Join us with Viacom EVP, Controller and CAO Katherine Gill-Charest about their transfer of non-core assets to support the growth of streaming, and how they deal with production halts.
FEI's "ForwardThinking" series features conversations with senior-level financial executives at the center of challenging times, requiring them to reflect on the fundamentals of their profession, their role as leaders, and accepting responsibility for greater societal change.
Government mandated stay-at-home orders significantly contributed to the growth of the streaming culture. The quarantine mandates also resulted in a mass shutdown of content productions. For media and entertainment companies that rely on production revenues, the impact was grave. In this 1 CPE credit session, Viacom EVP, Controller and CAO Katherine Gill-Charest discusses how the transfer of non-core assets supported the growth of streaming, and how they dealt with production halts.
Field of Study: Specialized Knowledge, Technical
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EVP & Controller, CAO | ViacomCBS
Katherine Gill-Charest is Executive Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of ViacomCBS. In this role, which she assumed in December 2019, Gill-Charest oversees the accounting, financial reporting and financial compliance of the combined company and its divisions. She reports to Naveen Chopra, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, ViacomCBS. Before this position, Gill-Charest served as Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of Viacom since October 2010. During this time, she was instrumental in strengthening the financial position of the company to deliver on its strategy for growth and evolution. Gill-Charest drove efforts to improve Viacom’s financial reporting structure, policies, and procedures, and helped to guide its risk mitigation and compliance actions. In recognition of her leadership, Cablefax named Gill-Charest one of the media industry’s Most Powerful Women in 2017, and Treasury & Risk magazine honored her as an Outstanding Women in Finance in 2012. She was also appointed to the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council in 2020 and FEI’s Committee on Corporate Reporting in 2021. Gill-Charest joined Viacom in 2007 as Vice President, Deputy Controller. Prior to her career at Viacom, she served as the Chief Accounting Officer of WPP Group and was the Vice President and Worldwide Controller of Young & Rubicam Inc. previous to its acquisition by WPP. She also held roles in financial reporting and accounting policy at Time Warner Inc. and NYNEX Corporation, and worked in the audit practice of Price Waterhouse. Gill-Charest holds a B.S. in Accounting from Manhattan College, where she graduated summa cum laude. She is a New York State Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPAs.
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