 |
BY CHERYL STUCK
PHOTOS BY MELISSA DONALD
JANUARY 2010
Jennifer Hughes
Age: 43
Jobs: President of Deming, Malone, Livesay & Ostroff, PSC (DMLO)
|
Her Path
FIRST JOB “I worked myself through college (she is the first in her family to go to college) at a shoe store in Bowling Green and had a great mentor in the store manager. One thing that helped in my accounting career is that I learned customer service. I didn’t learn that in college; I learned it in that store. The big thing that was drilled in my head was the team concept — together, each accomplishes more. I ended up selling shoes for five years, and even stayed part-time about 20 hours a week for a year after starting my first accounting job.”
ALONG THE WAY “I worked for the state at the Kentucky Office of the Inspector General Division of Audit. They audited nursing homes and what costs were allowable as Medicaid reimbursable. I did that for three and a half years, but with state government you have limited opportunities as to how much money you can make.
“I saw an ad in the Courier-Journal about DMLO, and I interviewed and was hired because of my experience in Medicaid. In January 1992, I moved here from Bowling Green and didn’t know anyone. I grew up in a small town of about 3,000 people —Tompkinsville, Ky. — and so it was a big jump
for me to move to the big city.”
TURNING POINT “When I started college I wanted to go to law school and had never taken an accounting class. My mother was a secretary for a lawyer her whole career, so I grew up going to her office. An advisor told me to consider minoring in accounting, because it was good to have a business background to go to law school so I took the basic accounting classes and really loved them. I dropped the idea of going to law school.”
NOW “I think I have achieved my goal. I work with a lot of non-profits and a lot of nursing facilities and there’s a feel-good aspect…you feel a part of the mission they’re striving for. It was never my goal to be president of this firm or any accounting firm. My goal was always to be all I could be. My mom always encouraged me to seek the opportunities that were out there in the world. So my dream was to get an education and to be financially independent and happy, not rich and wealthy. Money is not the most important thing.” “My goal and focus have been traditionally to train law enforcement, but I’m trying to widen that because when we have all those different groups in the class it changes the dynamics…there are so many different points of view,” she said. “It’s a tremendous learning experience. It becomes very much community problem solving.”
As president of Deming, Malone, Livesay & Ostroff, PSC, an accounting firm, Jennifer Hughes, CPA, is in charge of the day-to-day operations of 75 employees, which includes certified public accountants and support staff. She helps 13 employee stockholders provide client services and oversees the financial operations of the firm which is located on Shelbyville Road.
HER CHALLENGE
“To take the firm successfully into the future and make sure we continue to grow. I want to try a lot of new and different things.”
WORST PART
“It can be very stressful, especially during tax season. We have another busy period in summer. But to overcome that, we strive to help the employees keep a good work balance and personal life.”
TO RELAX
“My favorite pastime is boating on Lake Cumberland with my two boys and my husband. I love the outdoors and we do some short hikes. I also love to read mysteries or action and suspense novels.”
|
|
