January 2003 was Bhavna Duggal FCCA’s first month with an audit firm in Kuwait City when the missiles strikes from Iraq to Kuwait began. But she and her family were determined to stay -Bhavna wasn’t about to give up the job that was her first step in an accounting and finance career. It was important for her to build her career, plus it was going to pay for her brother’s education in Canada as he studied engineering at McMaster University in Ontario.
‘My father’s office was in the same building as Deloitte, so I had been laser-focused on getting that job,’ she says, explaining that the public transport system in Kuwait was very bad and the family only had one car. ‘I kept faxing my resumé on a daily basis.’ One evening, after sending it yet again, Bhavna decided to follow up with a phone call, which was answered by the audit manager. ‘His first question when I introduced myself was “Are you the crazy lady who keeps faxing her resumé? You have to stop.”
‘I was there in five minutes, and two days later I had a contract to work as an audit senior’
Top tips
- ‘I’m a big believer in paying it forward. I’ve been able to achieve some of my career goals because it took a village around me to support me, to sponsor me, to mentor me, and to have that trust and faith in me.’
- ‘Build a brand and reputation even outside of your organisation.’
- ‘The world really is your oyster and the ACCA designation is your passport.’
- ‘True growth only happens when you push yourself out of your comfort zone.’
- ‘Continuously learn and continuously upscale yourself.’
That was the stepping stone to further audit jobs in the UK, and then on to senior finance roles in India. ‘In 2008 I decided to take a job there with Morgan Stanley,’ she explains. ‘They needed someone who understood IAS and UK GAAP, as well as develop a team and serve clients in Europe.’ It was a good move, she adds, not only for the job but for her personal life; her fiancée, whom she met at university in Delhi, had a flourishing career in Mumbai, and that’s where they would be married.
Toronto calling
However, Mumbai wouldn’t be the last stop in her career. Bhavna moved to Toronto in 2012 with her three-year-old infant, with hopes for a better education system, more promise and brighter future for her family in Canada.
Fast forward 21 years and it’s no surprise that Bhavna is now an award-winning finance executive, a sought-after industry expert and speaker, board member and school student council treasurer. After two decades working as both an advisory partner and senior finance executive in companies large and small, Bhavna now provides her wide-ranging expertise as an interim CFO. Most recently with Securian Canada, a 65 year-old mid-sized life and health insurance firm, Bhavna led the finance team through financial strategy, FP&A, development of next three-year business outlook, stabilising a recent $400m merger and acquisition, introducing cost management actions and leading the finance data transformation programme.
‘An interim role allows me to devote time to family as well as give back to the community’
The CV
2024
Interim CFO, Securian Canada, Toronto, Canada
2023
Principal and portfolio CFO, The CFO Centre of Canada, Toronto, Canada
2021
VP, client finance services, Investment Management Corporation, Toronto
2016
Partner, financial accounting advisory, EY, Toronto
2014
Senior manager, accounting advisory services, Deloitte, Toronto
2010
AVP, investment banking and treasury security services (UK, Europe and Asia), JP Morgan Chase Bank, Mumbai, India
2008
Manager, consolidated equities, Asset Management (UK, Europe and Asia), Morgan Stanley, Mumbai
2006
Audit assistant manager, assurance services, EY, London, UK
2003
Audit senior, assurance and audit services, Deloitte, Kuwait City, Kuwait
As she explains, the concept of an interim or fractional CFO is catching on in Canada in a really big way and fills a very specific niche. ‘A company may need an operational CFO who is taking care of the day-to-day for the organisation and is very closely correlating finance with operations. You have the strategic CFO who’s thinking long term, helping the business plan, develop key metrics and a way to hold the rest of the organisation accountable. Then you have the transformational CFO who comes in and brings change. And those are very different types of CFOs, but not every company needs all three at the same time. That’s where the interim or fractional CFO comes in.
‘It’s rewarding every time you can get a company over a hurdle,’ she adds, ‘or find a solution to a unique problem.’
Giving back
While you’d think that being a CFO for a number of companies at a time would leave little room for anything else, this is not the case. ‘That’s the beauty of an interim or fractional role,’ she says. ‘It allows me to devote time to family as well as give back to the community and other causes I believe in like diversity, healthcare and education.’
Among her many volunteer activities, Bhavna is chair of the finance, property and audit committee at George Brown College in Toronto; a committee member for the UHN Foundation, which fundraises for hospitals in Ontario; and a board member with Ascend Canada, a non-profit organisation focused on enhancing diversity and inclusion in Corporate Canada.
Bhavna is also an active member of the ACCA and has given back to the organisation through her participation on expert panels and as a contributor to Sustainability Reporting: The Guide to Preparation. In addition, in 2019 she was a finalist in the inaugural Women in Finance Awards in Toronto and, earlier this year, was recognised with the Outstanding Leadership Award at the US CXO 2.0 conference in Las Vegas.
As to how the ACCA designation has influenced her career, ‘It has been my passport to the world,’ she says. ‘As a result, I’ve lived and worked on three continents, and, with the skill sets I’ve learned, it has taken me to every job I’ve ever had. I’m really thankful and continuously upskill myself with the ACCA professional development courses.’
