Jen Pfaff is naturally drawn to a mystery.
Sometimes the mystery is financial, like a transaction that disappeared between two reports or a bank reconciliation that refuses to balance.
Sometimes the mystery is mechanical, like an unfamiliar tool, a stubborn piece of equipment or an HVAC system that clearly needs someone to take charge. Either way, Jen is probably interested.
She joined the Total Solutions accounting team four months ago after spending more than 20 years at an auto dealership, most recently as its Assistant Controller. Before that, she worked in real estate and construction.
Altogether, Jen has spent about 30 years in accounting. That is a lot of reconciliations! It is also a lot of opportunities to learn that when numbers don’t line up, the first explanation is not always the right one.
Jen likes to research, ask questions and follow the trail until the full picture appears. She doesn’t just want an account to balance. She wants to know why it didn’t balance in the first place.
After three decades, bank account reconciliations have become second nature. She can spot unusual entries, trace transactions and recognize when something is missing or recorded incorrectly. It is careful work, but it suits her!
Jen has the patience to keep looking and the curiosity to wonder what everyone else may have overlooked. If something doesn’t make sense, Jen is going to keep digging until it does.
That approach works outside accounting too. Around the office, coworkers know Jen is the person to find when something plugs in, takes a battery or produces an impressive amount of noise.
Drills? Sure. Torches? Absolutely. Balloon inflators? Apparently, yes!
Jen enjoys an excuse to use a power tool, which gives the accounting department a useful advantage during any project that requires both financial accuracy and mechanical confidence.
It also explains her answer when she was asked which office inconvenience she would eliminate forever.
Some people chose unnecessary meetings or printer problems. Jen chose the entire HVAC system. She would like it replaced. Immediately.
The office temperature has already affected her hypothetical plan for being trapped at work overnight. She would bring a tablet, a fan because she always sleeps with one, and several blankets because the office gets cold.
Fan and blankets may sound contradictory, but anyone who has worked in an unpredictable office climate understands completely.
Jen has been at Total Solutions for only a few months, but she has already picked up on another important part of the office: there is usually something strange or funny happening.
There are puzzles. There are LEGO projects. There are puppies making appearances. There are elaborate decorations, plenty of snacks and team outings that tend to become stories later.
If Total Solutions were a television series, Jen believes it would have to be a comedy. She would also trade places with President Kristin Berry without much hesitation. Jen would enjoy seeing the company through Kristin’s perspective, attending events, traveling and networking. Still, there is one responsibility that appears to be especially appealing...Kristin controls the company Amazon account! That much purchasing authority in Jen’s hands could be interesting, and we might finally get that new HVAC system!
When the workday is over, Jen trades accounts and power tools for water.
Her perfect day begins by sleeping in and waking up to sunshine, temperatures in the high 80s and low humidity. She recognizes that the humidity request may be unrealistic, but this is a perfect day, so she’s keeping it. Then she’s heading outside with friends.
Maybe they’re boating. Maybe they’re kayaking. Maybe everyone ends up swimming. As long as there is water, sunshine and a little adventure involved, the day is going well. Dinner and a campfire finish it off.
Jen bought her first kayak during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it turned out to be one of those purchases that changes more than expected.
It gave her a new way to explore, stay active and meet people. She has used it frequently every summer since.
She would like more people in the Quad Cities to experience kayaking too, particularly through River Action’s annual Floatzilla event. Each August, around a thousand canoes and kayaks take over the Mississippi for a massive group paddle.
Jen’s review is simple: more paddlers make it more fun!
Her bucket list follows a similar theme. She wants to visit more national parks, see more of the country and take the kind of road trips where the drive is part of the experience. There is a pattern here...Jen likes following a trail.
Sometimes it leads through a complicated account. Sometimes it leads to the correct power tool. Sometimes it leads down the Mississippi River or toward a national park she hasn’t explored yet.
She wants to see where the pieces connect, what is around the next turn and how everything works.
That kind of curiosity is a very good quality in an accountant! It is also a pretty fun quality in a coworker.