I only come to the IMAGE: Global Vision studio once a week, so every time I walk in I know I may have a very interesting day ahead of me. I don’t think of it as routine because there is always something different to do.
My first question to Regina is always, “Anything new?” So many things can happen on the days I’m working with other clients. That’s why I immediately ask the big question. This prepares me for my email inbox, which will likely include updates and requests from Regina, occasional staff questions, or queries from vendors who may be following up on invoices and contracts.
The emails pretty much tell me what my day will be like. They help me flag priorities. Some things must get done before I leave at the end of the day, so they go to the top of my list. The rest can wait until the end of the day, which can span anywhere from seven to eleven hours.
People often think I just come in and pay bills. But that’s not it; cutting checks is not particularly time-consuming. I engage venders, and retrieve and create reports for Regina, who often needs a look at overall expenses for a project, cash flow and travel expenses.
Recently Regina asked me to create a report after I mentioned that we were paying a lot for telephone and internet services. We had many different vendors providing just a portion of the services we use. It was a tangle and quite expensive. So we analyzed where we might eliminate services and cut costs, or combine various needs and bill only one vendor. With some help from studio member Ningning Lu we finally straightened it all out and found an economical way to move forward that still keep all quality and service concerns, which is the priority.
Keeping accurate records is also an important part of my job. The bookkeeping must be complete and correct because the CPA will rely on me when tax season comes along.
I’ve been doing this type of work for six years and have a B.A. in accounting. It’s kind of funny, because early on in my education my professor said I was good with numbers and should continue with accounting, but I didn’t take that advice. Instead, I went into computer science, and then realized I didn’t enjoy it. So I returned to Cal State/Dominguez Hills to finish my accounting degree.
When Regina hired me about a year ago, there was a lot going on, so my training lasted only one day. “Here’s your laptop, here are the files, this is what happens each week!” But Regina was patient with my many questions, and I felt warmly welcomed and trusted.
We joke that I’m surrounded by a bunch of dreamers and visionaries. But I find it very interesting to be working with people who do something so different than my work. They have an eye for visual details that escape me. Once I watched them analyze some posters they’d created for a client and was amazed that they could catch the smallest glitch. My eyes told me it was perfect and beautiful.
Maybe the artists have learned something, too. Just because I work with numbers doesn’t mean I’m the stereotypical accountant — a boring person with thick glasses, a plastic pen case in a shirt pocket and a calculator. Style is personal. I need to look presentable when I arrive to help clients. And some offices are more conservative than others. But wherever I am I’m must being me.
Casual clothing cannot translate into casual habits, though. Everything I do is important. Any request I get I try to finish that day, if possible. I take my job seriously.
But the creatives around here are serious about what they do too. So maybe we’re not so different after all.
~ Ingrid Hernandez
