Profitable Expectations: An Accountant Rising to the Challenge

by Douglas Hicks

THE CEO WANTED A CONTROLLER TO BE MORE THAN JUST AN ACCOUNTANT. WOULD SHE BE ABLE TO MEET THOSE EXPECTATIONS? After three years on the job, Marcella was comfortable and confident in her role as controller of PlumbCo, a $20 million manufacturer and distributor of plumbing products. That all changed, however, when a new CEO arrived and she found that his view of a financial executive’s role was dramatically different than that of her previous boss. He expected her to not only be a highly effective accountant, but also a dynamic, value-adding member of PlumbCo’s management team. Could she move beyond the “controller” stereotype and become a true management accountant, not just a “bean counter?" Her financial accounting background had not prepared her for such a role, but a chance meeting with an elderly, one-armed mentor, known simply as “the Major,” helped her escape conventional thinking and embark on an adventure that took her into all aspects of PlumbCo’s business. What obstacles will she face? What solutions will she develop? Will she see above and beyond an accountant’s conventional thinking, rise to the occasion, and meet the CEO’s expectations? And what will it take for her to make this transformation?

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 25, 2020

Reviews

[Spencer Schultze · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was far and away the tackiest of business fables that I have read, yet it achieved it’s purpose of simply and effectively communicating common pitfalls of traditional accounting frameworks and the key inputs into a meaningful financial model.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to The Phoenix Project, but instead of DevOps, it’s accounting, and instead of following an employee named Bill, we’re following Marcella. The prose could be tightened, but the narrative form makes otherwise droll material digestible. It was informative and quick read about cost accounting.