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3 big reasons why I love the RoseRyan culture

You know you’ve found the right job when the moment you show up, it feels like home. There’s none of the usual butterflies swirling around the belly or awkward handshakes. That was my experience when I interviewed with RoseRyan over two years ago.

Talent Manager Michelle Hickam and I clicked right away (as do most people who talk to the always friendly Michelle), and later, when I went to the Newark office to interview, I had a similar experience with everyone I met. Everyone was so easy to talk to. They were all strangers but I instantly felt like I was catching up with old friends. Even now, as time has passed and I spend most of time away from the office with clients, that connectedness is still alive.

Here’s why it works: RoseRyan has the kind of business environment I haven’t experienced elsewhere. It’s not forced or fake. The talk is open, honest and down to earth, and there’s a thoughtfulness in what everyone does. We’re all practical folks who are kind, respectful and considerate in all that we do. These are my top 3 reasons why I’m loving this firm’s culture:

1. It’s supportive: You won’t find any bloated egos around here. At RoseRyan, we have a distinct culture of helpfulness. If one of us needs a second opinion on a technical issue, we have a whole group of people who will help us out—fast. Our clients know when they hire one of us, we have a supportive group of knowledgeable, savvy experts available as backup.

2. It’s flexible: This is a big reason I love working here. I’m a full-time consultant (some of my teammates work part-time hours) with a handful of clients. In our field of work, it’s tough to get a predictable schedule. At RoseRyan, however, I can plan my life around my calendar, knowing that I’ll always be busy toward the end of every month.

3. It has values that match my own: Another reason RoseRyan has clicked for me is our shared common values. We defined our values (Trustworthy, Excel, Advocate and Team) that people around here believe in and actually live by. I was amazed to receive our TrEAT Award in 2014. It’s our highest honor for living our values. Honestly, I want to nominate everyone I work with because I think we all are trustworthy in our work, we excel at what we do, we advocate for our firm and our clients, and we are team players. It’s why I’m sticking around.

RoseRyan is a unique and stimulating workplace, where collaboration and camaraderie are made possible even though we’re not physically working with each other every day. Does it sound like your kind of place? Michelle is on the hunt for seasoned pros skilled in finance and accounting who will appreciate being a part of tight-knit team and all that we have to offer. Check out our current positions here.

We’re always on the lookout for top talent—full-time and part-time. So if you like what we’re about—and you have the right stuff—contact Michelle Hickam or call her at 510.456.3056 x134.

RoseRyan consultant Jacqueline Bray is our 2014 TrEAT Award winner. She’s often on the go with emerging-growth clients, helping them with general bookkeeping and accounting.

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Super Bowl 50: A kickoff to remember

We had a fantastic year in 2015 and were looking for ways to thank our loyal clients and partners. Super Bowl 50 coming to town provided the spectacular backdrop to bring us all together (even if our beloved 49ers didn’t make it to the big game!).

A week before the Super Bowl, RoseRyan hosted a joyful mix of clients, friends and partners for a warm-up party at the Quadrus complex in Menlo Park. The event featured fine wines, tasty appetizers and some amazing giveaways, including two free Super Bowl tickets. The suspense was palpable.

Congratulations to our winners and to the Denver Broncos!

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Get ready: FASB is dumping some big items on your to-do list

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has a bunch of resolutions that affect many companies. The board is offloading some of their weightier projects that have taken up a lot of time (several years!) on their docket.

Fortunately, they are giving financial statement preparers a lot of time to come to terms with the changes ahead, providing a couple of years to implement new standards for lease accounting and the classification and measurement of financial instruments.

The most highly anticipated one—the new leasing standard—will result in some companies looking more leveraged on their balance sheets, starting with their 2019 financial reports (privately held companies get an extra year). Companies that lease any property and equipment for one year or more will be impacted. This will be a really big deal.

In the works for a decade (the SEC called for a revamped standard in 2005), the new leasing rule created a rift during the ongoing convergence effort between FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board, leading the two boards to come out with two different standards. Call it a divergence if you will.

The IASB recently released their final standards and the FASB’s is expected this quarter. Companies will appear to be burdened by more debt than they do now, as disclosing leases only in footnotes will no longer be acceptable under GAAP. Studies estimate that the changes will raise the reported liabilities of U.S. public companies by $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion.

It is expected that the new rule will take more effort to put in place than the new revenue recognition standard (and that’s saying something). Consider that every lease must be reviewed with assumptions updated each reporting period. Under the new guidance, lessees will be required to present right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet.

FASB has passed down a couple of other big agenda items when it released its rules concerning financial instruments last month. Although not in the works as long as the pending changes to lease accounting, this project was also divisive for FASB and IASB. For FASB’s part, the board will require companies to follow new rules on classifying and measuring financial instruments in 2018 and financial instrument impairment in 2019.

FASB’s standard for how to classify and measure financial instruments will be relevant to most companies, in particular those that have equity method investments that are not currently measured at fair value. Current fair value measurements and disclosures can be confusing to investors, and the new rules are intended to simplify things. Companies can adopt parts of the standard early if they wish.

