Controller's Executive Program

Controller's Executive Program Certificate

The CPA Alberta Controllership Executive Program Certificate is a two-component curriculum designed to provide you with the foundation for success. The Controller’s Management Program will focus on management soft skills, while the Controller’s Operational Skills Program will focus on core technical and operational skills.

You have the option to complete either one of these programs. If you successfully finish both components, you will be awarded the CPA Alberta CFO’s Executive Program Certificate of Completion!

The Controller's Management Program has been the most valuable professional development course I have taken to date in my career. The content, facilitators, networking, and individual coaching session provided me with tools that I can use to further develop and enhance my leadership skills. I am excited to start implementing some of these concepts!
Natalie Woolstencroft, Controller's Management Program participant

Controller's Management Program

As a Controller, you provide financial expertise in your organization and leadership as a key member of the management team. Building on the foundation of your technical skills, your management and leadership skills will take you and your organization to the next level.

Register: June 2024 Live-Virtual Register: October 2024 In-Person
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Summary

Course Summary

This highly interactive program will provide you with a unique experience and opportunities for you to network and learn from your peers. Through case studies, group discussions, exercises and role-plays representative of situations faced by controllers and financial managers, you will gain skills and confidence to increase both your personal and interpersonal effectiveness.

Over the course of four days, you will gain critical insights into leading practices in management and leadership and have the opportunity to apply tools and skills to your work context, share experiences with your peers and take away actionable goals.

Special Features

Leadership Assessment: Each participant is involved in two Leadership Assessments to help frame your role as a Controller today and provide an opportunity for individual growth.

  • 360° Leadership and Organizational Assessment.
  • 360° Assessment of Strengths in the Role of a CFO.

One-on-One Coaching: Each participant receives the exclusive opportunity to have a session with a professional executive coach to explore ways to improve your leadership capacity.

Data-backed approach: This program uses up-to-date, verifiable research and theories with casework.

Curriculum

Controller as Leader

  • Increase self-awareness and understanding of your leadership style
  • Understand linkages between leadership and self-management
  • Know what motivates you when things are going well and when things are not going well
  • Understand different personality profiles and learn how to build productive work relationships
  • Adapt your approach and leadership to your organization and team

Supervisory Skills

  • Provide effective and timely feedback
  • Align your staff with organizational goals
  • Build your listening and emotional intelligence skills
  • Become aware of unconscious bias and its impact on behavior
  • Learn core coaching skills for managing performance

Team Dynamics

  • Create effective teams
  • Conduct effective meetings
  • Understand how organizational culture shapes team dynamics
  • Develop effective presentations presentation and communication skills
  • Adapt your message and delivery for specific audiences and situations
  • Appreciate the importance of non-verbal communication
  • Learn how to communicate assertively
  • Become more comfortable with difficult conversations

Conflict & Change Management

  • Learn how to identify the root causes of conflict
  • Understand conflict behaviours in yourself and others, and ways they shape responses to conflict
  • Know how to use conflict to build relationships
  • Learn different ways to respond to conflict and how to choose your approach for a variety of situations
  • Appreciate why change can be a source of conflict and how to overcome resistance to change

There are up to 29 CPD Hours available in this program. Please visit CPD Reporting for more information.

Instructors

Lesley-Ann Marriott

Lesley-Ann Marriott is a Certified Executive Coach who holds the highest credential of Professional Certified Coach. A former executive in the food industry, Lesley-Ann has over 25 years of leadership and management experience. She has facilitated hundreds of corporate partnerships at the most senior levels of the world’s largest food companies – Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Nestle. Contracts in excess of $50 million and managing sales of over $2.5 billion were negotiated based on dynamic, collaborative partnerships.

Today, Lesley-Ann’s clients include a roster of Executive Directors, Board leaders, Vice Presidents, CEO/CFOs and business owners who face a range of challenges: strategic development, launching new businesses, managing conflict, managing global/cross-cultural teams, improving the effectiveness of their board, identifying and developing their star performers, creating a team that is engaged in the company vision.

Senior leaders and independent business owners work hard to get to the top and often feel that they are carrying the load themselves. These leaders are fueled by the challenge to be the best; they are driven to grow and develop. Lesley-Ann helps these leaders connect with their talents and exceed their own high standards, and most importantly bring others along with them.

