Erica Irwin, CPA, CA

• ESG Task Force
• Lead on the NWC Transformation Initiative
• PeopleSoft upgrade
• Leasing project in accordance with IFRS 16
• Steering committee for NWC AI project
• CPA Recruitment - development PPR Program

Oversee accounting and treasury functions:

• Accumulation & consolidation of financial information for accurate reporting of business results
• Coordinates monthly, quarterly and annual financial close processes, including completion of corporate accounting & consolidation
• Provides accounting support and monitoring of financial performance for business units, including Admin & Insurance
• Develops and implements accounting procedures and controls and monitors compliance with corporate policies
• Researches retail industry reporting best practices and makes recommendations to enhance disclosures
• Maintains g/l account structure and reporting to support external disclosures
• Prepare and/or review quarterly regulatory reporting
• Quarterly reviews and annual audit by PwC
• Coordinate attendance of auditors & prep of supporting work papers
• Maintains current knowledge of IFRS and reporting requirements, researches accounting policies and analyzes impact of new accounting standards
• Recommends changes to VP Finance and EVP & CFO
• Prepare position papers and/or memo’s required to support complex accounting
• Carbon Accounting & Sustainability Reporting – All Banners
• Research and prepare sustainability and climate disclosures
• Support development of public facing statements and policies on climate through research and collaboration with Director
• Manage electricity payments for All Banners on UBM platform
• Coordinate Carbon Accounting processes to track how much greenhouse gas the Company emits
• Develop reporting to manage the company’s energy consumption and support science-based target setting & KPI’s
• Maintain IFRS 16 Lease Processes Developed for February 1, 2019 Accounting Standard Change
• Ensure right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are accounted for in accordance with new standard
• Coordinate changes to leases with the Company’s real estate department
• Works closely with team members in operations on lease renewals
• Identify and drive process and control improvements
• Reviews inter-group transactions
• Coordinates monthly inter-group accounting
• Review’s intercompany reconciliations
• Participates in corporate reorganizations and Draft’s corporate accounting policies
• Manage Corporate Travel Program
• Develop policies to minimize corporate travel spend;
• Ensure travelers are compliant with corporate policies;
• Develop and implement procedures to ensure travel is appropriately authorized and accounted for, including monthly reconciliation of corporate travel credit cards (ghost cards);
• Recommend and negotiate contracts with corporate travel partner and ensure service levels meet Company requirements
• Provide accounting support to administrative departments and select business units
• Preparation of financial statements;
• Consultation;
• Monitoring of financial performance;
• Complete accounting for company pension plan and coordinate audit
• Manage the NWC Chartered Professional Accounting Pre-approved Program
• Recruit, train and develop CPA students
• Build a tier 1 CPA program
• Monitors requirements for NWC to maintain pre-approved CPA training centre and ensures compliance
• Provides leadership, coaching and mentoring of staff
• Develop job rotation for students to meet experience requirements for CPA designation
• Recruiting strategy to ensure Finance departments personnel’s requirements are met
• Monitor educational and practical experience requirements for each student

• Guide students through their module providing feedback and marking of assignments
• Teach students module material, answering questions and assessing development.

• Internal Reporting and Analysis
• Annual business planning process, prepared forecasts, targets and presentations
• Communicated targets to the Corporate Management Team (CEO, CFO and President)
• Determine the Corporate budgets
• Organized and facilitated the Financial Reporting Summit that focuses on professional development and learning
• Manage the Company’s financial reporting platforms (CaseWare and BI)
• Lead the initiative on the Financial Target Operating Model, determining best practices and implementing them
• Assist external reporting in preparation of the Company’s quarterly and annual financial statements and reporting packages including any required analysis, notes to finance statements and MD&A as required
• Manage the Company’s financial reporting calendar and streamline month-end processes and timelines
• Prepare and review internal management reporting on the company’s ability to meet its financial, strategic and operational objectives
• Prepare and review monthly variance analysis across practices, groups and on the consolidated level
• Manage consistency of internal reporting and analysis across practices, groups and on the consolidated level
• Prepare and consolidate practice-level, group-level and consolidated monthly forecasting
• Prepare consolidated monthly reporting package for the Company’s executive management team, including reporting on financial KPIs
• Support the month-end accounting close process by conducting preliminary analysis of certain key financial metrics

• Group Expense Management
• Lead a team of direct reports, providing mentorship and guidance
• Monthly and quarterly reporting of Group Customer and the business units
• This includes expenses and headcount information for decision making purposes
• Responsible for presentations to Senior leadership and the Board of Directors
• Responsible for the Budget process for Group Customer
• Working with the business units to discuss, set and report the budget
• Includes building of models, using our general ledger and investigation into areas for development
• Special projects such as the integration of a line of business into Group Customer and the reporting of the unit, improvements on reporting and developing efficiencies.

• Perform research and analysis on International Financial Reporting Standards and other regulatory bodies such as the Ontario Securities Commission
• Provide recommendations to Great-West Lifeco’s senior management on the impact of said research
• Quarterly analytical review of the Lifeco and subsidiary financial statements
• Identify and explain material changes within the financial statements
• Co-ordinate with the lines of business to establish cause for changes and provide to senior leadership
• Review and coordinate the accounting cycle for Lifeco and its subsidiary companies
• Perform the consolidation of Great-West Lifeco Inc
• Draft and review the Canada Life Financial Corporation, Canada Life Assurance Company and other subsidiaries of Lifeco financial statements
• Work extensively within the Lifeco SAP general ledger
• Performing analysis on various inputs and creating reports
• Perform a quarterly analytical review of the Lifeco group of companies financial statements and present to management
• The lead on the implementation of a new collaborative software for the use of internal and external reporting which was rolled out to multiple lines of business and used for a variety of reporting purposes
• Coordinate the Chartered Professional Accounting Training Program at Great-West Life including budgeting, recruitment, placement, performance management and monitoring the progression of our students through the CPA program
• Oversee the CPA students who rotate within the department by overseeing work, development and performance throughout their rotation
• Developed, coordinated and facilitated the Great-West Life Common Final Evaluation preparation course for the Great-West Life and Investors Group candidates.

• Taught Advanced Accounting in the fall of 2017

• Audit, Tax, and Advisory services
• Worked with Clients
• Worked with other Accountants on Audits and Taxes
• Organized events