As for the new revenue recognition standard, the Joint Transition Resource Group had its last scheduled meeting in Q4 2015 and will reconvene if new issues arise around implementation of the new rule. The FASB is expected to finalize proposed amendments to the standard this quarter. So the rules are settling, and there is no more reason to delay your implementation efforts. You are already in the first fiscal year that will be effected by the new standard when you implement in 2018.

FASB’s agenda will appear a bit thinner by the second quarter of 2016, while yours has grown. Let the fun of implementation begin!

Diana Gilbert has been a member of the RoseRyan dream team since 2008 with almost 30 years of professional experience. Frequently tapped for her insights by Compliance Week, Diana excels at technical accounting, revenue recognition, SOX/internal controls, business systems and process improvements.

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Jazzed for the year ahead: CEO reflects on why

When times are good in the Bay Area as they have been generally over the past year, there’s energy in the air. We feel it when we’re working with our clients, and we are feeling it within RoseRyan as well.

We are proud to share some notable achievements in recent months. We ended 2015 blowing past our revenue and our profitability goals, adding many new clients. This was due in part by our continuing expansion in San Francisco, where things are booming and companies on the fast track are turning to us for sage finance advice and to fill the gaps of their resource-strapped teams.

Our proudest moment last year was feeling like we’re getting somewhere in the talent war. It’s tough out here, competition is fierce, but we managed to increase our headcount by 23 percent. Wow. Our current employees raved about us in a confidential survey and earned us a spot on the Top 100 Workplaces list by the Bay Area News Group. And five all-star former employees returned home this summer after spending some time fine-tuning their skills in the corporate world. We’ve warmly dubbed them the “Boomerang Bunch” and are happy to have them back.

A big attraction to RoseRyan, we’ve found, is the fact our culture is so vibrant and real. The four key values that guide our work are very real: a true teamwork approach, being trustworthy, advocating for our clients and the firm, and focusing on excellence in all that we do. Our culture has become a differentiating factor when we look for job candidates and make our case to potential clients. People who work with us like to know they will be in good hands, with collaborative folks who give their all to every project.

While we have successes to report at the start of 2016, there is always room for improvement. These are just three of the many resolutions on our plate this year.

Keep learning: RoseRyan gurus thrive on a challenge and love to stock up on their expertise. It’s one of the reasons people come here—to work on a range of client experiences that keep them engaged and stimulated, and on top of their game.

Within the firm, we have a variety of ways to keep the mental juices flowing, providing opportunities for our consultants to freely share information and tips they pick up in the field. Part of this is due to our camaraderie-focused culture with an emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. We also provide classes, workshops and tools for growth, with access to our Technical Accounting Group, which helps both our clients and our employees stay up-to-date on the latest accounting changes and interpretations.

We expect all our consultants to spend a certain number of hours each year on learning and developing not only their technical skills but their soft skills as well. On that note, we are launching a new internal program, Survive & Thrive, to share best practices in the field and the innerworkings of our firm. It’ll also help us onramp new employees into the fold.

Make new friends: Speaking of new employees, we expect to keep hiring in the months ahead. We are looking for stellar finance aces to join our strong team of “A” players. (If you have top accounting chops and operational finance experience to match, Michelle Hickam, our talent manager, would love to connect with you at [email protected].)

We also plan to add to the stable of fast-moving companies we work with in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, continuing to focus on the technology and life sciences field. Every new client has an intriguing financial challenge, and we’re fascinated to fix the next one.

Be open to change: This wonderful firm I co-founded is getting older in age (22 years and counting) and continues to evolve and change. The world around us is shifting at rapid velocity, and we need to move quickly to remain ahead.

One of the changes we have been seeing is the increased acceptance and demand for remote workers. Some job candidates place high on their priority list, for example, the flexibility to work both on site and off site. It minimizes long commutes, helps a family situation or allows a guru to work on a great engagement with a great company that happens to be several hours away from home.

We want to give our clients access to smart minds and excellent resources in finance no matter where they are located. Let’s say we have access to a brilliant finance mind with a particular expertise who is living four states away. We’ll take it! In some cases our clients have been amenable to remote work situations and have embraced it. We will continue to explore the possibilities, including the latest technologies that make it easier (we can thank our tech-savvy clients for that).

Changes and progress all around—it’s an exciting time. We are propelling into 2016 with a renewed sense of purpose and momentum. More than two decades into this fascinating firm, we are really hitting our stride, and I look forward to everything that’s in store for us this year.

Kathy Ryan is the CEO and CFO of RoseRyan. Since co-founding the firm in 1993, she has served as interim CFO at more than 50 companies. She was honored by the San Francisco Business Times in 2015 as one of the most influential women in Bay Area business.

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Drum roll for Diana Gilbert, winner of RoseRyan’s coveted TrEAT Award

Senior finance pro Diana Gilbert is the latest recipient of the RoseRyan TrEAT Award, which honors the guru who best exemplifies our firm’s values (Trustworthy, Excel, Advocate and Team). Given out only once a year, it is the highest honor we award an individual.

