Employee Highlight: Paul Jacobson

How did you become interested in accounting? How did you break into the industry and land your first job?

I went into college as an accounting major because I always enjoyed math in school, but I stuck with it because I enjoyed the first couple of accounting classes I had. I had an auditing position with the State Board of Accounts right out of college, but soon realized that my initial interest in accounting was more attributed to the bookkeeping side rather than the audit and assurance side.

What would you consider the specializations/most important tools of the trade?

Building clear and organized spreadsheets is huge. It makes inputting data easier and makes them easier to read for coworkers.

What characteristics do you need to be successful in the industry?

I’ll frequently build specific financial reports, so it helps to be a good listener to understand my coworkers’ wants and ask questions to get down to specific pieces if they have a broad idea of what they want but don’t know specifics. Meticulous note taking is incredibly helpful in order to remember how or why I did a certain thing when a coworker has a question about it.

Do you have any interesting hobbies/second jobs/bits of information that make you pop as an individual?

I’ve never really fit the mold of the typical accountant; people frequently assumed I was an English or journalism major in college, most likely because I wrote music reviews for the school’s newspaper (I still do so on occasion). That being said, I’m incredibly interested in music and some of my favorite bands are Anathallo, American Football, My Bloody Valentine and Sufjan Stevens. Outside of that, you can catch me bouldering at Hoosier Heights, cheering in Warren’s Warriors at Pacer games and occasionally performing improv comedy at ComedySportz.