Bridget Gwanza
Johannesburg,Gauteng
Summary
Dynamic leader with a proven track record, enhancing corporate governance and financial reporting accuracy. Expert in GAAP and IFRS, with a flair for staff development and risk management. Achieved significant process improvements, driving operational efficiency and reducing costs by over 30%. Excel in project planning and conflict resolution, ensuring excellence in client service and team performance.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work History
Manager
SAPRO
Boston, United States
01.2022 - Current
- Seconded to CBIZ Audit firm in US
- Setting engagement objectives, timelines, and resource needs
- Performing audits and reviewing financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations
- Preparing financial statements and related disclosures in accordance with GAAP
- Performing internal control documentation and testing
- Assisting Senior Managers and Partners with consulting projects and acting as the primary point of contact for assigned clients
- Developing and maintaining relationships to understand the business, challenges, audit needs and questions or concerns
- Meeting budget and realization goals while ensuring audit engagements comply with regulatory and professional standards
- Resolving any audit issues and communicating findings with clients and partners
- Participating in firm-wide initiatives, such as training, process improvements, or special projects
- Supporting the firm's growth initiatives by participating in networking events, client proposals and identifying new business opportunities
- Led team meetings and one-on-one coaching sessions to continuously improve performance.
- Monitored budgets and expenditures to ensure cost-effectiveness while maintaining quality standards.
Senior Manager
EY
Johannesburg, South Africa
01.2018 - 12.2021
- Participated in the conduct of a wide range of assurance services, with a particular focus on complex and specialised issues, including audits, controls reviews, remediation projects, and assistance with regulatory compliance
- Leveraging a deep understanding of audit and risk advisory services and stakeholder needs to deliver high quality engagements
- Planned engagement objectives to ensure compliance with professional standards and appropriately address risk
- Prepared and reviewed management communications, proposals budgets, and negotiated fees and overruns
- Identified new business opportunities
- Developed high-performing people and teams through challenging and meaningful opportunities
- Delivered exceptional client service, maximising results, and driving while fostering collaboration across businesses and borders
- Given the opportunity to manage high profile clients
- Interpreted and supported detailed monthly expenses variance against prior year, budget, and forecasts
- Reperformed reconciliation for all balance sheet accounts review for input accuracy
- Reviewed journal entries processed
- Participated in developing and maintaining accounting policies and procedures & implementing internal control procedures – SOX in areas of responsibility
- Conducted performance reviews and provided feedback to direct reports for career development.
- Established and maintained relationships with key stakeholders to support business objectives.
- Evaluated individual and team business performance and identified opportunities for improvement.
- Implemented process improvements to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs.
Executive
EY
Uk, Channel Islands
09.2016 - 12.2017
- Managing and coordinating audit teams to ensure that the team works efficiently and effectively
- Mentoring and on job training of audit trainees
- Communicating audit results to directors and partners through written reports and oral presentations
- Identifying and communicating issues raised, offering recommended solutions relevant to business and risk to the client
- Detailed knowledge of accounting standards and local regulatory and statutory law requirements for financial statements
- Planning and prioritising work through working on multiple engagements in a leading/senior capacity within a varied timeframe
- Preparation of consolidations for group audits
- Experience in Jersey UK regulatory compliance experience and ensuring that clients are compliant
- Assisting the client to ensure that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with the correct accounting standards
- Managing the audit budget and ensuring that the audit is within budget, and where there are overruns having meetings with the client to explain the overrun charges that may be incurred
Assistant Manager
EY
Netherlands, a Secondment
04.2016 - 06.2016
- Actively planned, supervised, and executed corporate operational audits, ensuring compliance with generally accepted audit policies, applicable laws and regulations, and corporate objectives
- Conducted risk assessments, client interviews, and increasing understanding of audited areas
- Delivering the deliverables to the clients and communicating any finding noted during the audit
- Managing the teams and ensuring that the teams are performing at the best levels and meeting deadlines
Supervisor
EY
Cincinnati, a Secondment
01.2016 - 03.2016
- Determining planning materiality which is the materiality figure that will be used on an engagement to determine if an account is significant or not
- Designing test of controls and selecting controls to test
- Designing substantive procedures
- Planning general audit procedures for each engagement
- Execute tests of journal entries by selecting risk area journals and testing the validity of the journals
- Prepare summary of audit differences by taking all the differences that have been identified during the audit and compiling them together to present to the client
- Performing financial statement procedure by preparing the financial statements and ensuring that everything is in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards – IFRS
- Planning the audit and resources that will be used in the engagement and how the audit will be performed overall
- Completing, documenting, and archiving engagement
- Managing the team and ensuring that all deliverables to the client are on time and meeting deadlines
Supervisor
EY
Johannesburg
01.2013 - 12.2015
- Supervising junior auditors assigned to engagements providing guidance and overall review of deliverables
- Identifying and communicating issues raised during the audit, while offering recommended solutions relevant to business risk
- Conducting assigned audit from beginning to end
- Ensuring audit conclusions are based on a complete understanding of the process, circumstances, and risks
- Acquiring a working knowledge of the client's business
- Developing audit programs and testing procedures relevant to risk and test objectives
- Obtaining and reviews evidence ensuring audit conclusions are well-documented
- Ensuring adherence to all applicable department and professional standards
- Communicating assigned tasks to engagement team in a manner that is clear and concise ensuring high quality, accurate, and efficient results
- Audit of group entities and performing consolidations
- Assisting the client to ensure that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with the correct accounting standards
Education
BCom Honours - Accounting
Unisa
12.2012
Bachelor of Science - Accounting And Finance
Monash University
South Africa12-2009
Certificate in Tutoring - Accounting and Mathematics
Monash University
South Africa12.2006
A Levels and O Levels - Matric equivalent
Girls College
Bulawayo12.2005
Skills
- Employee Benefit Plans
- Corporate Governance
- Equities
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Reporting
- GAAP
- IFRS
- MS Office
- MS Office Suite
- Oracle
- Sage
- SOX
- US GAAP
- Documentation and reporting
- Conflict resolution
- Risk management
- Project planning
- Expectation setting
- Task delegation
- Work prioritization
- Staff development
Accomplishments
- Increased audit efficiency by 25% through process optimization and team coordination
- Managed high-profile clients, resulting in 15% increase in client satisfaction ratings
- Led a team of 18 auditors achieving a 30% reduction in audit errors
- Secured $2 million in new business opportunities through strategic client engagement
Timeline
Manager
SAPRO
01.2022 - Current
Senior Manager
EY
01.2018 - 12.2021
Executive
EY
09.2016 - 12.2017
Assistant Manager
EY
04.2016 - 06.2016
Supervisor
EY
01.2016 - 03.2016
Supervisor
EY
01.2013 - 12.2015
BCom Honours - Accounting
Unisa
Bachelor of Science - Accounting And Finance
Monash University
Certificate in Tutoring - Accounting and Mathematics
Monash University
A Levels and O Levels - Matric equivalent
Girls College
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