Connie Couture
Fultonville,NY
Summary
Dynamic leader with a proven track record at Montgomery County Health Department, excelling in financial reporting and compliance monitoring. Expert in budget planning, audit coordination, staff training, grants coordination, and time and effort monitoring for all department staff. Recognized for achieving timely and accurate financial reporting for department grants and state aid funding, while ensuring regulatory adherence.
Well-versed in producing reports, evaluating department operations and handling month, quarter, and year-end closings. Meticulous, conscientious and methodical in approach.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director of Finance
Montgomery County Health Dept.
09.2017 - Current
- Led financial planning and analysis to optimize departmental budgets and resource allocation.
- Developed and implemented financial policies ensuring compliance with state regulations and best practices.
- Collaborated with other county departments to streamline financial reporting processes, enhancing accuracy and timeliness.
- Conducted comprehensive audits to identify discrepancies and improve internal controls within financial operations.
- Mentored finance staff, fostering professional development and enhancing team capabilities in financial management.
- Assisted with recruiting, interviewing, and hiring new department employees.
- Successfully managed multiple audits, ensuring accurate financial information was presented to external parties without discrepancies or delays.
- Verified compliance of financial policies and accounting procedures against federal regulations.
- Prepared monthly reconciliation of county revenue and appropriations and took corrective actions on deviations.
- Streamlined financial reporting processes, significantly enhancing accuracy and timeliness of monthly and annual reports.
- Guided finance team during annual audits, resulting in consistently clean audit reports.
- Coordinated with department head to create annual budgets that encompassed several grants, state aid funding, and several state agencies including OMH, OASAS, SED, and NYS Department of Health.
- Checked payroll, processed vendor payments, employee expenses and reimbursements and other accounting disbursements for accuracy and compliance.
- Utilized financial software to prepare consolidated financial reports for state agencies, and reviewed contractor reports for accuracy and submission.
- Prepared internal and regulatory financial reports, balance sheets and income statements, audited contractors financial reports to recoup unspent funds.
- Complied with established internal controls and policies.
Credit Manager
Cranesville Block Company
05.2011 - 09.2017
- Led credit risk assessments to determine customer creditworthiness and establish credit limits.
- Developed and implemented credit policies, enhancing overall risk management framework.
- Mentored junior staff on best practices in credit evaluation and decision-making processes.
- Analyzed financial statements to identify trends and inform lending decisions effectively.
- Collaborated with sales teams to optimize customer relationships while managing credit exposure.
- Streamlined credit approval processes, reducing turnaround time for customer applications significantly.
- Monitored account performance, providing insights to mitigate potential defaults proactively.
- Negotiated payment plans with delinquent customers to minimize losses while maintaining positive client relationships.
- Work cross-functionally with sales, management, and other departments to maintain effective operations.
- Evaluated complex customer profiles using financial statements, credit reports, and industry data to make informed lending decisions.
- Obtained and reviewed credit reports, credit references, credit insurance and financial statements to establish credit limits for new accounts.
- Investigated and evaluated customers for creditworthiness and potential risk factors.
- Maximized cash flow for the company by monitoring outstanding debts and optimizing collection efforts.
- Managed the entire end-to-end credit approval process from application review through contract negotiation and final execution.
- Devised collection recovery strategies to resolve customer issues and delinquent cases.
- Conducted comprehensive financial analysis to assess creditworthiness for both new and existing customers.
- Reduced past due balances and bad debt by coordinating collection efforts with customer service, sales and billing departments.
- Negotiated settlements and payment terms with customers and delivered customized payment plans.
Education
Associate of Applied Science - Business Administration
Fulton Montgomery Community College
Johnstown, NY05-1996
Skills
- Financial reporting and analysis
- Audit coordination
- Account analysis
- Technology-savvy
- Debt management
- Organizational skills
- General ledger accounting
- Account reconciliation
- Compliance monitoring
- Budget planning
- Regulatory compliance
- Financial statement preparation
- Recruitment and hiring
- Attention to detail
- Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Canva, SFS Portal
- Multitasking
- Excellent communication
- Planning and coordination
Accomplishments
Completed all required courses and earned certificate of achievement from the County Government Institute.
Completed several Pryor Learning Online courses, such as understanding financial statements and Microsoft Excel.
Directly supervised fiscal staff, and all other department members in collaboration with department director, including signing off on payroll, scheduling, and time and effort reports.
Completed training and passed examination to earn NYS Notary Commission.
Certification
NYS Notary Commission.
NYS Association of Counties County Government Institute Certificate of Achievement.
Timeline
Director of Finance
Montgomery County Health Dept.
09.2017 - Current
Credit Manager
Cranesville Block Company
05.2011 - 09.2017
Associate of Applied Science - Business Administration
Fulton Montgomery Community College