Sartor & Associates Inc.
 

North Bay Hydro - Vice President of Finance

NORTH BAY HYDRO – Vice President of Finance

North Bay Hydro strives to provide high levels of customer satisfaction and reliable electrical service with the lowest feasible number of interruptions of minimum duration. They value employee and public safety and will assist customers in becoming informed about economical and efficient uses of electricity. They are committed to promoting responsible energy consumption and environmental management. With issues such as Global Warming and power shortages/outages in the public eye, and at the forefront of the news, it has become more important than ever to promote the need for responsible energy management.

North Bay Hydro operates a number of incentives designed to reduce the amount of energy being consumed, and to promote effective environmental conservation. Organizing events where customers can exchange their old incandescent light bulbs for new energy-efficient compact fluorescent ones is just one of the things they are doing to fulfill their mandate of a greener North Bay.

Mission: North Bay Hydro is committed to distributing electricity to its customers in a safe, reliable and efficient manner that provides good value for the money while being responsive to customer and community needs and contributing to provincial and local policy objectives.

Quick Facts:
  • 100% self-funded through electrical distribution rates and service charges
  • Pays taxes, not funded or subsidized by taxes
  • North Bay Hydro staff includes 47 full-time employees and 6 full time services
  • Has franchise to distribute electricity in the City of North Bay
  • Only one ‘lost time’ incident in 14 years.
  • Has significant number of customer interactions through store front operations, local call centre, daily contact by employees and a broad community presence.

THE POSITION

Under the direction of and working in partnership with the President and Chief Operating Officer, the Vice President of Finance is a senior management position responsible for the planning, directing and controlling of the Finance, Regulatory, Customer Service and IT and Billing departments to achieve corporate goals. The ideal candidate will move beyond a purely accounting focus to a more strategic business partnership with the President & COO and the Board. This position has financial oversight over both North Bay Hydro Distribution and its affiliate North Bay Hydro Services.

The position is responsible for the following: 
  • all aspects of the organization’s finances, including accounting processes and controls, regulatory, budgeting and forecasting, financial reporting, asset management, and auditing as required by the Board of Directors, Shareholder, OEB, Revenue Canada and external Auditors according to GAAP, IFRS and OEB guidelines
  • for promoting and maintaining a quality approach to customer service, while ensuring compliance of policies and regulations 
  • for regulatory strategy and compliance including all rate filings

This position also includes supervision of Division staff. Direct staff responsibilities consisting of but not limited to eight subordinate positions consisting of:
  • One Regulatory Manager
  • One Junior Accountant
  • Two Accountants
  • Five Customer Account Specialists
  • One Team Lead

