Susan is a highly accomplished accounting leader with over two decades of experience, specializing in providing financial clarity and strategic oversight within the agribusiness sector. Her career is defined by a deep understanding of accounting principles, coupled with hands-on expertise in navigating the unique financial challenges of agricultural operations. She brings a practical and insightful approach to financial management, consistently delivering results in complex environments.
For 12 years, Susan served as the Corporate Controller for a $60 million, 500-employee maraschino and dried fruit manufacturing cooperative. During this time, she established and maintained robust accounting procedures across accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, and costing. Her meticulous approach resulted in successful annual audits, enhanced financial control, and improved cash positioning. She played a key role in the implementation of an ERP system, streamlining sales, purchasing, inventory, BOM, standard costing, variance analysis, and financial reporting. Furthermore, she managed a complex standard cost accounting system, ensuring accurate inventory valuation at the lower of cost or market, and collaborated with Technical Services to optimize yields, waste, chemical reuse, labor, and overhead rates.
Susan’s responsibilities extended to reporting financial results for multiple divisions, including grower services, dried fruit, ingredient fruit, and maraschino. She led the annual physical inventory count across three plant locations, ensuring accuracy through lot evaluation, recount recommendations, and inventory adjustments. Additionally, she developed a procedure for analyzing new product costs and potential profit margins. Susan prepared comprehensive financial reports, including P&L, balance sheets, cash flow statements, trend ratios, and manufacturing variance cost analyses, which she presented monthly to the Board of Directors. She also supervised all accounting staff, including AP and AR clerks, cost accountants, and staff accountants, and assisted the CFO in creating annual departmental budgets.
As a seasoned Controller, Susan excels in providing comprehensive financial oversight, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and strategic financial planning. Her expertise extends to all facets of accounting, including cost accounting, inventory control, financial reporting, and budgeting. She possesses a keen eye for detail, enabling her to identify and address financial irregularities, optimize resource allocation, and drive profitability. Susan has demonstrated enormous success in navigating the financial complexities inherent in agribusiness, including the management of fluctuating commodity prices, seasonal variations, and complex inventory tracking. Her hands-on experience in agricultural operations provides her with an invaluable understanding of the industry's unique challenges and opportunities, allowing her to develop tailored financial solutions that address the specific needs of agricultural businesses. Susan's ability to meticulously examine financial records, identify discrepancies, and uncover hidden risks enables her to develop effective turnaround strategies. She excels at providing clear and concise financial reporting, empowering stakeholders to make informed decisions and implement corrective actions. Susan's leadership in this area is marked by her ability to bring order and stability to financially challenged operations, guiding them towards sustainable growth. Susan’s style is characterized by her commitment to accuracy, integrity, and proactive problem-solving. She fosters a culture of accountability and transparency, ensuring that all financial processes are conducted with the highest ethical standards. Her ability to translate complex financial information into actionable insights makes her a trusted advisor and strategic partner.