The Town of Mansfield begins its new fiscal year with a new Director of Finance. Town Manager Ryan Aylesworth has announced that Amanda Backhaus, CPA, joined the staff in Mansfield in June to lead the department. In this shared services position, Ms Backhaus will also direct the financial operations for Mansfield Public Schools and Edwin O. Smith High School Regional School District 19, as well as the Town of Mansfield. The Finance Director reports directly to Mansfield’s Chief of Shared Services and Administration.
Since 2017, Ms Backhaus served as Director of Finance and Town Treasurer for the Town of Coventry, CT. She also has extensive experience with auditing firms, serving as an audit manager and a senior associate from 2008 to 2017.
“We are thrilled to bring in a new Director of Finance who possesses considerable municipal finance experience as well as in-depth professional background in the auditing process – both as an auditor and municipal finance official,” says Town Manager Aylesworth. ‘Amanda is well respected, and has valuable skills that will help Mansfield continue to strengthen our fiscal management practices and overall financial condition. Her work in Coventry earned the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Excellence in financial reporting, a level of competence we are committed to upholding here in Mansfield. We are fortunate to have Amanda start here at the transition to a new fiscal year.”
Ms Backhaus is a Certified Public Accountant and was an Honors graduate from the University of Connecticut where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Accounting, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics.
“I am so excited to have the opportunity to be Mansfield’s next Director of Finance,” says Ms Backhaus. “I look forward to using the municipal finance skills I have developed over the past 15 years to serve the community that I call my home!”
Ms Backhaus is a resident of Mansfield.
Cherie Trahan, former Mansfield Director of Finance, returned from retirement to oversee Finance Department operations while a search for a permanent replacement was underway. The Mansfield Town Council recognized Ms Trahan for her selfless commitment to the Town at a meeting last month.
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