Episode 7: Get to Know Your Numbers and Sleep Easy with Brandi Wingrove and Carinne Chambers-Saini

ABOUT THE EPISODE

“We often procrastinate things that we are less comfortable doing. I think the term 'financials' really intimidates entrepreneurs” – Brandi Wingrove, KPMG Enterprise

Do you ever lay awake at night worrying about your company’s financials, cash flow, and business forecasting? For many entrepreneurs, these topics are intimidating but your numbers shouldn’t be so scary. In this episode of The Go-To, we speak with two experts who are passionate about financial literacy and using your numbers to make smart decisions. First, we sit down with Brandi Wingrove, recovering entrepreneur and current Partner at KPMG Enterprise. Then, we discuss process and growth with Carinne Chambers-Saini, Co-Founder & CEO of DivaCup. We’re determined to make financials less daunting in this week’s episode of The Go-To, so get your notepad ready.

In this episode:

Brandi shares her experiences working with entrepreneurs
Discover some tips on how you can use your financials to identify trends
Carinne explains how and when she made the decision to move from having her mom as a bookkeeper to hiring a CFO

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“Umm... I Missed That”

Entrepreneurship is a world of its own, which means the some of the lingo used might get lost in translation. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Here are a few of the key terms you’ll hear on this episode of The Go-To and what they actually mean.

Accountant: someone who can help with your annual financial statements and tax compliance work. They can also provide advice about your numbers by giving you resources to prepare a budget and cash flow forecast

Balance Sheet: A prepared statement of the assets, liabilities, and capital of a business at one point in time. It shows the balance of income and expenses against the previous period.

Bookkeeper: hired to come in on regular basis to do record keeping for a business and captures the day-to-day transactions

Cash Flow: the total amount of money being transferred into and out of a company

CFO: someone who can help you understand your numbers and create a business strategy

ERP System: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) refers to a type of software that organizations use to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations.

Liquidity: the availability of liquid assets to a company. How quickly an asset can be converted to cash.

Meet Our Guests

Brandi Wingrove, Partner at KPMG Enterprise

Brandi obtained a Bachelors of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University, a Diploma in financial management from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and then obtained her Chartered Accountant designation. She started her career with KPMG and after obtaining her designation, moved overseas to Dubai. After 2 years with Microsoft – Great Plains as the Director of Finance, and 2 years as the Chief Accountant at L’Oreal, Brandi returned from Dubai, and started, ran and eventually sold, a retail truck accessory business with her husband. This business venture gave her first-hand experience as an entrepreneur.

As an audit partner with KPMG Enterprise, Brandi specialize in small and medium-size private companies across many different industries; with a specialization in consumer markets, real estate and technology. Brandi enjoys solving challenges her clients face in their day to day business. Whether it's finance, tax or other general business needs, Brandi is there to help be part of the solution. Together they work to make their businesses better.

Brandi’s Go-To Tips and Advice:

Never look at your financials at one point in time - compare the same periods quarter to quarter or every six months.
Prepare budgets and forecasts to set business goals for the next 1 to 3 years. You can then measure how you are doing based on these budgets

Connect with Brandi on Linkedin or send her an email at bwingrove@kpmg.ca

Carinne Chambers-Saini, Co-Founder and CEO of Diva International

Carinne Chambers-Saini knew from an early age that she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps, both as an entrepreneur and an advocate for women’s health.

In 2003, after Carinne graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, she turned away from corporate jobs and, instead, joined forces with her mother to develop the original DivaCup, a modern redesign of a relatively unknown concept -- the menstrual cup -- that dated back to the 1930s.

As co-founders of Diva International, their seventeen-year journey, from their kitchen table to the boardroom, has been a series of triumphs and setbacks. They started Diva on a shoe-string budget with one small bank loan, their product often rejected by industry experts as an unwanted threat to the disposables. It wasn’t easy competing in a male-dominated industry, but the twosome persisted, never letting the no's discourage them from taking the next step.

The results: In the last five years, by fine-tuning corporate messaging and expanding Diva’s reach, Carinne has led the company to triple-digit growth, outselling established brands and positioning Diva as “one to watch”. DivaCup is the #1 selling product in the personal care category on Amazon.com and the fastest growing menstrual care SKU in North America, sold in over 35,000 retail outlets.

As Diva International’s CEO, Carinne and her burgeoning company have received notable recognition, winning EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Sustainable Products and EY’s Special Citation Award for Industry Disruptor. In 2017, Carinne was honoured as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 recipients. Diva has also ranked as one of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies by GROWTH 500 for the last three years in a row and has been recognized in Canada’s Top Employer program, both regionally and nationally.

Carinne’s Go-To Resources: