Chief Financial Officer Controller In Baton Rouge LA Resume Cary Prejean

C ARY P REJEAN , CPA Baton Rouge, LA │ Cell: 225.931.7453│ [email protected] │https://www.linkedin.com/in/caryprejean

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Internal Controls | Audit & Tax | Accounting & Finance| Regulatory Compliance | Bank & Client Relations Multifaceted and resourceful senior management professional and CFO with comprehensive experience in leadership of finance and accounting, tax, audit, human resources, and financial reporting in construction, manufacturing, and product service environments. Critical-thinking and creative problem-solver with demonstrated success in strategic planning and development of business solutions to enhance productivity and reduce costs. Collaborative and decisive leader with excellent communication and interpersonal abilities to build rapport with clients, staff, bankers, vendors, and other key stakeholders to resolve problems successfully and ensure positive customer relations with service excellence.

CORE COMPETENCIES Financial & Accounting Operations Leadership ▪ Audit & Tax ▪ Regulatory Compliance ▪ Human Resources Systems & Process Improvements ▪ Banking Relations ▪ Vendor & Supplier Negotiation & Management Creative Problem Solving ▪ Customer Service ▪ Financial Reporting ▪ Conference & Seminar Presentations Staff Supervision/Training/Performance Management ▪ Team Leadership & Training Technical Proficiency: Microsoft Office Suite: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook; Goldmine; QuickBooks; Sage Pro Accounting Software

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS Accounting and Tax Management:          

GAAP Compliance – Restructured financial statements of three companies to synchronize and bring them into compliance with GAAP regulations Reduced Tax Assessments – Provided leadership for tax audits that resulted in savings of 84% and 95% of original assessment amounts with three subsequent audits with zero assessments Audit Reporting – Collaborated with independent auditors and managed staff interaction for inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable to ensure accuracy and completeness for annual audit reporting Internal Controls – Revamped accounting procedures and internal controls to ensure daily cash accountability and management Tax Lien Negotiations – Successfully negotiated a reduction in a payroll tax lien with the IRS by over 96% within first two months of employment Reduced Tax Liability – Collaborated with outside tax advisors to lower tax liability by 59% of initial average estimates of corporate income taxes Recovery of Embezzlement Funds – Uncovered $1.4M embezzlement within 5 weeks of employment and led the process of recovery of $300,000 from ex-employee’s estate and introduced internal controls Employee Theft – Discovered employee theft of $17,000 in gas credit card funds and successfully prosecuted employee and introduced internal controls to prevent future theft Reduced Expenditures – Implemented a credit card documentation procedure that successfully reduced credit card expenditures by 18% Online Reporting – Developed and introduced online reporting for payroll, sales, property and income tax filing

Banking and Financial Relationships:  Construction Financing – Negotiated financing for construction of 45,000 square foot manufacturing facility and extruder line for Houston plant, and organized improved distribution and marketing to deliver global manufactured products  Relationship Building – Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with primary and secondary banks and lending institutions  Credit Line Negotiation – Successfully negotiated with lenders to increase working capital credit lines by 45% to better facilitate cash flow  Equipment and Plant Expansion – Achieved financing for equipment and plant expansion of over $25M over 5 years

Cary Prejean, CPA

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Operations and Cash Management  Strategic Planning – Identified under-utilized assets and implemented plan to close one location to maximize revenue and profitability and service customer base from Baton Rouge facility  Increased Net Operating Profits – Successfully enhanced net operating profits over 1000% in three years with implementation of process and systems improvements to manage profitability  Improved Sales & Revenues – Coached and provided leadership for sales team to increase consolidated revenue by 44% in three years  Process Improvements – Introduced an ACH system for payment of vendors and direct deposit of payroll  Reduced Commercial Insurance Premiums – Succeeded in negotiations that resulted in reduced commercial insurance premiums by over 15% in first year renewal and continued to maintain savings over next 3 years in spite of 50% increase in payroll, the addition of a sawmill and addition of 30 semi tractors to fleet  Savvy Negotiations – Saved over 15¢ per gallon with savvy negotiation of diesel fuel at cost to cost plus 2¢ per gallon for fleet of 72 trucks with national fuel card vendor  Vendor Management – Successfully negotiated extended terms from 45 days to 75 days with primary and global vendors and suppliers  Cash Flow Management – Revamped Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable resulting in Accounts Payable becoming current in less than a year and cash flow improvement of over 1000%  Safety Program – Designed and introduced a safety program and hired a Safety Director that resulted in reduction in injuries and accidents and reduced insurance costs  Staff Leadership – Highly effective in training, development and performance management of top-performing teams in a cohesive and productive environment

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE  

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Phylway Construction, LLC, Thibodaux, LA o Chief Financial Officer Industrial Fabrics, Inc.; Premier Concrete Products, Inc. & Southern Hardwood Company, LLC, Baton Rouge, LA o Chief Financial Officer and Sales Coach/Manager Financial Design Consultants, Inc. o Executive Business Consultant

April 2015 – July 2015

April 2010 – April 2015 Nov. 1987 – Mar. 2010

EDUCATION 

University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA – Bachelor of Science, Accounting with Minors in Finance and Economics, GPA: 3.72

CERTIFICATIONS 

Certified Public Accountant –Texas and Louisiana, inactive

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Certified Ontological Coach – Completed Mastering the Art of Professional Coaching with Newfield Group o Other Ontological Courses: Money, Wealth and Wisdom and Business, Power and Strategy o Led Ontological Coaching Courses for Education for Living Seminars with over 4,000 participants coached in these courses, 1989 - 1995