My work experience began before my college education because I couldn't go to college right after high school. After working as a bookkeeper for a few years, I started going to college at nights and eventually finished during the day.
I passed the CPA exam - all parts - the first time I sat for it. At the time, it was administered in a school or library and no calculators were allowed.
Upon graduation, I went to work for what was then one of the Big Eight public accounting firms,...
My work experience began before my college education because I couldn't go to college right after high school. After working as a bookkeeper for a few years, I started going to college at nights and eventually finished during the day.
I passed the CPA exam - all parts - the first time I sat for it. At the time, it was administered in a school or library and no calculators were allowed.
Upon graduation, I went to work for what was then one of the Big Eight public accounting firms, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, as a financial auditor. Most clients were publicly traded, Fortune 500 companies.
My experience as a bookkeeper proved invaluable because I not only knew how to read the financial statements; I actually understood how the numbers got there.
My Operations Auditing experience with a multi-national pharmaceutical led to my next position as Manager of Manufacturing with an agricultural chemical company where I enhanced the cost accounting function in part by creating Lotus 123 spreadsheet models for accounting and budgeting. Next, I had two short runs as Controller for small companies in central Florida. I selected and implemented personal computer based accounting and management information systems for both of those companies.
When the Controller positions proved to be short lived, I spent the next 13 years as a self employed consultant helping clients from Cocoa to Delray select software, convert data, train staff and develop internal controls and periodic accounting procedures. In many instances, I was an extension of my clients' staff for areas in accounting, finance and management that they were unable to staff.
After that, I had wonderful opportunities over the next 12 years to fill the CFO position in challenging manufacturing environments where my responsibilities focused more on risk management, bond and line of credit financing, project management, software installation enhancement, acquisitions, in house legal, and a host of other responsibilities that I learned as my employer
