Grace Smith Email & Phone Number

Vaughan, On, Ca

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Currently managing financials for a complex, multi-million-dollar Corporate Real Estate project, accountable for delivering timely and accurate financial reporting• Leading the preparation and presentation of financial reports to executive leadership, business management, and other key stakeholders, ensuring clarity and accuracy of financial data and insights• Collaborating with business leads to create and consolidate business case financials, including one-time and ongoing costs, for strategic decision-making and budgeting purposes• Coordinating with executives on strategic long-term financial planning; reviewing, and providing guidance on business cases• Developing financial models through benchmarking and process analysis, using advanced Excel and data visualization tools to support financial forecasting and scenario planning to identify and mitigate current and future risks• Managing the relationship with external service providers, providing financial governance, and monitoring compliance with contractual obligations and service level agreements, ensuring any issues are addressed immediately to avoid project delays• Performing operational and SOX controls, including completing reconciliations, to support attestations of balance sheet and expense accounts, maintaining accuracy and integrity of financial records in accordance with audit requirements• Providing consolidated reporting to business partners, including variance analysis, responsible for interpreting information to identify and mitigate financial risks and opportunities, recommending appropriate actions• Successful track record of consistently delivering accurate and comprehensive monthly financials; recognized by Finance for demonstrating excellence in financial reporting and analysis• Supporting project and relationship managers with technical accounting information, including the application of accounting policies and best practices, suggesting process improvements as necessary

Toronto

• Developed, implemented, and maintained processes to ensure project financial accounting and reporting were completed accurately and within defined timelines to mitigate project risks• Monitored project commitments, budgeting, and forecasting spend; and provided analysis of financial impacts which successfully resulted in cost reductions and increased efficiency across multiple initiatives• Determined, reviewed, and submitted project capital and expense accruals and reconciled balance sheet and income statement accounts, ensuring accuracy and compliance with accounting standards, policies, and regulatory requirements• Provided accurate tracking and reporting of costs using Excel to assist project owners in making decisions to optimize project budgets

Toronto

• Collaborated with Senior Manager and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to facilitate and develop the financial plan for the CIBC Learning & Development (CL&D) Administered Training, including fiscal planning and quarterly LE submissions• Developed, prepared, and presented monthly and quarterly reports, including variance analysis, to Program Managers and the SLT, providing recommendations and monitoring of ad-hoc and planned scenarios• Prepared appropriate journal entries and accruals for revenue, capital, and expense, ensuring conformity with accounting principles and policies• Managed permissions and created document libraries and forms, as requested for the CL&D SharePoint site, to facilitate collaboration, streamline workflows, and enhance communication among colleagues and stakeholders• Managed the creation, review, update, and approval of documentation for new business management processes including the Onboarding and Departures Process and Office Toolkit and the Contingent Worker Hiring Process; conducted thorough cost/benefit analysis to clearly depicted all feasible options; and recommended courses of action that successfully resulted in increased employee engagement and productivity

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Interim Business Management Office Finance Lead for Invoice and Contract Signoff, Hiring Approvals, Review of Direct Support Expenses for Funding Approval, Project Management Office Charters, and Closure Reports• Managed the Capacity Resource Tool (CRT), collaborating closely with Directors, Resource Managers and Project Managers to ensure data accuracy• Instrumental in the decision to remove resource allocation updates in Microsoft Project for Enterprise Project Management, ultimately creating time savings and maintaining integrity of data accuracy• Led the Resource Allocation and Forecasting Tool Process Improvement Initiative, partnering with an external consulting firm on project delivery• Managed the Hewlett Packard Professional Services Base Plan including submission of accruals, approval processes for Service Request Responses, and Project Change Requests• Managed base capital planning and analysis, monthly variance reports, direct operating expenses, and full-time equivalent reporting• Facilitated monthly meetings with Directors, assessed planned targets, analyzing variances, ensuring on budget project delivery• Assisted leadership in the hiring process for new Project Control Officer candidates and participated in cross-training and upskilling initiatives for existing employees

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Prepared planning templates including direct operating expenses, revenue, volume, full-time equivalent, channel costs, and Imperial Investor Services, supported the business in annual planning processes• Provided guidance for the Business Consultants Finance in the latest estimate quarterly submissions• Reviewed and uploaded monthly plan changes and transfers, analyzing variances at the national and market level• Prepared monthly commentary for Hyperion Analyzer and Measure & Manage Reporting in eReports

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Provided value-added assistance, advice and analysis regarding results, and planning and reporting activities through the preparation of ad-hoc and standardized reports, including monthly income and expense statements, product volume growth reports and FTE and salary reporting• Lead the production of and managed the Imperial Service Procedures Documentation, which was uploaded to the Wealth Management, Finance Procedures Documentation Database• Prepared complex general ledger journal entries, including maintenance of accruals complying with the provisions of SOX

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Provided value-added assistance, advice and analysis regarding results, and planning and reporting activities through the preparation of ad-hoc and standardized reports• Responded to queries from Imperial Service business line personnel with regards to origin/posting of entries, information on reports, etc., providing detailed information in a timely manner

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Contributed to the Retail and Small Business Banking Benchmarking Studies, researching, analyzing and profiling 20 banks throughout North America, developing an extensive Excel-based model used to evaluate and analyze the capabilities of those banks across multiple delivery channels (ie. physical delivery, website presence, online banking, and telephone banking)• Participated in mystery shopping over 800 branches across North America• Created and tested a model and questionnaire for internal gap analysis, comparing results from the executive versus frontline responses, which was distributed to over 1,400 employees and executives within CIBC

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Candidate For Bachelor Of Commerce

Concentration in Accounting

Hotel & Restaurant Management Diploma With Honours And Food & Beverage Service Diploma With Honours

Academic Award of Excellence for achieving the highest overall honours average President’s Letter for attaining the highest academic.