Bernise G.

Experience

• 

  Long Chilton LLP (Regional CPA Firm)

  Jun 2007 - Jul 2008

  Staff Accountant

  • Planned, supervised, and performed audits of various types of entities including local government, non-profit, corporate, employee benefit plans and privately held companies using Risk Based approach• Evaluated entity's Internal Control procedures for deficiencies • Prepared individual, corporate, partnership, non-profit, trust, and employee benefit plan income tax returns • Obtained general knowledge of GAAP, GAAS, GAGAS and GAS

• 

  Torchmark Corporation (Insurance)

  Jul 2008 - Jan 2017

  • Manage a diverse portfolio of analytics projects, leading high-profile initiatives, and collaborating with cross-functional partners to ensure awareness, agreement, alignment and commitment. Partnerships included Sales, Human Resources, Marketing, IT Security, Financial Planning & Analysis and Administration departments• Manager, principal strategist and steward of internal and external resources for the Advanced Analytics team and led implementation efforts for automating our recruitment efforts using predictive models in the first year• Implement process and system improvements within the scope of Torchmark’s Enterprise Data Management serving as the Co-Chair of the Data Quality initiative• Application of risk management practices at both the program and project levels; forecast and identify project risks that may influence overall program delivery including recommendations on mitigation of cost and schedule impacts• Started Torchmark’s Analytics User Community of various data analysts to raise awareness of analytic capabilities throughout the organization and promote a centralized approach that impact Enterprise Data Warehouse initiatives and self-service analytics Show less • Oversaw delivery / execution of multiple Accounting, IT and Business Projects including conversions of Compensation, Claims and Premium systems• Ensured the integrity of accounting data flows and was the subject matter expert for projects, system changes and initiatives that had an accounting impact• Responsible for the integration of all data collection points into and Financial Reporting usage out of the General Ledger• Resolved system issues impacting accounting entries for an efficient and accurate monthly closing process• Developed test cases and executed test plans to confirm accuracy of IT enhancements as they affect the General Ledger accounting feeds• Coordinated the maintenance and enhancement of the Lawson systems– Torchmark’s system of record for its financial reporting including Hardware and Software upgrades• Provided technical support and clearly documented all key actions in the company’s issue tracking application: JIRA Show less • Prepared monthly, quarterly and annual variance analysis for various expense accounts overseeing annual expense accounts of over $15 million• Prepared quarterly and annual budgeting projections for expense accounts using various forecasting models utilizing historical data, seasonal trends and projected growth of various units within the organization• Worked with multiple departments to gather information to explain cost variances to Senior Management• Recruited, trained and managed staff analysts across various internal projects in our Premium Accounting and Claims departments• Tracked and analyzed business unit trends and made appropriate recommendations that positively impacted the unit through process efficiencies: o Planned, tested and implemented various business automation projects saving the company over $200,000 in the first year o Managed project to convert payment process to paperless transactions with estimated savings of $500,000/year Show less • Developed audit criteria using a risk-based approach, to review and analyze evidence for financial, operational and Sarbanes-Oxley audits • Supervised staff auditors and interns during performance of various financial and SOX audits• Increased compliance and efficiency by ensuring that internal controls, policies and procedures were in place based on company standards• Provided improvement recommendations and identified potential risks and reported these findings in Audit Reports• Implemented software to enhance paperless audits which increased department efficiency Show less

  • Analytics Program Manager, Innovation and Business Development

    May 2015 - Jan 2017

  • Sr Financial Analyst

    Nov 2012 - Jun 2015

  • Process Improvement Business Analyst

    Jun 2010 - Nov 2012

  • Senior Internal Auditor

    Jul 2008 - Jun 2010
• 

  Toyota North America

  Jan 2017 - now

  Direct compliance priorities across Customer Service Centers, Dealer Service Centers, Sales, Product, Marketing, and Supplier teams, ensuring alignment with TFS priorities and operational resources. Facilitate compliance alignment between business units to enhance operational effectiveness and support TFS business initiatives. Leading and managing First Line Compliance teams, I oversee Compliance Testing, Monitoring, Quality Assurance, and Issue Remediation. I develop and implement programs and controls to ensure adherence to federal and state regulations across Service Operations, Sales, Product, and Marketing. Additionally, I champion compliance strategy and communicate future vision within Service Operations and other TFS partners, while standardizing and leveraging compliance best practices across departments. Show less Execute high quality risk-based audits across the company’s various business & systems environments. Responsible for managing a team of IT & Business professionals to complete audits and assignments as authorized by the Audit Committee and will include coverage of Toyota affiliates such as Private Label, Toyota Financial Savings Bank (“TFSB”), and regional SFCs. Possess significant technical and business knowledge of enterprise cybersecurity risk, IT Strategy and Governance, System Development, IT Operations, Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, Third Party Risk, and ITGC application controls. Show less The primary responsibility is to assist the Dealer Lending Risk Team in managing and bringing Dealer Credit projects and system enhancements to execution by performing Project Management responsibilities which include organize/attend meetings, update project schedules, inform applicable parties of deadlines, write work flow procedures, train project staff. Develop project requirements and coordinate with cross functional teams to execute deliverables. Projects range from lights on initiatives whereby the system support is scheduled to end, changes required to meet Compliance or SOX initiatives, changes to business processes dictate change to the system, replacement of outdated functionality to create efficiencies, as well as a new innovation that may increase productivity for department. Assist technical business units in the development of test scripts and performing user acceptance testing prior to deployment of any project.Communicate and collaborate with business stakeholders to define specific needs, work with technical teams to create requirements, project objectives/milestones, and schedules and oversee quality control throughout the entire project.Prepare, train and deliver training material to impacted team members on new system functionality/enhancement.Regularly collaborate members of the Field such as DSSOs, Regions, Underwriting, and National Accounts to identify opportunities to improve/make process more efficient and compliant. Show less • Ensure governance policies and procedures are adhered to and communicated to the users regarding Toyota enterprise technology• Responsible for the strategy, implementation, and maintenance of the Accounting & Finance divisional Knowledge Management solution• Perform divisional project tracking for all projects enterprise wide that impact Accounting & Finance• Analyze impacts of external changes to and ensure quality of profit reporting with systems impacted by Toyota’s Customer Master system• Manage the department’s monthly budget and resource forecast• Provide project analyst subject matter expertise (assist in writing requirements, creating test cases and executing test cases) for systems Show less

  • National Manager, Service Ops First Line Compliance

    Feb 2024 - now

  • Senior Manager, IT & Operations Audit

    Sept 2022 - Mar 2025

  • Manager, Commercial Lending Projects & Systems

    Oct 2018 - Sept 2022

  • Senior Analyst, Finance and Accounting Strategies & Technology (FAST)

    Jan 2017 - Sept 2018