Innovative Projects Realized

Staff Accountant

COVID-19 has brought about unique challenges for the accounting industry. As key advisors to our clients, we have been required to stay up-to-date with the new programs and to assist with completing application forms. The intern will be working on prepare 2020 personal tax returns and notice to readers, including analysis of tax impact on receiving CERB and/or CRB.

Accounting Business Process Intern

• Building processes that allow for online preparation, review, sign-off and delivery of financial statements and tax returns to clients within our client management software
• Building PowerBI dashboards and reports within our client and jobs management software
• Developing best practices for virtual work
• Mapping existing processes and developing strategies for shifting those processes from people/paper-based to remote/digital format
• Converting existing in person paper-based processes to digital processes
• Implementing new accounting software into client files
• Developing best practices for tracking file status and management
• Converting Caseware files to a new format

Interaxon Scaling Project

Interaxon Inc. is based in Toronto. Their team of neuroscientists, meditation teachers, and engineers develop state-of-the-art experiences using research-grade EEG technology. The company’s goal is to help individuals build a rewarding meditation and sleep practice to live healthier, happier, more connected lives through human-centered technology. Interaxon’s award-winning neurofeedback devices, and premium content offering of guided meditations with responsive learning functionality, help users meditate and improve sleep hygiene by providing real-time audio feedback on their meditative state through the Muse® companion app.

While presenting many challenges, the Covid-19 pandemic has spotlighted a number of opportunities; it has amplified the need to help more people with their mental health. The project supported by Mitacs and Osgoode will help the company to scale and support the increased demand for mental health resources.

HR Associate

Berrymobile is a fruit distribution company in Vancouver that works with many local farms and grocery chains. As a very seasonally based company, there are only three full-year employees and the rest are seasonal hires. An internship role with this company would involve the completion of HR activities such as hiring, training, and ensuring health and safety protocols are clearly communicated. Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour force last year, the internship will focus on building a strong team for the season ahead.

Business Development & Marketing Representative

The intern will assist with the growing sales team and help strengthen relationships with accounts by providing personalized support and in-store visits. Also, the internship will provide me to be a part of a small team working closely together to expand the local food presence of Berrymobile in this growing market. Other activities include executing promotions and programs with accounts through digital marketing, analyzing previous year sales data to forecast and execute a plan for the upcoming season and updating current job routine and expectations in this new position among numerous others.

Business Analyst

The Salvation Army Boundless Vancouver is a non-profit organization and essential service that has stayed open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to provide food, clothing, and hope to vulnerable persons. Understanding that COVID-19 could be a warning for bigger challenges ahead caused by various natural disasters, the organization is preparing for this possibility of future emergencies or disasters through additional training.

As a Business Analyst, I will help the organization enhance their volunteer management (Volunteer4Salesforce) to enable a greater capacity for our Emergency Disaster Services (EDS), locally, nationally and internationally. Additionally, I will assist the volunteer coordinator in administering the Volunteer4Salesforce (V4S) volunteer management system website, websites and social media channels.

Listed below are some of the skills I will learn or enhance through training and by performing the respective tasks and deliverables:
Analyze, design, implement, test, and operate enhancements to V4S to facilitate the recruitment, registration, training, deployment and upkeep of Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) volunteers.
With HR Training – coordinating online and in?person training with the national and provincial team and local volunteer groups.
With Logistics Training – coordinating existing and new materials required for EDS deployment by utilizing and improving practices in inventory management.

Marketing Specialist

Covid?19 has pushed us to work from home and increase Expand Furniture’s online presence even further; fortunately we have been able to adapt and grow significantly during this period as we were already well positioned as a predominantly online business. An intern will be able to help us with find new platforms to advertise on, generate organic growth and work on the consumer experience. Projects will include daily social media management on multiple platforms. Reaching out to past and present customers for feedback to help optimize our marketing, learn about what customers are looking for for future products and to help increase conversion of sales.

Business / Finance Analyst

Our clients have been drastically affected during Covid with reduced budgets/reduced onsite work/and changes to their projected operational plans. We at Maverick have the benefit of provided additional support to our clients, both private and public, clients. We currently have 6-7 clients looking to expand to 10. An intern will be able to provide business support to over 50 project currently on the way between the 6-7 clients. Interns will provide Maverick with the ability to engage with our clients more effectively by providing back end support to the business and activities currently on the go. Some of the activities interns will facilitate with are; capital raise back end documentation, revenue/pro-forma modelling, research, contributing to corporate deck development, business strategy project management, reporting to the co-founders and clients on business progress prepare various financial analyses, including financial forecasts, budgets, variance analysis, product cost models and summary information for use in management reporting.

Business/Financial Analyst

As an intern, I will play a critical role in the development of Maverick’s business plan. There is a tremendous amount of work required to support their 6-7 files in 2021. From managing communications to assisting with organizing capital raises and business docs, to research on industry and company data, Maverick is a very busy shop that will provide me with access to the emerging venture capital world and e-commerce brand development aspects of the business. I will be able to work together with other staff to drive the baseline and support Maverick’s cofounders so that they can focus on client interactions.

Digital Marketing Student Specialist

At Apples & Oranges Analytics and Marketing, our goal is to work with organizations that create or foster culture, whether that be defined by social, spiritual or ethnic expressions. As the phrase goes, we help people compare all the different types of data they generate to help them make better, more informed business decisions. We are also creating a new program with Community Futures to help entrepreneurs with disabilities navigate the new COVID-19 landscape (Running Start Program). We are offering this service at a reduced rate and are looking to bring on talented marketers to help service the digital marketing needs of our new cohort.

Accounting Project Analyst

LMS Reinforcing Steel Group is a leading independent fabricator and installer of reinforcing steel with operations in BC, AB, and California. LMS has an impressive portfolio of under construction and completed projects. Since inception in 1987, LMS has worked to improve the client experience, and set the industry standard for customer service and productivity on a jobsite. We work hard to enhance teamwork and communication for the overall construction team. The successful candidate will work with our Controller to analyze project and customer accounts for contract and unit rate jobs across all of our operations in order to identify risk areas and areas needing attention.
– Analyze receivable trends
– Identify collection risks
– Reconcile customer accounts
– Review and understand LMS’ process for change orders on lump sum construction projects
– Audit project accounts with respect to change orders

Marketing Coordinator

COVID significantly delayed the launch of our first product, by about 6 months due to packaging manufacturer shut downs and then shipping delays. We were also restricted from doing conventional in person marketing of our food/supplement product. We’re excited to have an intern help us activate a number of marketing opportunities we will be pursuing as we come to market with our new products this summer. We see this as an opportuntity to recover much of the ground we felt we would have covered if it weren’t for the delays caused by COVID.

Anticipated Project Activities:
– Consumer data analysis, both internal and external
– Monitoring Google analytics, Google Ads to optimize digital strategies for direct to consumer sales strategies
– Assisting the head of marketing in producing marketing content and strategies for digital and wholesale channels
– Social media strategy
– Affiliate and influencer marketing strategy and execution