When independent accounting contractor JoAnn Agee closed the year-end books for Global Shop Solutions in 2007, she had no intention of going to work full time for the global provider of ERP software for manufacturers. A few months later the company’s Chief Financial Officer invited her to do just that, and this year Agee celebrated her 15th year as the company’s Controller, adding another member to Global Shop Solutions’ growing cadre of employees who have achieved this milestone.
“A skilled financial professional, JoAnn has a unique combination of accounting and people skills,” says Dusty Alexander, President and CEO of Global Shop Solutions.
“Since day one, JoAnn has worked tirelessly to improve internal accounting processes to benefit the company, our employees, and our customers. 15 years later, and she is still pushing us to simplify our accounting processes, improve our accounting acumen and encourage a team of accounting professionals to be their best.”
Dusty Alexander, Global Shop Solutions President & CEO
Prior to joining Global Shop Solutions, Agee worked in a wide array of accounting capacities from accounting clerk to vice president of finance. As the company’s controller, she initially performed all financial functions including payroll, accounts receivable and payable, maintaining the general ledger, and producing the monthly financials and year-end audits.
Over time, Global Shop Solutions’ rapid growth tripled the size of the finance department requiring Agee to relinquish most day-to-day tasks and assume a leadership role, which includes finding ways to make accounting processes quicker and more efficient, hiring new accounting personnel, ensuring her department can accommodate unique customer needs, and creating an environment where her team works together as a cohesive unit.
Agee also excels at changing financial processes in ways that benefit employees throughout the company. Before Agee, employees often had to comb through spreadsheets to find information about customer purchases. Agee eliminated this time-consuming task by making the data safe, secure and available in the company’s internal customer database. Instead of searching through volumes of spreadsheets to find customer information related to each purchase, the general employee base can now access the data in seconds.
“Global Shop Solutions is such a special company and culture. It seems hard to believe I’ve been here 15 years. I love my job, the people I work with, and the family environment. We keep growing and growing and the company remains a very close-knit organization. I can’t imagine working anywhere else but here. Global Shop Solutions is home for me.”
JoAnn Agee, Global Shop Solutions Controller