Fort Belvoir, Va. –
Join us in recognizing our auditing staff on this International Accounting Day. November 10th is International Accounting day because it’s the date in 1494 when Venetian mathematician Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli published an epic tome that included an in-depth look at bookkeeping practices. This work became the foundation for more essays on accounting, eventually earning de Pacioli the title, “The Father of Accounting.”
Accountants are not the nerdy bean counters who sit in a corner crunching numbers all day. Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Kenny G were all accountants before they hit the right musical notes. Actor Bob Newhart, comedian Eddie Izzard, author John Grisham and boxing champion Chuck Liddell also started as accountants. And let’s not forget Walter Diemer who was an accountant and invented bubble gum back in 1928.
Some individuals start in accounting and know it’s their passion. Auditor MaryAnn Abruzzi-Zarichansky was born to be an auditor. She earned straight A’s in accounting and math in both high school and college. She did an internship in the cost accounting division of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and they were not hiring, however, a coworker said DCAA was hiring auditors. MaryAnn landed a job with DCAA and she has been happy ever since.
We might be biased but we think DCAA accountants are famous in their own right and do things on par with those listed above. Steven Terral from the Agency Compensation Team worked for 21 years in retail and then returned to college earning an accounting degree. His college professor recommended DCAA and since he began with DCAA he has performed many interesting audits, including completing two tours in the Middle East - one in Iraq in 2005 and the other in Kuwait in 2008-2009, where he also got to fly in a C-130 and perform floor checks and material cost audits in Afghanistan. Steve says of his experiences, “All in all, it's been a wonderful ride!”