FINANCIAL EXECUTIVE Susan is consistently recognized as an excellent leader and visionary team builder, who identifies key business issues and develops strategies to achieve corporate success. She aligns financial and human resources to create strong and sustainable results. In addition, Susan is an effective negotiator and skilled troubleshooter with extensive international experience.
EXPERTISE . Insurance operations; . Regulatory compliance; . Financial reporting and filing for public companies; . International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS); . General accounting and controls; and . Strategic and operational analysis.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (OSFI) 2013 – 2018 Director, Life Insurance Group • Monitored the operations and financial condition of a portfolio of life insurance institutions in accordance with OSFI’s mandate to protect policyholders, depositors and creditors, while allowing them to compete and take reasonable risks. • Identified and assessed the inherent risks of institutions’ activities and assessed effectiveness of their oversight functions to mitigate the inherent risks. Assessed institutions’ financial condition and operations. Assigned ratings and ensured ratings were supported by appropriate rationale. • Prioritized common risks in the industry to provide timely information for supervisory action on industry issues. Assessed institutions in the process of applying to be federally regulated insurance institutions.
THE WESTAIM CORPORATION 2010 – 2013 Corporate Controller • Prepared financial reporting and filings for this public holding company specializing in the financial services industry. • Designed and improved the external reporting, including Management Discussion and Analysis reports and Press Releases, ensuring the newly acquired property and casualty insurance subsidiary was properly presented for analysts and other external users. • Established procedures to ensure effective and efficient processes were in place for compliance with financial policies and standards, including integration of subsidiary reporting with overall public company level information needs. • Drove conversion from Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), providing leadership to the insurance subsidiary on IFRS. • Coordinated tax loss utilization strategy, planning and implementation.
CONSULTING PRACTICE 2007 – 2010 • Assisted BMO Life with its acquisition of AIG Life Canada. Transitioned the investment accounting function from AIG New York to Toronto, transferred custodians, and ensured legal agreements updated. Improved efficiency of accounting close procedures to meet faster reporting timelines. • Assisted SCOR Global Life with the wind up of its Canadian operating company and its acquisition of Revios Reinsurance North American operations.
REVIOS REINSURANCE / SCOR GLOBAL LIFE 2005 – 2007 Vice President, Financial Planning & Reporting • Spearheaded the financial reporting, planning and tax strategy for this North American reinsurance company active in the United States, Barbados and Canada. Led the management of the corporate actuarial function. Provided leadership through the due diligence and sale of the ultimate German parent to a French company and relocation of the North American head office from Toronto to merge with the Dallas office of the new owners. • Prepared reports for six North American legal entities in accordance with local statutory principles to satisfy local insurance and tax authorities, and in accordance with IFRS to meet German parent company requirements. • Revitalized the analysis process to ensure proper reporting to the Board, shareholder, government and rating agencies. • Restated financial statements of prior years to time of inception for change in accounting policy initiated by parent company. Implemented first time audited financial statements under IFRS.
LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY 2002 – 2004 Assistant Vice President, Branch Finance & Taxation • Transformed the monitoring of the capital and solvency position of the Canadian operations, coordinating input from the Presidents and CFOs of the business units in Canada, ensuring regulatory compliance. • Prepared legal entity reports for the Canadian branches of the Liberty Group, translating the complex management reporting for Strategic Business Units that crossed legal entities. • Prepared plans to present to the regulator, obtaining approval for the sale of the two largest (health and home & automobile) of the three major business units in Canada. • Ensured compliance with all Canadian Federal and Provincial tax regulations. Coordinated Canada Revenue Agency audits. Identified tax planning opportunities and implemented tax minimization strategies, including strategies related to sales of businesses. Met global tax objectives.
NATIONAL LIFE 1998 – 2002 Vice President & Controller, Chief Financial Officer • Led the financial planning and reporting; general accounting and controls; strategic and operational analysis; and treasury management • Managed the establishment of a life insurance company. Organized and monitored teams ensuring that the transfers of businesses involving $1.8 billion in assets were proper from legal and management perspectives. Established policies and procedures for the new company. • Developed and implemented a system to provide relevant and timely information for management analysis. Strengthened system services to controller’s department, reducing close cycle by seven days to meet increasingly stringent requirements resulting from demutualization. • Planned Audit Committee agenda and presented financial statements with explanations of results. • Provided input as member of the purchase investigation team on potential acquisitions. • Pioneered risk management philosophies and implemented a monitoring system for Standards of Sound Business Practice, ensuring compliance with OSFI requirements.
NORWICH UNION LIFE INSURANCE 1995 – 1998 Controller • Led the financial planning and reporting, general accounting and controls, taxation, investment accounting, banking and payroll. • Managed and implemented demutualization and subsidiarization, as part of the management team. • Identified and recovered $5M in income taxes by refiling prior years’ tax returns. Devised tax strategy for demutualization, saving in excess of $10M. • Optimized processes to enable reporting to UK parent within increasingly short time frames. • Selected reporting system software after approval received to market segregated funds.
SUN LIFE 1992 – 1995 Statutory Accounting Director • Modernized and led the statutory financial reporting worldwide including government filings in all jurisdictions, consolidation of actuarial reserves for all reporting bases, foreign jurisdiction taxation, statistical reporting, rating agency reporting and licensing requirements. LAURENTIAN FINANCIAL / IMPERIAL LIFE 1988 – 1992 Director, Corporate Reporting • Consolidated and reported on worldwide results, including complex reporting across legal entities to accommodate business unit management reporting. Prepared analysis and final reports for presentation to the Board of Directors. Established accounting policies. Relocated to Montreal to establish the financial reporting systems and processes of the management company for the reorganized combined operations of Laurentian Life and Imperial Life.
EDUCATION . Chartered Professional Accountant . Master of Business Administration – Schulich School of Business - York University . Bachelor of Science – University of Guelph . Fellow Life Management Institute . In-Depth Tax Level II – Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