And it is especially meaningful this time around, as we marked the fifth-year anniversary of our TrEAT Award and all that it signifies. Our values are a core piece of our overall culture, driving what we do, who we hire, how we perform and how our finance dream team is perceived in the marketplace. Throughout the year, our consultants and the management team submit noteworthy ways the RoseRyan gurus have practiced our values, either within the firm or outside while working with clients or networking at a local event.

Our TrEAT values have helped us form a supportive culture made up of people who can rely on one another, always do their best, look out for each other and are team players in every situation. Naturally supportive of others and giving of her time and expertise, Diana is very deserving of this honor.

“Our award recipient does it all,” RoseRyan CEO Kathy Ryan said at our holiday party just before revealing Diana’s name. “She is active in her professional network, she actively participates in social media and media outreach, she supports our sales team, she interviews job candidates, and oh yeah—our clients love her, too!”

Diana’s TrEAT prize is a unique copper enamelware bowl, perfect for holding some special treats or admiring on its own.

The past year has been a significant one for Diana as it was her first full year as head of our Technical Accounting Group (TAG). This means she’s our go-to person for the toughest accounting quandaries and updates on changes underway by standard-setters. Her insights and interpretation are valued by clients as well as reporters—she has been quoted, for example, by Compliance Week for her views on the new revenue recognition rule.

Several of Diana’s peers nominated her for the TrEAT Award, noting that she “does a great job mentoring, being approachable and coaching others.” She was repeatedly recognized by her colleagues for coming through with a helping hand over the past year even when deadlines and her own schedule were tight. She also humbly shares the spotlight with her fellow TAG team members, giving them moments to shine during presentations, for example.

“It is truly an honor to receive the TrEAT Award,” said Diana, who brought her mix of public accounting and operational finance experience to RoseRyan over eight years ago. “Feeling proud of the work that I do and being part of such a great firm is made possible because of my equally ‘TrEATworthy’ colleagues.”

One of her nominations came from a new employee who benefited from Diana showing him the ropes. He called her “simply awesome.” We totally agree.

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How to best manage a finance project with several consulting firms involved

Naturally, at some point, a company will yell out a widespread call for “help!” Faced with a complex project or a tricky transaction, they will need to rely on outside experts and consultants who can get them through it. Companies generally don’t have round-the-clock full-timers who can fill every need that pops up.

The call for assistance may require more than one resource, such as legal expertise, an audit firm or consultants, who can dig into a complex technical accounting matter (like, ahem, RoseRyan). When managing multiple firms on a special project, it helps to consciously build good relationships from the get-go. The service providers can mutually benefit and so can you. I noticed this firsthand during a recent engagement with one of our enterprise clients.

I can’t speak for other service providers, but I have found that teamwork during these projects is truly powerful. It can require a conscious effort to work well together, which in the end can result in better efficiencies and superior results for the client than otherwise may have occurred.

1. Prepare for the unexpected. I was recently working on an ongoing fixed assets project that involved very manual processes. Then everything changed. The client announced a big structural move that put all hands on deck and all milestones on super-crunch mode. Tight deadlines were immediately established. Everything became time sensitive.

When you’re overseeing a big finance project involving multiple people from different firms, whether the team is onsite temporarily or you’re dealing with full-time staff, everyone will look to you—you set the tone. When you’re prepared for potential issues, you’re more likely to be calm when there is a shift in strategy and you can get everyone focused on what they need to do next.

2. Request everyone document new processes. This takes some up-front work but can be a big time saver in the long run. New processes get developed as the team works with managers and other employees, and those new processes should be documented in detail and with illustrations. This was a common practice during the work we were doing and saved us whenever we need to get a new team member up to speed. When everyone has a point of reference, double work can be avoided and so can redundant discussions.

3. Encourage teamwork. When you have a mix of talent from different firms, you’re getting the best of everyone—their particular specialties all at once. You’re also creating a scenario where the people involved may not instinctively act and behave like a team. By letting everyone know you expect them to work closely with each other, keeping everyone and you in the loop, you’ll create a team even if your time together is fairly brief.

Sometimes this can be as simple as setting up a respectful atmosphere and treating everyone like a cohesive unit with multiple people on your status emails as well as regular group meetings. It’s more efficient when everyone is on the same page, and you benefit by getting a coordinated effort by your business partners.

At the beginning of one of the projects we did for this enterprise client, a RoseRyan team member identified a way to automate a process, and she shared that knowledge with the entire team. She could have kept the information to herself and let others on the team try to figure it out for themselves, but that would have slowed things down. The greater good (the end results, efficiencies and project success) should rule the day, not personal agendas or letting one service provider look better than another.

On this project, we heard from the client afterward that we all made a great team. We had “a perfect combination,” according to the client, of experienced consultants from RoseRyan who supported and trained the more junior-level team members from another firm.

The result: The client’s budget stayed on track, we met the deadlines, and the formation of a great team won us great trust all around. We’re team players through and through.

As one of RoseRyan’s finance aces, Susan Tan specializes in general accounting, consolidation, FP&A and financial modeling. She has been with us since 2010.

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