BRIAN MBESHA
Grande Prairie,AB
Summary
Results-driven Chief Financial Officer with extensive experience in public and private accounting and financial reporting. Skilled at managing relationships with shareholders and board members, utilizing exceptional mediation and negotiation skills. Proven track record in leading strategic corporate transformations, M&A, and business development, while successfully building high-functioning agile teams in the manufacturing, distribution, and professional services sectors. Known for a collaborative leadership style, proactive approach, and the ability to effectively translate complex operational concepts into understandable actionable plans.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Financial Officer
Aquatera Utilities Inc.
07.2023 - Current
- Devise and present strategic business plans and forecasts to the Audit & Risk Committee (ARC), Corporate Board of Directors, and Shareholders
- Present financial results to Board quarterly and 4 Municipal Shareholders (4 Mayors’ and their councilors) bi-annually
- Annual presentation of justifications for proposed rate increases at 4 Council meetings for approval and enactment into City by-laws
- Maintain P&L and shoulder corporate fiscal responsibility to drive growth, improve profitability, and maximize long-term value
- Create annual budgets (including 4-year rolling Operating Plan) and monitor performance against plan to ensure objectives are achieved
- Establish policies related to internal controls over accounting systems as well as financial processes within organization
- Evaluate new business opportunities or risk in business environment to determine project viability or propose risk mitigation
- Assist in developing pricing models for products and services offered by company
- Recruit, train and manage staff responsible for finance functions within organization
- Collaborate with IT department on implementation of software solutions that streamline financial processes
- Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting including coordinating statutory audit to produce annual Financial Statement and relevant notes
- Guide annual ARC workstreams, internal audits risk assessments and compliance monitoring
Senior Director of Finance
Driven Brands Inc.
08.2021 - 05.2023
- Financial Controller for the global Paint, Collision & Glass (PC&G) Segment as well as support other non-PC&G Canadian activities while managing a team of +65 staff across North America,
- Supported Canadian leadership team with specific tactical decision making from Capital Expenditure to pivoting business plans to meet changing industry environment
- Led monthly Business Review meetings with Dept. GM's reviewing actual and forecast results, to ensure continued tracking to key objectives and KPIs
- Oversaw and support integration of three critical acquisitions into the PC&G Segment that added US$250M annual segment revenues
- Support business divesture activities by providing data justifying Quality of Earnings and other financial KPI's to investor data rooms
- Responsible for all Order-to-Cash (AR) and Procure-to-Pay (AP) activities in Canada
- Responsible for month-end and year-end close processes including variance analysis (P&L and Bal Sheet) and ensured timely completion of both internal and external audits
- Formulated and rolled-out financial controls and policies to existing and acquired entities for Sarbanes Oxley (SOx) and business control compliance.
- Regularly document reviews to make sure financial and business controls are designed and operating effectively.
VP Finance / Chief Financial Officer
AC Americas Inc
05.2018 - 08.2021
- Oversaw all financial reporting and consolidation of company results for 8 active entities under AC North America umbrella (Canada, USA, and Australia)
- Responsible for Board reporting and presentation as finance member of North American “SLT”, delivering actual and forecast results to UK based private equity owners.
- Responsible for developing annual corporate budget with other functional leaders; track actual performance (Actual vs Budget) and roll quarterly forecasts to re-align results to present business environment
- Oversaw Treasury functions (cash flow forecasting), CAPEX planning and managed critical relationships with major supply chain vendors (local and International) and financial institutions
- Responsible for payroll, employee benefits admin (including pension and 401K plans for US staff) and companywide annual staff performance tracking and reporting
- Oversaw Internal Audit & Control function, formulating, implementing and reviewing all company Policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SoP) to maintain an up-to-date document Library
- Oversaw Information Technology infra structure including ERP integrity, local systems monitoring, security and business continuity planning
- Supported Logistics (Shipping & Receiving) for timely clearance of imports and a smooth export process that swiftly resolves all cross-border document queries.
