Benjamin Strickler Email & Phone Number

Charlotte, North Carolina, Us

Ben is an officer at Truist responsible for providing expert guidance and oversight on the bank's complex technical accounting and financial reporting matters.

Mclean, Virginia, Us

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (NYSE ticker symbol "AAIC") was a dynamic, internally-managed, publicly-traded real estate investment trust ("REIT") that allocated its investable capital among the following primary investment strategies:• novel, structured mortgage servicing rights ("MSR") related assets• a levered and hedged portfolio of agency mortgage-backed securities ("MBS")• credit sensitive investments, including residential and commercial mortgages and non-agency MBS• a portfolio of single-family residential ("SFR") homes acquired, leased and operated as rental properties.On December 14, 2023, AAIC closed on a merger transaction with Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE ticker symbol "EFC"), a publicly traded mortgage REIT headquartered in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, whereby the company was merged into EFC. Subsequent to the merger, Ben provided transition and consultative support to Ellington Management Group, external manager to EFC, through March 2024.As AAIC’s Principal Accounting Officer, Ben was responsible for all aspects of the company’s accounting and financial reporting functions, including:• Accounting policy and technical accounting analysis• External financial reporting, including SEC filings (e.g., Forms 10-Q, 10-K and 8-K)• Development and oversight of all accounting processes and internal controls over financial reporting• Management of external and internal auditor relationships• REIT compliance• Hiring, development, management and retention of the finance team• Quarterly communication with the board of directors and audit committeeBen was also integrally involved with the following finance functions of the company:• Financial planning and analysis (“FP&A”)• Preparation of investor relations materials, including quarterly earnings presentations• Pre-transaction evaluation of potential investments considered by the Investment Committee• Public capital raising activities

Mclean, Va, Us

Ben served in Freddie Mac’s Accounting Policy Group as a subject matter expert providing guidance on technical accounting matters requiring significant judgment, including the accounting for new, unusual, significant and complex transactions. Areas of subject matter expertise included (among other areas):• Consolidation of variable interest entities, including complex structured securitization vehicles• Investments in securities and loans (including purchased credit impaired loans and debt securities)• Financial assets within the scope of ASC Subtopic 325-40 (formerly EITF 99-20)• Transfers of financial assets (i.e., evaluation of financial asset "sale accounting")• Derivative instruments (freestanding and embedded)• Debt instruments• Fair value measurements and electionsBen’s responsibilities included, among others:• Integral member of the new products and initiatives support and research process• Developed accounting policies that considered the company’s ability to comply with U.S. GAAP in a manner that best aligned with the economics of the transaction while permitting a practical, well-controlled implementation• Monitored activities of standard setting and regulatory bodies to evaluate potential implications to the company • Prepared responses to comment letters from the SEC concerning the company’s SEC filings• Provided insight to executive management regarding significant accounting and internal control matters• Provided training sessions to the finance organization on relevant, emerging technical accounting topics• Cultivated an effective relationship with the company’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”)• Involved in hiring, development, management and retention of personnel within the Accounting Policy Group

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Ben's primary role at PwC included leading teams in the provision of external audit services to large financial institutions. Ben also regularly provided subject matter expertise support in an advisory capacity on complex technical accounting matters to other prominent financial services entities.Ben received an accelerated promotion to manager within four-and-a-half years of service (relative to firm's standard timeline of six years).Ben completed a tour in the firm’s National Professional Services Group in Florham Park, New Jersey as the first participant in a program designed for the firm’s highest performing managers, focused on technical accounting consultation, SEC reporting and audit quality matters.Ben audited a large Government Sponsored Enterprise ("GSE") during a particularly unique period that included SEC registration, Sarbanes-Oxley 404 implementation, the Great Recession and the company’s entrance into conservatorship, and the significant implementation of new accounting rules related to the consolidation of variable interest entities and financial asset sale accounting.Widely recognized within the firm as a subject matter expert in complex technical accounting and reporting matters pertaining to financial instruments and consolidation of variable interest entities, Ben provided technical training to representatives from prominent financial institutions through the PwC Financial Services Professional Development Program, delivered from PwC's New York office.During his tenure at PwC, Ben obtained significant, early career experience in:• evaluating and optimizing business processes and internal controls over financial reporting• leading and coordinating the work of collaborative, high-performing teams• mentoring and development of others, supporting the achievement of personal and professional goals

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Master Of Science In Accounting

Bachelor Of Business Administration, Accounting