Lesley-Ann has a diploma in Marketing, is a faculty member of the CPA BC and Alberta (Chartered Professional Accountants Association) Executive Leadership Programs, Associate Faculty at Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC and Dalhousie University, NS in the Grauduate Certificate for Executive Coaching program, and is a facilitator of the SDI 2.0 ®- Strength Deployment InventoryR, a proven tool for Managing Conflict & Improving Relationships.

Linda Lucas

Linda is a founding partner at Lead Vantage LLP. Lead Vantage specializes in creating customized leadership training and coaching programs designed to equip leaders with the skills they need to thrive in their roles.

Drawing on 25 years of leadership experience in finance, operations, and strategy, Linda empowers companies to unlock their potential. Her approach helps build robust teams and cultivates a thriving work culture.

Linda is skilled at coaching and developing customized workshops and training programs for a variety of industries. She collaborates with her clients to develop training that’s tailored to their specific needs, integrating real-world business expertise into the materials and coaching sessions. Linda provides practical guidance, always aligning training and coaching with the company’s strategy to ensure sustainable success.

Registration: Controller's Management Program

 

Date

Learning

Register
June 19 – 27, 2024
Live Virtual
 Controller's Management Program (June 2024)
October 6 – 9, 2024
 In-Person
 Controller's Management Program (October 2024)
As a CPA who is not in a traditional Controller-type role, I found this program to be a great refresher in covering a vast array of accounting and operational-related topics. It allowed me to reinforce what I am doing right and also expand my horizon with other approaches through the content presented and networking connections established.
LEEANN LIM CONTROLLER'S OPERATIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM PARTICIPANT

Controller's Operational Skills Program

As a Controller, you are expected to be the financial expert in your organization. You are relied upon to produce, analyze and interpret the financial data that will be used by the executive team to make key financial decisions. To excel, you must continuously demonstrate leading-edge knowledge and keen business acumen.

Register: May 2024 Live Virtual Register: November 2024 In-Person
1

Summary

Course Summary

The Controller’s Operational Skills Program is designed to enhance your role on the management team by sharpening your skills in risk management and controls, ethical leadership, planning, budgeting and forecasting, performance measurement approaches and financial reporting. You will explore ways to maximize the effectiveness of your accounting department through staffing and structure, policies and procedures, and process and quality management. You will gain insights into performance enablers for success, with a focus on information management and human resources management and an eye towards trends in Controllership.

Curriculum

The Controller’s Role

  • A framework for effective controllership
  • Risk identification, management and controls
  • Planning, budgeting and forecasting
  • Performance monitoring and reporting
  • Financial standards and statutory reporting

Running an Effective Accounting Department

  • Organizing an effective accounting team (including people and process)
  • Purchasing and payables
  • Credit, billing and collections
  • Inventory planning and management
  • Cash planning and management

Performance Enablers and the Way Forward

  • Brief introduction to managing change
  • Information technology – today and tomorrow
  • Controller’s role in HR management
  • Emerging issues and trends
  • Personal life skills, action planning, and closing

 

Approximately half of the total program time is allocated to group activity and discussion to build a high level of engagement, sharing of participants’ ideas and general networking.

There are up to 25 CPD Hours, including 4 Ethics Hours associated with this program. Please visit CPD Reporting for more information.

Instructor

Tammy Towill

Tammy Towill FCPA, FCMA, MBA

Tammy Towill FCPA, FCMA, MBA, is a partner in the Cordura Group and faculty with Capilano University, providing business advisory services and related education and training programs to organizations and communities seeking growth or change. For over 25 years, Tammy has worked with private and public sector companies throughout North America and Europe, providing education, training and facilitating in the areas of leadership, strategy, business planning and curriculum development and implementation. She has served on and worked with several boards in Canada and the US.

 

 

 

Registration: Controller's Operational Skills Program

Date

Learning

Register
May 26 – 29, 2024
Live Virtual
 Controller's Operational Skills Program (May 2024)
November 24 – 27, 2024
 In-Person
 Controller's Operational Skills Program (November 2024)
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