Professor Trevor Larkan Interview
September 16, 2024
Biography: Trevor Larkan grew up in South Africa, where he obtained his undergraduate degree before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young. He is also a licensed CPA (Massachusetts) by profession. He has held corporate positions as treasurer, controller, commercial director, and CFO. A major portion of his career has been in the forest products industry, including being CFO of Sappi Fine Papers S. Africa, North America, and finally, the Sappi Fine Paper group CFO in London. His experience has included significant M&A activity, including the restructuring of the financial control, finances, and reporting of the acquired businesses.
Interview Q&A:
Could you give a brief rundown of your career? 
I always had a clear idea of what I wanted to do since high school, which was to become a Chartered Accountant, which is similar to a CPA. I did not want to stay in public accounting, however, and entered the corporate world - first working with a shipping company as a financial accountant and then moving into treasury. At this time, it was the early 1980s, and the fluctuation of the foreign exchange rates had contributed to large losses for many large companies. This led me to pursue a job opportunity as treasurer. The company I joined was one of the two large forest product companies in South Africa. My career led me to become the CFO of the South African region for the Sappi Group. In 1994, the group made a bid to purchase a significant fine paper producer in the USA and I was fortunate to be part of a small team tasked with working on closing the $1.5 billion acquisition.
After five years as CFO of Sappi Fine Papers N. America, I was offered a promotion to CFO of the Fine Paper Division of Sappi based in London. A few years after this move to the UK and having been with this group for over sixteen years, I left this group and returned with my family to Boston... That is when I bumped into the Finance Chair at Bentley and joined as an adjunct lecturer in the accounting department and then as a full-time faculty member in the finance department. I continued consulting on my own, which led to an offer to move back into the corporate world to work on an international development project. I returned to Bentley in 2012.
How did your career start?
After leaving Ernst and Young, once I had completed the required term to become a Chartered Accountant, I moved into my first position outside of public accounting as a Financial Accountant for a shipping company. My interest in treasury is what really kicked off my career. I was asked to set up the management of the company’s exposure to foreign currency fluctuations. This role attracted the attention of a UK owned company operating in S. Africa who asked me to set up their treasury operation before taking on the role of Controller.
When working with Sappi Fine Paper, how was the transition from Boston to London, and why did you decide to move?
We had a lot of value in the Fine Paper area, and if someone was looking at Sappi as a group, it was a worldwide group. However, investors wanted a “pure play” in the Fine Paper business. Consequently, the group decided to set up a corporate Fine Paper office in London and spin off the Fine Paper Division from the Sappi Group. I was asked to move on to promotion to CFO of the Fine Paper Division in London and work on its spin-off. However, the window of opportunity unfortunately closed before the spin off could be put in place. I enjoyed working in London and managing the finance responsibility for the European Division, headquartered in Brussels, the N. American Division is headquartered in Boston, and the Southern African division is headquartered in Johannesburg.
Did you have a favorite part out of all your responsibilities in London?
I especially enjoyed the close proximity to the other countries in Europe. I often travelled to Brussels and Germany where the European operations were located. I had to push others to move forward with ideas and overall, it was a great experience, and I loved living in London. It also allowed me an opportunity to travel in Europe with my wife and three daughters - whenever I could afford to take some time off!
Can you talk about Larkan & Associates and your role in that consulting business?
My main goal in my consulting role was to maximize shareholder wealth for companies. I was amazed that some of the issues facing companies had a fairly simple solution – the so-called “low-hanging fruit” situation.
Can you dive into your involvement in the CFP Board Registered Financial Planning Concentration Program at Bentley?
When I was at Bentley from 2004 to 2006, I decided to also take courses in an area of interest to me. This led me to complete my master's in financial planning at Bentley. It became clear to me that the wealth management and financial planning industry was a growth area. Although Bentley had a graduate offering in this area, other than a course or two, there was no similar educational offering at the undergraduate level. The finance department decided to offer students the opportunity to elect a concentration, and “Personal Financial Planning” was included as one of the concentration options. When the master's in financial planning was curtailed in 2018, I worked on getting approval from the CFP Board based in Washington, DC, for Bentley to offer a CFP Board Registered Program. The program began in the Fall of 2019 and has experienced solid ongoing growth since that start date.
Why did you decide to be involved in academia, given your experience in corporate and high roles?
I do not think there was a specific reason. When we returned from London, we lived in Acton, which was the town where the Bently Finance Department Chair lived. We ended up meeting for coffee one day, and very soon, he offered me a position as an adjunct lecturer. The fact that I am still with Bentley is clear evidence that I enjoy teaching. It has turned out to be a very rewarding second career for me – the interaction with students facing career choices and witnessing the growth of students as they move through their undergraduate studies has been particularly enjoyable to me.
What is a way you would encourage students to gain real-world experience and insight into financial markets?
There is definitely more than one answer to this question. Bentley’s internship program is great, and I think that you should take advantage of this. However, I would also recommend getting involved in different activities and events that will allow one to meet and interact with people within the corporate world. How you do that is difficult, but one recommendation is to go to conferences. Students can often just send an email and get access to conferences, which gives them exposure to people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge. You can build your network and meet people you would not have met otherwise. The real value comes from the context and following up. If you can get invited to the special company days, do it. There are always ways to network and learn more outside of internships.
What is your favorite part about being a professor?
My favorite part would be seeing students grow through the semester. I once had two students walk into my office as juniors and say they had a startup. We had many discussions after that first meeting, and I still have a connection with them. They followed that path and eventually sold their business. The other aspect is that I enjoy teaching - it keeps me slightly young! And connecting with students is always a great pleasure.
What advice would you give a student coming into Bentley?
The four years that you are going to be here are unique. You are never going to be this age again, in this position, and with a similar group of people. Take full advantage of it! Try not to get overly concerned with just academics (although this is obviously important, it will take care of itself). It is all the other things that you do, like joining clubs and exposing yourself to the other unique opportunities that are available before you embark on a career. Open yourself to conversations that you may have with the diversity of Bentley’s campus. Do other things outside of the university, like a semester abroad, so that when you graduate, you feel as though you made the best of the four years that you were here. By taking full advantage of the opportunities, you will create real value for yourself. When I was employing people in the corporate world, I always looked for a person who not only had an acceptable academic record but also had a broader outlook and had used their initiative to gain experiences beyond the classroom.