Experience

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  Kitchen Table Consultants

  • Director of Accounting Services

    • Apr 2021 - Present

    At Kitchen Table Consultants, our goal is simple – to help passionate farmers and food artisans build lasting, profitable, locally-focused businesses. We accomplish this by working alongside our clients. No stuffy business plans that get thrown on the shelf, never to be looked at again. We have real-world experience and bring that to our work every day. We have walked a mile in your shoes and understand first-hand the challenges facing small businesses. We are results oriented, and our work is about actionable steps to make your business stronger and more profitable.I personally love helping clients get clean, reliable financial information out of their accounting system. Whether my team and I are untangling gnarly or neglected books, refreshing accounting workflows to save time and energy, or steadfastly maintaining the day-to-day accounting so we can communicate the highlights, trends, and red flags to decision-makers, we are honored to support our farm and food business clients in the critical work they do to nourish our communities and nurture our planet.

• 

  Edmonds College

  • United States
  • Higher Education
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Director of Finance

    • Jan 2020 - May 2021

    At Edmonds, I had a wide range of responsibilities. I had a plethora of ongoing tasks like reconciliations of bank accounts and general ledgers, management of DOE and tuition funds, investment decisions for a $30M portfolio, accounting for fixed assets and depreciation, and research/correction of errors and imbalances in a complex and well-outdated financial system. Determining the appropriate accounting and accrual treatment for transactions was a frequent challenge, as was ensuring last-minute transactions complied with College & state policies.Compliance was a substantial part of my role. I prepared financial statements per GASB principles, coordinated with the State Board of Community Colleges and the State Auditor's Office during the annual audit, and prepared various other federal & state compliance reports & disclosures. I also had to monitor the entire college's compliance with fiscal policies. I developed procedures and internal controls that achieved compliance requirements while reducing barriers for college programs and students. To do so, I gathered feedback from staff in various roles to identify gaps, inconsistencies, and points of confusion to resolve by revision or by creating reference materials and training. Collaboration was key. I extracted, analyzed, projected, and presented accounting information to external and internal stakeholders including the president. I was always active in multiple committees, trainings, and College events as a liaison and “friendly face” from the business office. I loved being involved in the campus community. The team I supervised included both exempt and classified staff. I oversaw the budget, procurement and A/R teams and a fiscal analyst. My role expanded exponentially when I was charged with leading the implementation of the finance pillar of a statewide college ERP upgrade. This included configuration, training, development of local business processes, and empowering staff in times of uncertainty.

  • Associate Director of Finance

    • Jan 2017 - Jan 2020

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  Farmstand Local Foods, LLC

  • Seattle, Washington, United States

  • Bookkeeper

    • Jan 2017 - Dec 2019
    • Seattle, Washington, United States

    I got to work with a dynamic and inspiring team to start a food hub from scratch, connecting local, sustainability-driven farmers to chefs who are excited about sourcing locally. My role was to set up and perform the accounting processes, develop strategies and tools for analyzing performance, manage manual data integration from the sales platform to Quickbooks, determine cost allocations for reporting on activity for a major City of Seattle grant, and in general try to keep up with this amazing group of teammates, producers, and customers. This was extremely rewarding work! The company out-grew my capacity to support them since I was simultaneously working full-time for another organization. The momentum is exciting!

• 

  Smith & DeKay P.S.

  • Bellevue, WA

  • CPA

    • Oct 2011 - Jan 2017
    • Bellevue, WA

    This firm offers tax, audit and other accounting, planning and consulting services to individuals and small businesses. I gained experience in all of these areas and I am grateful to not have been squeezed into an exclusively tax-or-audit position.As senior-level CPA, I developed a thorough understanding of US GAAP through preparation, compilations, reviews and audits of financial statements for clients in industries including construction, commercial fishing, manufacturing, engineering and various others. In my constant efforts to leverage technology in order to increase efficiency, I have become extremely proficient with Excel and other programs and am adept at learning new programs and teaching others. My responsibilities also included preparing tax returns for individuals and various entity types. I am well-versed in the US tax code and am skilled in researching relevant regulations in order to develop tax-efficient strategies. Occasionally I got the opportunity to work on litigation-support projects where I performed analyses of business valuations, cash flows, and financial indicators and summarized key information in a meaningful format. I also managed and trained a few new hires, reviewed work, and took a "bigger picture" perspective in addition to keeping the details in order. As I continue to build a foundation of experience, I work to maintain an open and curious mind.

• 

  City of Everett

  • Forest Park (Everett, WA)

  • Assistant Manager, Forest Park Animal Farm

    • Apr 2011 - Aug 2011
    • Forest Park (Everett, WA)

    Seasonal position (summer). I did the same during Summer 2010 as well.As assistant manager, I was responsible for managing more than 15 volunteers and scheduling our 12 staff. I also ran daily operations along with and in the absence of the manager. I helped coordinate family activities and education, oversee animal care, enforce safety and health requirements including those to maintain our USDA Certification, and generate and implement ideas to reduce financial waste. Family education, animal care, staff management, development strategies

• 

  Private Accounting Firm

  • Bookkeeper

    • Feb 2011 - Jun 2011

    I learned and performed some basic bookkeeping with Quickbooks for a private accountant. Bank and credit card reconciliations, check requests, vendor payments, daily sales reconciliations, receiving payments, and managing item lists were all part of my tasks.

• 

  University of Washington, Bothell

  • Quantitative Skills Center Tutor

    • Jan 2010 - Jun 2011

    I assisted students with math learning and study skills. I specialized in Finance, Accounting, Operations, and Precalculus as well as Statistics and Calc I.