ESTELA ARACELI RUANO,MBA

San Diego, CA. 92154 Telephone: Cell (619) 852 7594 Home (619) 671 7763 E-Mail: ruanoestela@hotmail.com www.linkedin.com/in/estelaruano/

SUMMARY A Professional Accountant and MBA with 20+ years of experience in highly automated manufacturing and assembly operations and 4 years of experience in retail. A highly motivated professional would like to secure a leadership position in the Accounting and Finance fields with a potential for growth, focusing knowledge and skills to help to the company success. Strong experience on manager level responsibilities. Strong background and knowledge in financial statements, MXN & US GAAP, general ledger, cash management, AP, AR, FA, inventories, transfer pricing, internal control (SOX), financial & variance analysis, payroll, monthly, quarterly & annual closings, corporate and consolidation accounting and reporting, international accounting, BP & forecast preparation and control, business administration, Import/Export. Implementation of GL, FA, AR, reporting and payroll systems (Oracle, JDE, GLAP, TRESS, WING). Multi-cultural and multi-site team management. Customer service oriented. Bilingual: English and Spanish. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE PRICESMART, INC. 05/2009-05/2013 PriceSmart, Inc., is the largest operator of membership warehouse clubs in Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean. PSMT is a public company headquartered in San Diego, CA and it owns and operates 30 warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one US territory. In FY2012 reported $2 billion dollars in annual sales. Corporate Accounting Manager Responsible for US Corporate Accounting (6 DCs in Miami and one in LA.), FA, AR, Inventories. Responsible for accounting, taxes and transfer pricing for the Distribution Center in Mexico. Lead, train and develop a team of 5 people. Coordinate and supervise monthly, quarterly, and annual closing for US Corporate and Mexico. Prepare financial statements, analysis reports and SEC reports. Support Operations department in financial analysis to reduce cost and explain variances. Coordinate SOX, financial and tax audits, including CA and FL Sales and Use Tax audits. Establish and ensure properly implementation of internal controls. Billback and support in-country with intercompany transactions, expats, and parent company charges. Accomplishments: Implemented a pre-close variance review that allowed more accurate results and reduced closing time in 1 day. No deficiencies in Financial and SOX internal and external audits (EY and Deloitte). Improved 5% productivity in transactions with intercompanies and the DCs thru better communication and procedures. USD$2M VAT refunds recovery from the MXN IRS in less than 3 months. Statutory tax audits and transfer pricing studies in the MXN company were reviewed and corrected saving the company about USD$500k. PANASONIC AVC NETWORKS COMPANY OF AMERICA 06/1999-04/2009 PAVCA is a Tijuana manufacturing and distribution facility of Panasonic Corporation of North America (PNA), a US corporation engaged in developing, manufacturing, and marketing a full range of advance products (world class operation). PAVCA reported $2 billion dollars in annual sales in 2008 and over 5,000 employees. Main products: Plasma and LCD televisions. Key Customers include SEARS, Best Buy, Costco, Wal-Mart, and distribution centers in USA, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama. Finance Senior Manager Coordinate and supervise internal audit. Implementation of internal controls and procedures.

Coordinate KPMG and Japan Financial and SOX internal and external audits. Report financial, tax and SEC information to HQ in USA and JPN. Coordinate and supervise US office administration. Responsible for US and Mexican consolidation, GL, AR, AP, FA, cash management, taxes and payroll. Coordinate all accounting areas for month-end, quarter-end and annual closings. Participate in business plan and forecast preparation and control. Coordinate and supervise Import/Export operations. Support management in operational areas. Lead, train and develop a team of 10 people. Lead monthly financial results meetings with top management. Accomplishments: Standardized local chart of accounts to corporate COA to speed up closing time. Reduced cycletime for consolidation and reporting financial data from 7 to 3 days. Improved collection rate from 80% to 98%. Implemented strong internal control procedures that eliminated deficiencies in SOX audits. Created a Fixed Assets manual that improved procedures and control. Successful Oracle implementation of GL, AR, Sales and FA modules. Successful JDE implementation of GL, AR and FA modules. No deficiencies in Financial and SOX internal and external audits. USD$10M savings thru timely implementation of a customs system and duties negotiations with the MXN government.

INDUSTRIAS ELECTRONICAS PACIFICO/BAJA MAGNETICS 06/1991- 12/1998 Two Tijuana manufacturing companies subsidiaries of Schneider-Electric (formerly Square D Co.) with $200 million dollars in annual sales and more than 1500 employees. Main products: Electrical Circuit Breakers and Transformers. Warehouse distribution centers in Reno and Atlanta. Key customers include Home Depot and Lowes. Controller Coordinate and supervise the Accounting department (5 people) and cash management. Supervise GL, AP, FA, taxes and payroll areas. Coordinate annual and monthly financial closings, prepare financial statements and variance analysis. Coordinate business plan preparation and control. Tax and financial analysis for Mexico and US Corporate. Participate in physical inventory audits. Coordinate internal and external audits. Establish and implement internal and administrative controls. Represent the company before any Mexican government office. Participate in transfer pricing negotiations with Deloitte and MXN government. Accomplishments: Time reduction in financial closing and reporting from 5 to 2 days. Improved the quality and speed of financial and taxes reports. Implemented a new payroll system (TRESS) and Accounting system (GLAP). No deficiencies in Government audits, external audit (Ernst & Young) and internal audits from HQ. EDUCATION 1980-1984 1988-1990 1995 1997 1982-to date Bachelor degree in Accounting. Autonomous University of Baja California. Tijuana, Mexico. Master on Business Administration. Autonomous University of Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico. Degree in Mexican Taxes. Baja California CPAs Association Degree in Mexican Labor Laws. Banuelos, Salazar and Associates. College level courses and seminars in Finance, HR, Accounting, Management, Taxes, Internal Control and Administration, and other related courses. Member of the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants). KEY SKILLS 20+ years of Management experience in Accounting and Finance. Skills on handle world class operations. Strong knowledge of GAAP and internal control procedures (SOX). Interpersonal and communication skills. Training and development of personnel. Ample experience working in a fast paced environment. COMPUTER SKILLS: Oracle, JDE, GLAP, TM1, Contpaq, TRESS, Adam, AS 400 applications, Word, Excel, Power Point.