Controller, Accounting Manager, Startup

Thomas A. Blitch

Lieutenant Commander, USNR (ret.)

**** ***** **** ** – Jacksonville, FL 32250

904-***-**** (cell) – *********@*****.***

RESUME

STRENGTHS AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

-Communication and presentation skills to corporate officers, committees and Board of Directors.

-Provide support to management and staff across geographic areas.

-Flexibility in addressing client needs. Built and maintained positive long-term relationships with families. Met with client families personally daily.

-Close, active involvement in recruiting new staff and clients.

-Established and maintained effective and successful policies and services.

-Full cycle accounting. Managed cash/merchant deposits, cash management, EFT, A/P, A/R, payroll, budgets, financial statement and analysis, General Ledger, bank reconciliations, fixed assets, depreciation and amortizations, month-end and year-end adjusting entries. Preparation and control of financial reports in accordance with IRS, AICPA and FASB standards.

-Quickbooks Pro Advisor, expert level MS Excel (pivot tables, V- and H- Lookups, complex formulae and links). Familiar with many other software platforms (see below).

-Team Leader for various accounting departments 3-5 clerks and accountants, set goals and expectations, developed and trained members, and achieved many quantifiable successes.

-Formulated analysis reports for upper management use.

-Direct in-house and third-party payroll (ADP, Paycor, Quickbooks payroll, and several others).

-Easy to get along with but seriously devoted to mission accomplishment and attention to detail.

EXPERIENCE

Magellan Christian Academies

Jacksonville, Florida

1999 – Present

Chief Financial Officer

Primary accounting department head responsible for highly successful multi-million-dollar, multi-entity, multi-state childcare and private elementary school companies. Assisted in starting up seven entities from the ground up, including concept planning, real estate search and lease contract negotiations, floor plan design, LLC organization formation, local/state/federal tax accounts, business insurance, equipment acquisitions, web site design, and financing/lease agreements. Purchased student transportation vehicles (buses) and established maintenance schedules. Set up chart of accounts and all IT/communications systems including desktop PCs, servers, copier/printers. Analyzed market conditions and competitors to set effective pricing models. Companies valued several million dollars at time of divestiture. Hands-on responsibility for entire function of accounting department for high-end, multi-million-dollar for-profit, multi-state child development centers and K-8 for-profit private schools, prepared books for third-party CPA tax returns, supervised 4-8 accounting department staff for 6 business independent entities with combined annual revenue of $6 million, thousands of transactions per month, cash and accrual based. 100 employees at any given time. Hands-on transactions of accounting, finance, facilities, risk management and HR departments. Set up and conducted HANDS ON transactions with proprietary school software system including student billings for tuition and other charges, received and posted electronic payments, issued periodic account statements.

Worked closely with internal and external clients including student's families and external agencies for changes in account statuses, charges, credits, adjustments and refunds, and vendors on the AP side, managed collections closely resulting in virtually non-existent AR, managed cash/merchant deposits, cash management, EFT, A/P, A/R, payroll, budgets, financial statement and analysis, General Ledger, bank reconciliations, fixed assets, month-end and year-end adjusting entries.

Negotiated sales of business for substantial capital gain. Implemented efficiencies and quality programs resulting in highest possible sales price.

Analyzed financial status against budgets and made recommendations for course corrections if needed.

K-12 Private Non-Profit School

Paradise Valley, Arizona

2015

Comptroller

Primary accountant for two non-profit campuses (K-8, 10-12)

Fund-raising manager

Grants manager

Hired for one year to close failing school

Other relevant experience

Comptroller for private, non-profit K-12 school

Vice President of Finance for national independent private non-profit early childhood learning multi-site, multi-state school system

Comptroller/Administrator for non-profit K-12 charter schools

Decorated retired US Navy Commander (shipboard officer), Commanding Officer of shore-based training centers, Top Secret clearance (inactive). Subspecialty in training and education. Various shore-based and shipboard training team leader. Extensive travel around the world, working in 22 countries.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Business Administration, Emphasis in Information Systems and Accountancy—National University, San Diego, CA

SOFTWARE EXPERIENCE

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Enterprise

QuickBooks Pro

ProCare Software and other proprietary platforms

Blackbaud

Peachtree

Great Plains

All Microsoft Office Products (advance level)

Various PDF Platforms

SOCIAL/PROFESSIONAL

Member Mensa Society - Members that scored in the top 2 percent of the general population on an accepted standardized intelligence test.

AWARDS

Mayoral Proclamation for achievements and contributions to community.

Numerous military commendation medals and letters.

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