Geneviève is very proud of her career and how she became an accountant.  Her current credentials are a CPA and CMA.  When she was in high school she took a course about making career decisions and it was as a result of a test that she discovered she was best suited for work in business administration.  This made sense to Geneviève because she always wanted to be a business woman. She started a 3 year program in business administration in college that would allow her to go straight into the job market and from there she attended University Laval in Quebec City.  This was a double plus for her because she was from Quebec and figured an accounting title would be a good way to lead her to interesting job opportunities. She decided to become a management accountant because she really enjoys analyzing all the business activities that will provide the financial results.  Geneviève was fortunate to work for a financial advisor who became a mentor, introduced her to Rotary and taught her the importance of delivering high quality work.  After graduating university, she found a job as a financial analyst for a software company.  Her role was to provide financial information to senior management and this made her understand the importance of delivering the right information at a high level basis.  Over the next couple of years, Geneviève held positions as assistant controller and financial controller, the latter being in the unique work environment of a video game company, a challenging position as the company was just starting up and needed an accounting department in Quebec with a monthly reporting to head office in New York and someone with the knowledge to work with the auditors to provide audited financial statements in order to apply for and receive government subsidies in the province.  About the same time, her husband who was in the military wanted to pursue a career as a search and rescue technician with the Royal Canadian Air Force.  This took them to B.C. with their small son who had been born after a contract position Geneviève landed with a manufacturing business where she was responsible for financial reporting, human resources, job cost reviews and product costing.
 
So she found herself on maternity leave with her second son, living in BC in a beautiful area off Vancouver Island called Comox Valley. It was the first time in her life that she was not living in Quebec City, but she can say that this year was one of the best years of her life.  Although her husband was away a lot, she made great friends.  Following her husband's training, they asked to be posted to CFB Trenton where a new adventure began.   Geneviève found herself job hunting, but noticed there were not a lot of advertising for jobs in her field so she sent her resume to all the businesses in the area. One was a job offer for an accounting manager in Kingston which she accepted, but after seven months, balancing the commute and her children was not working out to her satisfaction. She then saw a job posting here in Belleville for the grocery retailer Metro. They were looking for a Cost Accountant at one of their suppliers called Vantage. The job was for a maternity leave replacement.  She applied and got the job.  And toward the end of her contract at Metro, she was approached by the financial controller of a division of Kruger Products and she is now a cost accountant for that company and very happy.  There are plenty of opportunities to grow with the company, it is located in Trenton and the division she works in is called Away From Home (AFH). They make paper products like bath tissue, paper towels, facial tissue for commercial use in areas such as public buildings, restaurants and hospitals. The company is famous for its Cashmere brand toilet paper and Scotties facial tissue.  Seeing the operation run is very impressive and Geneviève believes the more time she spends on the floor, the better accountant she will be because she actually sees where the numbers come from and it allows her to connect with the other employees who she doesn’t normally see in the office.
 
Geneviève admits she has changed jobs many times in her life, but is currently very relieved with her current employment opportunities and is thankful for everything she has -- her children, her husband and her life.   She concluded her classification talk thanking the members for listening as she is very proud to be a part of the Rotary Club of Belleville.