Chris Stefans

1644 W Rascher
Chicago, IL 60640
773-758-8511
cscfeff6@westpost.net

CAREER SUMMARY
Financial, operating, and administrative experience in several business organiza
tions including Controller with a financial staffing services firm; senior proje
ct consultant, in charge of financial statement consolidations, with an internat
ional publisher; manager with three worldwide multi-billion dollar insurance ind
ustry trendsetters; small business entrepreneur; general manager; and Southeast
Zone Controller/ CFO with a leading car rental company.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
GRANT a" STEVENS LLC -
CHICAGO,IL 1/2010-PRES
ENT
Audit Services Director and Business Development
a- Provide resources to augment internal project and operational capacity. In
cludes Database Administrators, Business Analyst, and Auditor, Accountants, Proj
ect Managers and similar roles.
IFG - CHICAGO, IL
7/2008 a" 3/2009
Senior Project Consultant
a- Engagements include: Assistance in creating an account reconciliation pro
cess at AJ Gallagher (AJG) Corporate Headquarters in Itasca, IL, to be used as p
rocess documentation and GAAP training guide for its India Accounting Operations
. This reconciliation process documentation involves AJGas monthly transactions
related to its deferred rent and lease operations. The software programs in use
were Cognos, JDE, Excel, Word, XP and lease software called Harbor Flex.
TITUS - CHICAGO, IL 6/2007 a" 7/2008
Senior Project Consultant
a- Engagements included: Assistance in Quarterly 10Q and 10K SEC filings and
monthly Board of Director financial reporting for White Mountains, Inc. in Bost
on, along with management augmentation; IFRS versus US GAAP reporting requiremen
ts and management augmentation together with playing a transitional role in sale
to Bank of America and pending residuals sale to Royal Bank of Scotland for ABN
-AMRO\ LaSalle Bank in Chicago; Management augmentation with cost accounting on
JDE along with data validation/process documentation for SAP implementation for
New Page, Inc. in Stevens Point, WI. The software programs in use were Hyperion
Essbase, Cognos, Excel, Word, JDE, Lotus Notes, XP, Access and SAP.
ZURICH NA - SCHAUMBURG, IL
4/2005 a" 6/2007
Manager/ Financial Reporting
a Team Lead on SOX 404 initiatives, Financial Reporting & SOX compliance.
a Team Lead for Self Insured Retention Division of Deductible Information Dedica
ted Investigation Team (DID-IT). Assisted in managing Deductible Reconciliation
Project of 4000 Customer Accounts ($500MM value); established new policies and p
rocedures, financial reporting structure, and recommended workflow and system ch
anges, in an SAP environment, to prevent re-occurrence of reconciliation issues.
The software programs in use were Excel, Word, Visio, PowerPoint, Business Ob
jects, and Lotus Notes.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a Awarded aZurich Bronze Awarda for outstanding efforts.
ROBERT HALF MANAGEMENT RESOURCES - CHICAGO, IL
1/2004 a" 4/2005
a Senior Financial Analyst on engagements with Dade Behring & Hospira executing
SOX compliance & SOX Audit deliverables as a lead before being recruited by Zuri
ch. The software programs in use were Excel, Word, Visio, and PowerPoint.