Senior Manager, Finance Operations
Deloitte Canada
08.2015 - 05.2018
- Finance Operations Lead (AP/AR and Treasury support)
- Leader for Bill-to-Cash processes (Collections & Cash Apps) and executed Finance Transformation strategy to centralize Finance Operations by transitioning regional work into centralized National Finance Team.
Global Head of Financial & Management Reporting
KPMG International
05.2013 - 08.2015
- Responsible for KPMG International's full accounting cycle while managing 2 direct reports on-shore (Manager and SFA) and an additional off-shore team of 22 staff in Bangalore, India.
Manager, Corporate Consolidations
Linamar Corporation
04.2012 - 04.2013
- Responsible for the consolidation of the results of over 120 reporting entities for quarterly and annual IFRS statutory reporting (TSX) while managing a team of 9 direct reports - Corporate Consolidations team.
Group Controller
Hitachi Canada Ltd
06.2010 - 04.2012
- Responsible for the full Accounting cycle and coordinate the preparation of annual Budgets and quarterly forecasts for this Project Accounting business unit (construction and retrofit of Nuclear and Hydro Electric Power Stations).
Country Manager, Finance
Philips Electronics Limited
09.2007 - 06.2010
- Responsible for Philips Canada's Finance Shared Services and oversaw 2 teams of professional accountants (~15 in Toronto & ~25 in Chennai, India Shared Services) to meet established goals.
Senior Financial Analyst
Nortel Networks Limited
02.2006 - 08.2007
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Finance
Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh School of Buss.
Edinburgh, ScotlandAccounting and Finance -
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Glasgow, ScotlandChartered Professional Accountant - Accounting
CPA Ontario
Toronto, ONSkills
- Value creation through business intelligence
- Shareholder & Board Reporting and collaboration
- Evaluating and executing merger and acquisition deals
- Business integrity and control strategies
- Process Optimization / Improvements
- Budget & Forecasting oversight
- Cash Flow and Financial Analysis
- Leadership and mentoring
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership
- Strategic and Infrastructure Planning
Accomplishments
- Driven Brands Inc: Standardized quarterly analysis and reporting and shortened corporate consolidation timelines. Results: Reduced Month End close time (from 10 to 5 business days), allowing for more detailed results analysis while meeting SEC filing timelines with minimal effort and stress
- AC Americas Inc: Implemented IFRS Accounting in privately owned high growth enterprise. Results: saved ~US$1.0M in Corporate Taxes in Year 1 and ~US$200K in subsequent fiscal years going forward
- Deloitte Canada: Led Bill-to-Cash team through an ERP (SAP) implementation while formulating firm wide Finance Operations policies for consistent, efficient business practice. Results: Policies rolled out provided clarity and consistency in Finance Ops. and were adopted in Deloitte USA & UK as part of the Global SAP blueprint during migration.
- KPMG International: Migration of transactional work to off-shore Shared Services Results: US$250K saved in my first year and hundreds of thousands more annually thereafter
Governanceandvolunteeractivities
- Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation, Board Director, 2024, Current
- CPA Ontario's Adjudication Tribunal, Member, 09/01/19, Current
- African Caribbean Chamber of Commerce, Canada Chapter, Founding member and Treasurer, 01/01/15, 12/01/17
Timeline
Chief Financial Officer
Aquatera Utilities Inc.
07.2023 - Current
Senior Director of Finance
Driven Brands Inc.
08.2021 - 05.2023
VP Finance / Chief Financial Officer
AC Americas Inc
05.2018 - 08.2021
Senior Manager, Finance Operations
Deloitte Canada
08.2015 - 05.2018
Global Head of Financial & Management Reporting
KPMG International
05.2013 - 08.2015
Manager, Corporate Consolidations
Linamar Corporation
04.2012 - 04.2013
Group Controller
Hitachi Canada Ltd
06.2010 - 04.2012
Country Manager, Finance
Philips Electronics Limited
09.2007 - 06.2010
Senior Financial Analyst
Nortel Networks Limited
02.2006 - 08.2007
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Finance
Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh School of Buss.
Accounting and Finance -
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Chartered Professional Accountant - Accounting
CPA Ontario
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