Cathy Henderson-Staples

Palm Beach Gardens, FL • 561-***-**** • ad2x90@r.postjobfree.com

Assistant Controller Accounting Manager

Senior-Level Leadership Cash/Asset Management Financial Forecasting/ Reporting

Upwardly mobile and seasoned Controller committed to guiding executive-level decisions through leadership, open communication, and strategic planning. Protect company assets by establishing and enforcing internal controls to improve performance, transparency, and accountability in all areas impacting an organization’s operational and financial results. Noted for supporting continuous improvement projects, implementing comprehensive accounting practices, and delivering leadership to accounting staff to ensure they understand the meaning behind each accounting function. Engage professionally with all levels of an organization to turn data, trends, variances, and forecasts into actionable insights while adopting new practices and managing special projects to keep the organization fiscally sound.

Areas of Excellence:

Cross-Functional Teamwork Bank/Account Reconciliations Internal Controls Workflow Coordination Staff Training

Process Auditing GAAP Report Writing Risk Management & Mitigation AR/AP Month-End Close Financial Projections & Forecasting Cost Accounting Open Item Resolution Budget Management Trend Analysis GL

Records Custodian/Gatekeeper ACH & Wire Transactions Talent Acquisition/Management Team Deliverables

Technical: MS Office Advanced Excel JD Edwards ADP AVID Exchange Power BI Blackline

Professional Experience

HIGHGATE HOTELS Irving, TX 2021-2023

Controller/Cash Management

Serve in a dual role to manage bank reconciliation practices and cash management reporting while monitoring, supporting, and guiding a 200+ outsourced team accountable for general accounting deliverables on an extensive hotel portfolio with close to $1B in annual revenue. Assist the organization in understanding structures and complexities from a banking perspective to clear outstanding issues and maintain accurate account balances and cash reporting. Establish workflows and processes designed to close the gaps in reviewing and reconciling daily, weekly, and monthly banking, deposit activity on all assigned properties, payable/chargeback/refund processing, and cash disbursements.

Maintain and implement portfolio banking workflows using Bank Administration Institute (BAI) electronic file feeds, reconciliation applications, and software.

Train and manage the offshore Shared Support Services team to ensure accurate processing and reporting of general accounting activities.

Identify and schedule training for other Corporate Hotel Controllers on banking and merchant services in coordination with the Treasury Department as needed.

Complete internal and external financial audits by coordinating with and supporting CPA firms with requests for additional accounting information.

ISLAND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT; West Palm Beach, FL 2004-2021

Controller (2018-2021)

Managed the cadence and workflow of all financial and accounting functions for a hotel management company with 240+ hotels and annual revenues in excess of $970M. Supervised and managed a team of 15 with a mix of accounting and cash analysis responsibilities. Reported directly to the company’s Senior VP to ensure properties operate within financial guardrails for effective stewardship of available resources. Confirmed all accounting practices aligned with GAAP, including cash management, sales tax calculations, direct/indirect expense reporting, fixed asset reporting, document security, retention, and archiving. Developed, analyzed, and interpreted statistical accounting information to appraise leadership of operating results in terms of profitability, performance against budget, fiscal soundness, and operating efficiency.

Worked in tandem with senior business leaders on tactical business planning, mergers and acquisitions, and cash management strategies.

Actively participated in making property acquisition and disposition decisions of hotel assets from an analytical and financial perspective.

Reviewed, audited, analyzed, and reconciled 50+ financial statements to produce monthly reports of the P&L outlook and assist management in understanding significant results and trends.

Created new spreadsheets and business forms for repeated uses by incorporating functions, formulas, graphs, charts, and pivot tables for financial forecasting applications.

Recommended and implemented policy/procedure changes to continuously improve internal systems and team performance while preserving departmental efficiencies.

Managed banking relationships, resolved accounting discrepancies, and worked closely with external auditors to provide schedules and documents to meet auditing requirements.

Trained and coached accounting staff toward expanding their scope of understanding of how accounting information is translated, reported, and interrelated by creating manuals and job aid guides.

Increased team morale and reduced turnover by ensuring an equitable distribution of work was delegated and spread evenly among the staff.

Cash Manager (2016-2018)

Oversaw daily cash management activities and intervened as necessary to resolve emerging issues related to forecasting, cash posting, intercompany funding processes, and weekly cash reporting. Maintained and improved operation and utilization of banking services with the goal of achieving the best pricing for new services. Monitored daily cash receipts and disbursements, reconciled weekly general ledger entries, updated cash flow reports, and managed cash flow forecasts. Played a pivotal role in automating the reconciliation process using Power Query to connect, combine, and refine data sources to meet varying analysis and lookback needs.

Ensured accurate, complete, and timely accounting entries and accruals for cash/credit transactions by serving as the administrator for the company’s cash management system and banking applications.

Supervised day-to-day activities of the department to hit performance goals and held accountability meetings to develop stretch goals and create opportunities for staff advancement.

Upheld fiduciary responsibility by enforcing revenue cycle policies and procedures and modified workflows to optimize team performance.

Staff Accountant (2014-2015)

Preserved correct preparation and reporting of journal entries, balance sheet reconciliations, asset depreciation/appreciation, financial statements, forecasting, and P&L outlook for 25 hotels. Developed reports explaining operational line variances and actual vs. plan to articulate primary drivers in variances to drive strategies towards growing revenue and expanding operating margins. Reviewed and reconciled company accounts and assisted in completing monthly close procedures on accounts, journal entries, and bank reconciliations to produce monthly financial statements.

Heavily relied upon to provide input into changes that impact bottom-line profits, requiring significant financial breakdowns, modeling, and forecasts.

Senior Cash Analyst (2004-2014)

Implemented cash management processes to streamline the importing and exporting of banking data for daily cash journal entries by completing cash/credit card reconciliations for 70 hotels and corporate bank accounts. Held full accountability for onboarding new properties and dissolving financial relationships for property dispositions by opening and closing bank accounts. Posted cash/credit journal entries, completed monthly bank reconciliations, approved A/P and payroll check runs, reconciled ACH payments, and assisted with monthly/quarterly audit requests.

Processed disputed credit card chargebacks and reviewed/audited weekly hotel ledgers, including advanced deposits and guest ledgers.

Assisted designated properties and accounting teams in resolving unreconciled items, researching special requests, rectifying payment processing issues, and monitoring banking fees.

Earlier Career Experience: Cash Specialist at HearUSA, Cash Analyst at TPI Enterprises, and General Accountant at Florida Public Utilities.

Education

FLORIDA-ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY – Bachelor of Business Administration; Accounting

Contact this candidate