Elizabeth Cantu
San Antonio
Summary
Results-driven Financial Operations Director with a proven track record of over 25 years in Enterprise Payments Strategy, Payments Operations, Procure-to-Pay, and Treasury Disbursement Operations supporting large-scale, highly regulated financial services environments. Directed Oracle ERP Cloud, SAP Concur, and SAP Payments Transformation, impacting Procurement, Accounts Payable, Financial Accounting teams, and payment governance, improving controls effectiveness, and audit readiness.
Problem solver and system stabilizer.
Expertise in Risk and Compliance Management (SOX, ICFR, RCSA).
Established enterprise payment governance across ACH, wire, credit card, and check disbursements, strengthening fraud prevention, segregation of duties, and BC compliance.
Partner closely with leaders across the enterprise, IT, and Risk and Compliance to align operational design and enterprise risk tolerance.
Lead and develop high-performing operations and transformation teams through organizational change and system modernization initiatives.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director, Financial Operations
United Services Automobile Association, USAA
San Antonio
01.2018 - Current
USAA is comprised of COSAs and six offices in San Antonio, Texas; Phoenix, Chesapeake, VA; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Tampa, FL; and Plano, Texas ($48.6 million annual revenue). Partner with executive leadership to lead enterprise-wide Accounts Payable, Treasury Disbursement Payments, and Procure-to-Pay operations, supporting large-scale, highly regulated financial services environments. Drive payments modernization and SAP, Oracle ERP, SAP Concur migrations. Provide executive direction for Oracle ERP stabilization, SAP, and financial risk and controls across ACH, wire, and check payment channels, reporting to the AVP, Treasury Payments. Lead the Accounts Payable and Disbursements Payment team of 25 onshore and 15 offshore.
- Directed enterprise migration of corporate supplier and member disbursement payments from PeopleSoft to SAP.
- Directed and led the implementation of Oracle ERP Cloud, impacting Procurement, Accounts Payable, and General Ledger.
- Prevented $300 million in duplicate corporate payments and $75 million in fraud mitigation savings.
Accounting/Financial Director
United Services Automobile Association, USAA
San Antonio
01.2014 - 12.2017
- Led a team of 20 business system application analysts, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional growth.
- Collaborated with executives on strategic financial initiatives.
- Implemented risk management strategies to mitigate financial exposure.
- Led cross-functional teams in financial forecasting and modeling.
Education
MBA - Business Administration
University of The Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX12-1996
BBA - International Business
St. Mary's University
San Antonio, TX05-1994
Skills
- Enterprise Payments Strategy
- Procure-to-Pay Transformation Strategy
- ERP Transformation (Oracle Cloud, SAP Concur, SAP)
- Risk and Compliance Management
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Internal Controls (SOX, ICFR)
- Supplier Enablement
Languages
Spanish
Professional
Certification
AAP, NACHA Accredited ACH Professional
Timeline
Director, Financial Operations
United Services Automobile Association, USAA
01.2018 - Current
Accounting/Financial Director
United Services Automobile Association, USAA
01.2014 - 12.2017
MBA - Business Administration
University of The Incarnate Word
BBA - International Business
St. Mary's University