District Controller (Business Administration, BBA)

David Clark, Waste Connections of Canada

By: Karlee Frederick, Outreach and Support Peer

David Clark graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree specializing in accounting. David discovered his interest in accounting as early as high school and being part of the Laurier co-op program allowed him to test out some aspects of the accounting profession before committing to the field. Following three co-op terms and over three years of work with KPMG and BDO, he obtained his CPA designation and currently works as a District Controller with Waste Connections of Canada.

As a district controller, David is the head of the accounting department and oversees financial documents and activities including budgeting, forecasting, billing, effective tax-strategies and other various analyses. David appreciates that his role provides a lot of weekly variety, yet also follows some general patterns. During the first week of the month, David is concerned with ‘closing out’ the previous months financials, which ensures that they are accurate. Waste Connections of Canada conducts a three-month rolling forecast and it is a prominent part of the second week of the cycle at David’s organization. David notes that he enjoys forecasting as it enables him to acquire a greater understanding of the company through the operations side of the business. The forecasting process involves piecing together numbers and answering questions, such as the number of employees that will be working, the level of productivity and the amount of expenses that are going to be incurred.

David’s role demands a lot of critical thinking when working with numbers to perform the analyses. He is also a major people person who believes that reaching out to his colleagues is important to make sure that they are supported and feel at ease to come to him for assistance. A technical skill that David stresses for those aiming to enter this profession is excellent knowledge of Excel. Controllers must be able to communicate what the Excel data signifies and be able to present this data in a comprehensible manner to customers and people outside of the financial realm, such as Human Resources and Operations. He also mentions that to be a controller, one must come into work motivated and be willing to work hard. David recognizes that accountants may have a reputation of doing ‘boring’ work, but he is genuinely convinced that having fun is important in any workplace and he strives to achieve this every day.

A CPA designation is not required to work as an accountant, but David emphasizes that the experience gained through acquiring his CPA was extremely valuable. This experience has helped him every day in his career, including mastering the hard and soft skills of accounting. Being a CPA comes with a set of skills and a reputation of having specialized knowledge. As a result, many people choose public accounting firms in order to gain relevant experience and practical skills that assist in the acquisition of the designation. To obtain a CPA designation, the first step is enrolling in the CPA Professional Education Program. Relevant accounting experience is also required before an individual can earn the title of a CPA . To move up into a controller position, David had first-hand experience working as a staff accountant and then as a senior accountant at KPMG. David praises KPMG for their fantastic mentorship culture as he was first starting up his career in accounting. He stresses the importance of using available resources, including asking others for help and finding a mentor that is eager to share their knowledge. David continues to communicate with people that he has met during his career to continue to learn from them and seek advice. As David points out, “it is alright not to know everything and ask questions, it shows your willingness to learn.”

There are differences between working for a public and private accounting firm. David commented that in a public accounting firm, the accountants are the main product. Public accountants work for a variety of clients and verify financial documents from an outside standpoint. Working for a private company involves providing internal support, as the company usually provides a service other than accounting advice. As for future trends in the accounting industry, David is not overly concerned with the rise of software taking over accounting completely. The value of accountants is the communication and advice they provide. They supply the human touch that people crave and David does not believe that will ever go out of service.

David’s advice to students that are planning to enter the accounting field is to network with accountants and get involved in accounting clubs and activities. David was part of the JDCC accounting team at Laurier and highlights that his involvement with this club solidified his knowledge and passion for the profession. He was also involved in other activities and volunteer positions at Laurier that allowed him to develop many transferable skills. However, focusing on accounting is a huge bonus in David’s mind for students that want to learn valuable accounting skills. One of the biggest challenges in a controller position is time management because of the constant need to allocate assistance to others, meet deadlines and oversee finances. Accounting can be a stressful and busy field, especially when juggling extracurriculars and family life. David believes that practicing time management skills early in university will prove to be beneficial throughout your future career.