Eleven Years

Today marks my 11 year work anniversary. I actually started working with the company in July of 1997, through a temp agency, and was made a full time employee on November 18, 1997. Eleven Years. Five hundred seventy two weeks. Two thousand eight hundred and sixty work days, minus the ridiculously small amount of holidays we get each year. Eleven years. I type it, I say it, just doesn’t seem possible.

I started there as a recent college grad with an accounting degree under her belt completely unsure of what I wanted to do with my degree. Sitting for the CPA and doing auditing hours was the choice of my father but I was not so convinced. Looking back part of me wishes I’d listened to good ol’ Dad. The other part of me can’t help but be wonderfully satisfied with how things have shaken out, thus far. After a few years of various clerical accounting positions and increasing responsibility I was named Branch Controller which was more about controlling operations and their impact on my branch’s financial statements produced by Corporate. Just a year into that I started doing the Assistant Corporate Controller work and actually began helping produce financial statements for the entire company. I was in over my head, or so I thought. I had no experience and the classroom debits and credits were a far cry from the day to day reality that was a real live accounting department. Apparently the executive team didn’t doubt me as much as I did and I was named Corporate Controller in 2002, I believe.

The first few years of being Controller were rough, to say the least. Despite the confidence I gained by being awarded the position I still needed to prove myself. To the Execs, to my new subordinates and to myself. There were tough days, heck, there still are but through the years I’ve managed to gain the respect of the people that may have once doubted me. Most of all I’ve proven to myself that I could do it. I’ve not done it alone. I’ve had the support of a great mentor in my CFO who pushed, and sometimes pulled, me along. I had the ear of one of the greatest friends (professional and personal) that I could ever ask for that was in the Assistant to the President position and as my foundation, I’ve had a wonderful core of employees that make me better at my job because they are good at theirs. Yes, I’ve been blessed.

Over the years I’ve help produce nearly 100 months worth of financial statements for 10 plus branches each month. I’ve managed 7 financial statement reviews, 1 financial statement audit and 8 bank audits. When I stop and think about it I can’t help but smile.

Eleven years, 132 months, 572 weeks, 2,860 work days. All that time has passed and I find myself learning something new nearly every day. In this age of rapid turn over and people moving on for a few extra bucks, THAT is why I’ve stayed. I never quite know what is going to happen on any given day. Our true entrepreneurial spirit of a CEO and our Executive Team make my job interesting. That group of Execs took a chance on me, the recent college grad with an accounting degree under her belt that was completely unsure of what she wanted to do.

It appears it’s worked out for all involved.