Editors’ Note

Michele Vinci is a skilled corporate professional with 24+ years of experience in finance and accounting management. She joined Active in September 1996 as a staff accountant and has held eight different positions during her tenure with Active, including Finance Director of Active Canada, Director of Accounting – International Operations, and Vice President of Finance – International and Corporate Reporting. In her current role as Vice President of Finance – International, she works alongside the International CFO to oversee the finance functions of the international division and provides ancillary finance support to the international executive teams around the globe. Vinci graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Company Brief

Active International’s (activeinternational.com) purpose is to transform data into insights, strategy into action, and vision into value. With the entrepreneurial spirit of a startup, and the capabilities of a global corporation, Active continues to redefine what’s possible and turn possibilities into positive business outcomes. Active drives performance through industry expertise, its Corporate Trade Model, and portfolio of companies with a core competency in media, to create and deliver value for leading brands throughout their business life cycles.

Will you provide an overview of your role and key areas of focus?

The Vice President of Finance – International has two core areas of responsibility: supporting the International business units’ finances and finance teams, and supporting the International executive management team. The key areas of support for the above include managing, leading and developing the finance staff across the division, financial reporting and analysis, coordination and interpretation of management information, anticipating and managing working capital supplies across the division, investment appraisals and approval, risk assessment and financial stewardship, M&A support, guidance on financial systems, financial policies/procedures compliance as well as tax compliance. I act as a key liaison between international and the corporate office in the above matters.

Is the finance role engaged in business strategy and development?

Absolutely. I feel the role of finance has changed dramatically over the years. Finance plays a critical role in ensuring that organizations continue to succeed. It is key that finance be involved from early on in the operational/commercial decision-making process. At Active our role in finance is seen to be as financial leaders across the organization adding value that goes beyond just accounting and finance. We aren’t just seen as “bean counters” or “number crunchers” anymore. We partner with all divisions of the organization to help optimize operations and provide insight in aligning costs with our business strategy in our journey to continue to grow the business. We look to make analysis and reporting more efficient, help them get more insights and value out of financial data and increase the organizations focus on strategies and objectives.

How critical is Active’s financial strength and capabilities in its international growth and expansion?

Financial strength is crucial for any business to be successful. It is a key component necessary to not only sustain a business, but help continue to grow and expand it. At Active we are always looking for ways to grow – whether it is expanding on our core offerings or through investing in other companies. Placing an increased focus on the company’s financial strength and consistently monitoring your financial performance are critical to growing your business and achieving success. We also encourage our finance talent to develop leadership qualities across their teams anticipating the financial skill sets needed as our division continues to grow and the future working environment changes. You cannot expect to succeed or grow in this industry without building the financial strength of your company.