| We Are the Accountants This is a tribute to all of my coworkers, manager and fellow supervisor in the accounting department. The audit of 2002, completed in conjunction with the largest computer conversion in CHFA's history was the longest and hardest thing we have ever accomplished in the past 23 years that I have been in this department. We worked very long hours and many weekends also. Twelve day stretches with no days off became common and I could feel my own fatigue and saw it in my manager and fellow supervisor along with everyone else involved We gave up time with our families and friends in order to accomplish this. We worked weekends with our kids at the job to reach our goals. I became sick with bronchitis and had to finally take a few days off to try and get some rest to get better. I often wondered if anyone noticed what we were doing or even cared. We often worked with little recognition or feedback, except for criticism as to why this takes so long. I feel that if we were understood better, those questions wouldn't be asked, because they would know how hard this really was. We lost automation in relation to the participation loans with the Alltel conversion, causing us to implement manual processes. Also we have had many problems with the interest accruals being inaccurate due to many different factors. Alltel serves very large clients and is inflexible short of costly customization. We had to implement GASB 34 into our financial statements which was no small task. This has made our financial statements even longer and more time consuming to do. The auditors are with us for five weeks now compared to two in the past. It is very hard for us to get additional duties accomplished during audit time and I believe that the strategic planning comittee should not plan any conversions during the annual audit that effects accounting, because we do not have the time to do justice to the project. Also, all other divisions should be aware of when we are in an audit and respect the fact that certain things may need to wait until after the audit is completed. In conclusion, I commend the effort put out by the accounting department thru the Alltel conversion process and the annual audit of 2002. I would stack our crew up against anyone in CHFA for drive and determination. This was a huge accomplishment and has left us worn out and drained. I write this letter not for me, but for this department to tell them I appreciate everything we accomplished. |