An Interview with Aaron Powell, the Accounting Manager at R&S
Like many positions at R&S, Aaron Powell’s role as Accounting Manager had unexpected beginnings yet has become quite a journey.
He knew Director of Continuous Improvement, Garrett Dykstra, and interviewed with the company knowing that they needed an account position filled. Although they were looking for someone with more experience, Aaron’s character and competency stood out. So, over the next 3.5 years with the help of an out-sourced accounting firm, he worked to get up to speed, learn as much from them as he could, and slowly take on more of the accounting and invoicing himself.
Most of Aaron’s work involves high level administration and management, as he is able to pass daily/monthly tasks to Mark, our Accounting Clerk, and beloved in-house meteorologist who Aaron syncs up with 4-5 times a day. About half the month, Aaron spends time closing the previous month with invoicing and bookkeeping for bank and credit card accounts. The rest of the month, Aaron does more customer connection and projects like process improvement, new programs, and taking over the last few bookkeeping items from an out-sourced accounting firm.
In his time with R&S, Aaron’s greatest challenges have been navigating the specifics of his role without a finance and accounting mentor to offer much guidance. Though he has had to figure out a lot on his own, he has excelled by organizing tasks with a project management program, a note taking platform, and classifying important emails as needed. When it comes to speaking with customers, most of the conversations occur via email. Being effective and skilled in certain communication situations is key to finding the best solutions, and Aaron has learned to consult with others before passing on news.
When it comes to Aaron’s favorite things at R&S, most of them revolve around the people he works with. Because he spends much of his time in the office, a healthy working environment is important to Aaron. He knows that liking the people you work with isn’t always a given at some companies. But he is truly blessed to work with some of his favorite people, which also means rarely having to deal with any tension in the office. Plus, given the change and variety that comes with the 3PL industry, Aaron enjoys that part of his work as well. That variability can mean that he and his coworkers must pivot quickly, but with the small business feel at R&S, they’re able to make those changes happen.
To mitigate occasional, stressful times such as tax season, Aaron keeps a healthy work/life balance. Maintaining this balance means coming in a little early to enjoy a nice afternoon with his wife and dog, Skipper, and having a hard stop at the end of each workday. When he’s not sailing, playing pickleball, or riding his motorcycle on the weekends, Aaron doesn’t open his emails on Saturday and Sunday. And when enjoying a vacation, he makes sure to stay offline 100% of the time.
Aaron contributes a lot of skill and organization to the day-to-day operations at R&S where his coworkers are grateful for the expertise and laughter he brings to the office each day. With his help, the pallets, shipments, and balance sheets are balanced, and we’re grateful for that.