PARSON CONSULTING - CHICAGO, IL 3/1999 a"12/ 2003
Senior Financial Analyst
a-Fulfilled the needs of clients requiring: Process engineering; audit complianc
e; staff training; business savvy; dedication to customer service; SEC reporting
and due diligence. Client projects include Sr. Project Consultant at TEXTRON in
implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404, with an Oracle System, in Johnson
Creek, WI; Interim CFO, with focus on treasury functions, at Knight-Celotex in
Northfield, IL; BPE Consultant at Greeley and Hansen Engineering Firm in Chicago
, assisting in their conversion to CostPoint software and re-engineering their i
nvoicing processes. The software programs in use were Excel, Word, Visio, Power
Point, Great Plains, FRX, Quickbooks, Sheshunoff, BANCPAC, Oakley, CostPoint, an
d ADP Pay Expert.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a Publications: Portera, How to Read an Annual Report
OLSTENaS FINANCIAL STAFFING - CHICAGO, IL
3/1998 a" 3/1999
Controller
a- Responsibilities include managing: Accounting; monthly financial state
ment and interim management report production; training staff of 6 on new Great
Plains accounts payable, general ledger, financial reporting system, and FRX fi
nancial statement report writer software on a Novell computer system. The softw
are programs in use were Great Plains, FRX and WordPerfect.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a System conversion completed, with financial statement drilldown capability
by cost center. Trained and competent staff put in place. Financial statements
and account reconciliations accurate and timely.
PARSON CONSULTING/ ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
CHICAGO,IL
6/1997 a" 3/1998
Financial Analyst
a- Responsibilities include managing: Monthly consolidated financial statemen
t reporting/closing process, through statement publication, using Hyperion softw
are, for 26 foreign subsidiaries; year-end analysis and preparation of consolida
ted and individual foreign country income tax packages for same 26 foreign subsi
diaries and assistance with SEC reporting.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a Persuaded senior management to install Zip E-mail capability for more time
ly transfer of foreign subsidiary month-end financial data. Decision-makers real
ized a 2-day pick-up in reviewing published financial statements.
CNA INSURANCE COMPANIES - CHICAGO, IL 10/1996 a" 6/1997
Corporate Accounting Manager
Responsibilities include: Insuring all A/R financial data input from 300 automat
ed feeder systems completed in timely and accurate manner. Provide leadership, t
echnical and theoretical training to 17 professional staff members; assist senio
r management with conversion to PeopleSoft Windows 97 network based general ledg
er reporting system. The software programs in use were PeopleSoft and WordPerfec
t.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a Instituted no tolerance receivable reconciliation policy; resulting in iden
tifying major field collection deficiencies. Cash-flow pick-up of 2 days.
SCOOTERaS INC. - DENVER, CO/SAN ANTONIO, TX 12/1993 a" 10/1996
General Manager/ Operator
Responsibilities include: Production, control, marketing, advertising and promot
ion, customer relations, and personnel at this start-up food concession company.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a Launched a unique homemade Italian food item (aCalzonea) at Colorado Rockie
s Major League Baseballas home games at Mile High Stadium/ Coors Field in Denver
. Achieved $5000/ day cash sales at the games.
FIESTA CAPITAL CORP. D.B.A., DOLLAR RENT A CAR - SAN ANTONIO, TX 1/1
993 a" 12/1993
General Manager
Responsibilities include managing: Day to day car rental operations, accounting
and financial reporting, fleet planning, legal, risk management, personnel, MIS,
airport concession compliance, and facilities. The software programs in use we
re DataEase, Genesis and ABC.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a Became #1 in airport market share growth. Secured a SBA loan. Saved $250,00
0 in State Excise taxes by utilizing a little known excise tax law.
BUDGET RENT A CAR - ORLANDO, FL/CHICAGO, IL 10/ 1981 a"
1/1993
Southeast Zone Controller/ CFO/ Project Director/ Field Controller
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
a Instrumental in turning $4MM loss into $40,000 profit in my first year as Z
one Controller in Florida.
a Maintained consistent profitability on an ongoing basis during my tenure.
EDUCATION
Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL BS Accountancy
COMPUTER SKILLS SUMMARY
Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, XP, ACCESS, Great Plains, Hyperion En
terprise\Essbase, FRX, Genesis, Lotus, ABC, DataEase, Lotus Notes, Quickbooks, S
heshunoff, BANCPAC, Oakley, ADP Pay Expert, Cost Point, Citrix, Business Objects
, Cartesis, JDE, Harbor Flex, Cognos and SAP.