Indirect staff responsibilities consisting of but not limited to two employees and one contract employee.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Vice President of Finance is responsible for:
  • Working with all management team and other appropriate stakeholders to develop short and long-term goals and objectives for the organizations
  • Developing and presenting necessary reports, financial statements, budgets, forecasts and policies for the Board of Directors for discussion, review and approval
  • Ensuring regulatory compliance in accounting, billing and customer service
  • Ensuring involvement in regulatory processes and procedures
  • Ensuring preparation of statistical data as required by OEB, government agencies and for internal purposes
  • Understanding Performance Based Regulation and optimizing generational and annual business plans to maximize financial performance
  • Interpreting utility industry trends, developments and conditions in finance for the President and Chief Operating Officer.
  • Apprising the President and Chief Operating Officer of Division Activities
  • Analyzing and advising the President and Chief Operating Officer and other stakeholders on new business opportunities for the organizations
  • Managing the development and maintenance of effective financial information reporting to improve efficiency and service to internal and external customers 
  • Ensuring adequate internal controls are established and adhered to for all accounting applications including cash, billing, accounts receivable, purchasing, accounts payable, payroll, general ledger systems and customer information systems to safeguard corporate assets
  • Ensuring accounting system is in accordance with GAAP, IFRS and OEB accounting standards. Taking necessary steps to correct any deficiencies
  • Overseeing all treasury activities including but not limited to cash, debt and working capital forecasting and management; accounts receivable and credit planning, analysis and management
  • Reviewing and approving daily accounting activities and processes for general accounting, accounts payable and accounts receivable. This includes verifying documentation and authorization levels
  • Monitoring Federal and Provincial sales tax reporting. Ensuring PILs and all regulatory costs are paid as per required schedules
  • Monitoring Accounts Receivable and developing plans for collecting from problem customers
  • Ensuring that proper accounting records for fixed assets, including depreciation schedules are maintained
  • Managing the reporting and analyses of actual to budget and prior period variances, for financial statements, department spending and capital projects
  • Working with the Management Team to prepare capital and operational budgets. Challenging the status quo to improve performance by all units.  Monitor all expenditures and highlight variances from budget
  • Ensuring all financial institutions and shareholder covenants are properly calculated and that the organizations are in compliance
  • Coordinating annual external audit to assess performance, processes and controls. Responding to audit management letter with management’s changes to issues identified 
  • Working with external audit to complete annual financial statements and disclosures according to GAAP, IFRS and OEB standards
  • Promoting courteous and knowledgeable customer service
  • Ensuring provision of support to Operations function during power outages which occur during and after normal business hours
  • Ensuring consistent application of OEB and company policies to customer accounts
  • Providing conflict resolution with customers and Customer Account Specialist in applying policies and procedures regarding customer accounts, billing and collecting       
  • Assisting in evaluating new processes, systems and applications
  • Developing and maintain a cohesive teamwork environment in the various departments to ensure employees are actively involved and promote corporate principles and values
  • Providing leadership to and evaluating the performance of staff, recommending hiring, promotions, discharges, salary increases and training programs
  • Setting performance goals and planned objectives for the departments
  • Ensuring consistent application of the collective agreement and company policies within division.
  • Other related duties as assigned

Health and Safety
  • Ensuring that North Bay Hydro Health and Safety policies and rules applicable to subordinates are reviewed and understood annually and where necessary making recommendations for revisions
  • Being knowledgeable of practices and supervisory obligations in accordance with North Bay Hydro Health and Safety Policies, the Occupational Health and Safety Act and EUSA Rulebook and ensuring employee compliance and informing superiors of related concerns
  • Ensuring that employees use the provided equipment, materials, protective clothing or devices necessary to ensure their Health and Safety and same is used in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act
  • Ensuring that appropriate training, orientation, instruction and supervision are conducted to employees in order to prevent harm to people, damage to property or loss of productivity
  • Ensuring that employees understand the required safety performance standards for their work and that this performance is measured objectively and communicated to them so that they can achieve optimum results
  • Administering a preventative maintenance program for all vehicles, equipment, protective clothing used by subordinates
  • Exercising due diligence by communicating and coaching Health/Safety/Loss Control policies, leadership by example and positive enforcement of rule compliance
  • Ensuring that workers are advised of the existence of any potential or actual danger which the Supervisor themselves is aware of

KEY CHALLENGES
  • The restructuring and changing business environment requires evaluation to ensure that North Bay Hydro responds in an appropriate pro-active manner
  • On-going communication to employees that North Bay Hydro is responding to change and those employees cannot continue with a ‘status quo’ attitude
  • Reviewing existing methods and procedures to evaluate processes to determine required changes to make them more effective and customer friendly
  • Developing strategies and business plans for long term success as the energy sector evolves
  • Simultaneously dealing with multiple business situations including regulated monopoly, competitive goods and services, Conservation Demand Management and renewable generation
  • Ensuring that opportunities within the regulatory environment are maximized at the earliest possible time

QUALIFICATIONS and KEY ATTRIBUTES
  • CPA designation, preferably CPA-CA
  • B.Comm and/or MBA
  • Ten or more years related experience in an accounting function at a management level
  • Exceptional motivational, interpersonal and communication skills
  • Entrepreneurial spirit, big picture thinker
  • Experience in raising capital via equity and/or debt markets
  • Mergers and acquisitions, buying and selling of business, strategic business valuation
  • Expertise in Integration and Change Management

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Please send your resume in confidence to Larry Sartor at larry@sartorandassociates.com; reference in the subject line: "North Bay Hydro VP Finance”

Only those applicants selected for an initial interview will be contacted. Thank you for your understanding.