.

• Provided advisory services to clients during fieldwork such as tax planning and implementing new accounting software

packages.

• Involved in all phases of audit engagements including planning, compliance and substantive testing, financial statement

preparation and analytical review for clientele in diverse industries such as manufacturing, food, and professional practices

in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America.

• Responded on behalf of clients to tax notifications and assessments received by various taxing authorities and prepared

quarterly and annual payroll and sales tax returns for smaller clients.

Sep 1993 –– Ridgewood Savings Bank, Ridgewood, NY

Oct 1995 (www.ridgewoodbank.com)

Internal Auditor

Ridgewood Savings Bank is a small thrift with 40 branches throughout the New York area. Hired out of school, I joined the

auditing department, which had a staff of twelve. While at Ridgewood Savings Bank I was exposed to a corporate environment, and

learned how a bank and a business should operate financially, operationally, and in regulatory compliance. This position led to a

significant development of my auditing skills.

• Responsible for conducting fieldwork and generating work papers.

• Provided information noted on work papers in a summary form and wrote the audit report, including recommendations and

fieldwork observations in draft form, for review by department management and furnished information to the management

of the area under review by participating in the exit interview.

• Updated and developed audit programs and planned and coordinated all phases of Compliance and Operational Audit

projects and audit teams.

• Participated in the Annual Trustees Examination and FDICIA testing, by assisting the external examiners from Arthur

Andersen, LLP with their research and testing.

• Special project work involving the detection of fraud, risk assessment, defalcation investigation, and other tasks as

requested by the Examining Committee, which involved sensitive and confidential information.

Education Bernard M. Baruch College, New York, NY

B.B.A. in Accountancy, 1993

NYS Certified Public Accountant, 1998

Highly proficient in Microsoft Dynamics, Great Plains, Solomon, Epicore (Platinum), FRX, Quick Books, Peachtree, Microsoft

Computer

Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, etc.

Skills

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