May 17, 2018

Congratulations All Around

Category: Miller Moments

Posted by Meagan

Change is Constant

and therefore expected. Jobs, roles, responsibilities, work flow, hardware, software, etc. will all change regularly to meet our client’s needs. This is one of our Core Values at Miller Management. To see the list of all seven, visit our Careers Page.

Today’s announcements will be focusing on jobs, roles, and responsibilities as we have four staff members we would like to congratulate on their recent promotions!

Staff Accountant vs. Account Manager

Miller Management started a College Recruiting Program a few years back where we hire college graduates with accounting degrees at the entry level position of Staff Accountant. Their work consists of taking over lower level accounts and they also help in other departments as growth and special projects necessitate.

After they gain a few years of experience, we then have the privilege to promote them to Account Manager. We have two of those to share today: Kacy and Laura! The Account Manager position includes: a proficient status handling a standard block of clients, can convert clients on their own, and are able to work on Administrative Audits independently.

Kacy has been at Miller Management since 2015 and works on both the Accounting Team and the Payroll Team. She is also interested in photography, loves yoga, and is involved with the Big Brother Big Sister program.

Laura has worked here since 2016 and her Finance & Budgeting experience goes back to 2013. She is interested in soccer and coin collecting and always has a tea bag in her purse.

Congratulations to you both!

New Client Services Manager

You may remember Suzanne Freese’s name from the last round of staff recognition, and you would be correct. Suzanne was promoted to Senior Client Services Representative last fall, at that same time, Jennifer Ross was promoted to VP of Operations leaving an opening in the Client Services department. At the beginning of this month, Suzanne was promoted again to the role of Manager over the Client Services Team!

“Suzanne’s promotion to Client Services Manager comes after over 10 years of exemplary performance in the Client Services Department with the last half of that tenure in the Team Lead role.  This move is a natural progression given the leadership she’s exhibited both internally and externally.  Her duties include overseeing the department of Client Services Representatives, Client Services Assistants, our Administrative Professional, and our Couriers through training, development, trouble shooting and problem solving,” said Jennifer Ross, VP of Operations.

Springfield Branch Coordinator

Angie was promoted to Springfield Branch Coordinator at the beginning of the month as well! Angie has experience as an office manager, as she held that role for 10 years in her home church.

Jennifer Ross, VP of Operations, had this to say, “Angie’s promotion to our Springfield Branch Coordinator is a newly created position that arose from our growth and desire to have an onsite presence that can not only immediately react to issues but also proactively anticipate issues and be ready with solutions.  Her tenure and experience made her a natural fit!”

Laura Earned her CPA!

Lastly, we wanted to give another congratulations to Laura! We had a breakfast celebration to honor Laura earning her CPA a few weeks ago. Our Accounting Department Manager had several nice things to say about Laura, and she also gave us a little background on the exam:

• The CPA exam is widely considered one of the hardest exams in the world.
• IT consists of four – four hour exams.
• The test consists of multiple choice, task based, and writing questions.
• Cost is approximately $1,000.
• On average, it is estimated that you will spend at least 400 hours studying for the exam!
• And the cumulative pass rate averages around 50%.
• Before you can sit, an extra 30 hours of college courses is required.
• The process to apply to sit for the exam is very rigorous.
• There are whole industries dedicated to helping candidates pass this exam. {That should tell you something right there!}

Then…after you have passed all four parts:

• You still have to take an Ethics exam.
• You must work with a licensed CPA for at least a year.
• On-going training is required…forever.  (Each state is different.)
• And everyone you meet is going to assume you do taxes. 🙂

We know that Lisa is a great resource for this information, since she is a licensed CPA in Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska!

“Laura in many ways is the ‘typical’ CPA.  By that I mean: She is smart and has the ability to solve really hard problems and tackle really hard tasks. Laura is dedicated. She believes there should be standards and that we should meet or exceed those standards/expectations. Laura highly values serving others. Congratulations on becoming a Certified Public Accountant!” – Lisa Coonfare, Accounting Department Manager

“I am incredibly grateful for each and every one of you that day in and day out, serve our clients with distinction. You care about your work, your team, our clients, and our mission. Rarely do a group of people, in a work setting, achieve this kind of synergy.” – Dr. Glenn. A. Miller, CEO of Miller Management