“I choose to be a Trust Accountant because ‘Miracle Worker’ is not an official job title. If it were, it would already be earned by many in the company.”

I was introduced to The Benefit Advantage through a current employee, who has been happily employed here for 20 years. Upon reviewing the company website, I was most impressed with the length of time TBA retains its employees, which is remarkable. This sounded like a great fit for me, because everybody works as a solid team. The lack of employee turnover has preserved valuable information – as well as finances – for the company, and is a direct reflection of the management’s leadership. The second thing that attracted me was TBA’s contribution to being community focused. That resonates with my commitment to local community service. I believe if everyone contributes in some small way, we will make our communities better.

After 15 years with The Dow Chemical Company in Financial and Statutory Accounting, I retired. During my first 10 years there, I was a successful Account Manager for Intercompany European companies. My responsibilities included accounts payable, receivables, general ledgers, accruals, audits, payment, cost centers and taxes, which were all balanced quarterly. I eventually became the European Value Added Tax expert, with the responsibility of maintaining the tax tables. The last five years at Dow, I moved over to coordinate Rebates and CUPS. Rebates are part of an intense process used in pricing, to make Dow Chemical competitive in the markets. When I started, the entire process was manual but our team implemented new automation and wrote standard operating procedures for parts of the process.

My responsibilities at TBA include the Trust Accounting for the quarterly dental plans, but I’m confident those assignments and duties will grow in time. I love the challenge of working with numbers. Processes may become routine, but keeping things in balance has a way of becoming a puzzle that needs to be solved. I’m enjoying working with a team who believes in the motto: We are one team, and we’re working toward the same goal. If one fails, we all fail. If one succeeds, we all succeed. Working together is the guarantee of success.

KELLY JOHNSTON
(248) 299-4100 ext. 276