Terra-Sano is an organization that focuses on reclamation, remediation, and environmental Consulting. To put it in plain words, once a site has been drilled and abandoned, companies are required by the Alberta Energy Regulator and Sustainable Resource Development to restore the site back to its healthy, natural state. This was a start-up in 2014 and I had the privilege of participating in building the company from the ground up.
Our team started by figuring out how to build the Chart of accounts in Sage 50, allowing us to obtain the financial information the president needed for decision making. As I was the one with past experience in Sage COA module, I was a critical member in this step. From there, we progressed by setting up vendors, clients, inventory, etc. A few months into the project I had trained five other individuals on the software.
Probably the most valuable experience I had with Terra-Sano was the privilege of being mentored and guided by Don Burwash (CMA, FCMA). Don has over 30 years in the oil and gas industry, and has been in every position therein you can think of up to controller and CFO of a few companies. By working closely with him I learned the attitudes and practices an accountant/leader needs to successfully tackle a complex project.
These are some of the areas where I provided value:
- Worked with Director of Finance to set up two companies, their accounting structures, processes and controls. Accounted for about six million dollars for first year of operations
- Oversaw data entry, cheque runs, project profit reports, chart of accounts maintenance
- Prepared income statements on a monthly basis for over 90 projects, which were analyzed by Director of Finance and President
- Created accounting Sage 50 manual dedicated to company use, including cheque runs, vendor payments, company set-up, and internal controls