Kency is a staff accountant who’s been with JR Merit for two years. This summer, she transitioned from accounts payable processing to taking on staff accountant responsibilities, which includes running reports for the Operations team and seeing how those numbers change depending on what’s happening each week.

“I just love working with numbers,” Kency said. “I've always liked numbers because it's just black and white, and there's always a right answer.”

If you had asked her what she wanted to be when she was little, though staff accountant wouldn’t have made her list. “I wanted to be a nurse practitioner. Right after high school, I was accepted to Concordia College, but found it was just too expensive. So, I decided to go into the military.”

Medical work in the military was very hands-on, and Kency was actively helping with procedures and providing treatments for patients. When she left the service, she continued working in the medical field but found that it didn't spark her interest anymore. “I'm a very social person, and I like that aspect of being able to help people, but it was turning into a lot of paperwork with patient’s charts and helping people get medication but not wanting to come in to see the doctor and have that face-to-face interaction. As much as I thought I would like it, I think the scope of practice that I had in the military versus civilian life was just very different.”

While she figured out her next steps, Kency started helping out at her dad’s construction company, setting up his books before he hired a fulltime accountant. “I got a spark of interest in accounting because I like numbers.”

She took a job at Pacific Lifestyle Homes as an accounts payable specialist and continued to find herself enjoying the work. After some time, she realized the company didn't have many growth opportunities, which was around the time when a JR Merit talent acquisition specialist reached out to her for an interview. “I said, ‘Why not?’ Sometimes it's good to interview to see what's out there. And it turned out that I really liked the company and what they stood for. I feel like I have a lot of opportunities to learn here.”

Kency wanted to stay in the construction business because of her experience with her dad's company, but it is JR Merit’s culture and “Own It” mentality that has her sticking around. “To me, when you're owning a process, it's on you to deliver. The expectations that people set on you, whether it’s a deadline, what the final product looks like, and everything in between. I like the fact that JR Merit trusts employees to own a process and show results. I don't like being micromanaged, and this feels so different from that.”

She’s formed tight-knit connections with the small accounting team and has had fun experiences outside of work that have bonded them. “I like that work environment and culture in a job because we do spend a lot of time together, so you get to know these people probably more than your own family.”

Her favorite memory was last year’s whitewater rafting trip on the Salmon River. “I don't get to meet or interact with a lot of our field staff because they're out in the field, and I'm in the office. We were grouped together on a boat, and by the end of the trip we were all making jokes and having a blast. I know all their names, and they get emails from me, but having that face-to-face interaction and time to bond in a group was great.”

The biggest challenge Kency faces in her role isn’t as thrilling as whitewater rapids, but she doesn’t mind the times when she encounters mundane, repetitive tasks. “Sometimes it's good because it's just a routine, and I have it down, but it can get tedious, and I want something new and challenging. Stepping into this new role as staff accountant has been really fun because I'm learning a lot of new things and taking time to figure out new processes.

“This new role has been a lot more interesting to navigate for me,” Kency said. “I like that reports change depending on what that week looks like. I also really like working with subcontractors and learning about the different projects in the different places we're working.”

She gives a lot of credit for her current career success to her accounting team colleagues and how much they’ve taught her in the past two years.

“They've done it in a way where I’m not just understanding what I'm told, I'm not just given a task to complete, but where I’m getting an explanation about why we do the task, the specific steps, and what we're trying to accomplish by doing it. That training and investment has really helped me understand a greater aspect of accounting."

“I didn’t go to college for accounting, so everything I know I've learned through hands-on teaching and experiences,” Kency reflected. “JR Merit has been really willing to invest in me.”

Kency plans to stick to accounting work and is looking forward to learning more about the project execution aspect of the business through her project accountant role. “There's still a lot of milestones to get there, so for now I’m learning and absorbing as much as they're willing to help me. I'm growing in that direction, and we’ll see if it continues to interest me, or if something else catches my attention.”

When she’s not crunching the numbers, you’ll find Kency outdoors or spending time with her family who live nearby. “I love all things outdoors. I love golfing, cooking, paddleboarding, swimming—put me in a body of water, and I could stay there forever.”