By Camille Wilmes
For our November meeting, we had the pleasure of welcoming four diverse speakers from the Association of Government Accountants: Kristy Bork, Teresa Allen, Nathan Zeigler, and Sarah Burrows. The four-person panel gave the Missouri State students the opportunity to ask question about a career path the many don’t know about. The discussion was led by our very own Director of Professional Programs, Connor Hutchison.
Sarah Burrows was the sole public account of the four speakers. She audits a variety of governmental entities, specifically public schools, for KPM. In her position, Burrows sees a three to four-month period of stagnation and educated us on the appealing retirement options offered through the government. Burrows also told us how in her position she has the opportunity to get to know her clients on a more personal level and enjoys being able to help them in ethical ways. Next we heard from Teresa who highlighted the importance of budgeting at the city level and the importance of paying attention to what is occurring in your local government as these agencies tend to have a more direct effect on you than the national government. The budget for the city of Springfield is $386 million budget which takes about half the year under the direction of two accountants.
Nathan also discussed how our issues relate to the city of Springfield. Some of the benefits to working at this level according to Nathan include job security, benefits, good career options, and a decent work life balance. Kristy Bork, an accountant who spent six years working for BKD, found managerial accounting to be the perfect fit for her. This position offered flexibility and diverse opportunities. Bork now does a fair amount of analysis in her position working at the Springfield-Branson Airport which is operated as an enterprise fund.
Collectively, the chosen speakers gave us honest accounts of the benefits and drawbacks from four unique perspectives. Bork, Allen, Zeigler, and Burrows come from varying backgrounds and helped us explore options many of us were originally unaware of. Missouri State was fortunate to be able to host this event.
