Kaz Grzechowski Cpa, Cga, Fcca, Bsc Email & Phone Number

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• Managed and organized the activity and staff of the Finance Department (including Account Services, Accounts Payable, Accounting and Payroll) – 10 people in total.
• Co-ordinated the preparation of all supporting information and provision of information for the annual audit.
• Created Consolidated Financial Statements and Entity Statements within specified timeframe.
• Maintained internal control and safeguards for receipt of revenue, costs, and expenditures.
• Identified new opportunities to improve efficiency, eliminated backlogs, and responded proactively to the organization’s needs. Worked with the Food & Beverage Manager to develop a new strategy for non-performing.
• Work closely with the Vice-President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer on other duties as assigned. Implemented an upgrade to the payroll system to allow for electronic time & attendance tracking and introduced HR.

Calgary, Canada Area

• Created and maintained timely and accurate financial statements and internal reports that were appropriate for the users and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
• Managed and organized the activity and staff of the Accounting department (Accounts Payable and Accounting ) – five people in total.
• Developed and calculated monthly operating analysis and metrics. Introduced a detailed comparison and analysis of financial against previous months and budget.
• Reviewed key vendor relations to ensure pricing efficiencies and cost savings. Re-negotiated waste collection, stationary, electricity and gas contracts with an overall savings of 15% vs proposals or existing prices.
• Ensured that all statutory requirements of the organization were met including Corporate Taxes, Withholding Payments (CPP, EI), and Goods and Services Tax

London, United Kingdom

• Promoted to Finance Manager where my primary role was to manage the financial performance of individual outlets and Head Office with a view to control and minimize costs by working closely with the Operations team.
• Developed and managed three qualified accountants and oversaw Management Accounts team in supporting and guiding the operators of the coffee shop outlets – seven people in total.
• Re-tendered various contracts (incl. telecommunication, stationary, company travel, waste collection, furniture) and achieved an average annual cost savings of CAD $200,000 (almost 25% of the overall spending)
• Selected and sourced new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and led the integration planning of the project worth CAD $300,000.
• Developed a reputation for always showing initiative to learn and understand the big picture to ensure that tasks are performed effectively, relieving pressure from the Head of Departments and Directors by providing.
• Lead finance support person for international territories in which the company operated.

London, United Kingdom

• Reported directly to the Finance Director and was accountable for preparing financial statements for the company as a whole and for each of the 600 coffee shop outlets.
• Ensured costs were in line with budgets and worked with the Financial Accountant in providing information for external auditors.
• Managed and organized the activity and staff of the Management Accounting department (Accounts Payable, Property Accounting and Intermediate Accounting ) – six people in total.
• Worked with internal auditors to identify and minimize risks related to cash handling and fraud prevention.
• Worked with other departments and the management team to help make feasible financial decisions.
• Continuously kept deadlines and provided financial statements and KPIs on time with an average of 99% accuracy.

London, United Kingdom

• Monitored capital expenditure for new investments (40-45 new outlets opened each year).
• Prepared business cases to support financial viability of investments and analyzed them to calculate their payback and return of investment.
• Assisted in preparation of investment budgets for future years.
• Managed an annual budget of over CAD $50 million designed to pay for the company’s rent, property taxes and landlord insurance (all payments for over 500 shops paid on time without incurring any late penalty charges).
• Processed regular utility bills payments for each of the outlets averaging annual CAD $10 million annually.
• Saved 5% on average of the overall property related expenditure by challenging invoices and charges raised by landlords and utility companies.

Accounting

Bachelor'S Degree, Accounting

Bachelor'S Degree, International Finance

Activities and Societies: International Finance and Banking, accounting, international trade, tax, business law