A Q&A with New York Jets Controller Michael J. Minarczyk, NYSSCPA Member

Q. At what point did you decide to become a CPA?

A. At the risk of sounding like a geek, I honestly wanted to become an accountant when I was in the seventh grade. I had a teacher back in grammar school who indicated to me that I had strengths in the area of mathematics. She also indicated that I was very organized. She advised me that there were opportunities in accounting and engineering. I kept that in the back of my mind until high school, where I took two years of accounting principles. My initial thoughts of becoming an accountant were confirmed at that point, and I never looked back.

Q. How long have you been in the profession? What school’s accounting program did you attend?

A. I have been in the profession for 15 years, having graduated with a BS in accounting from St. John’s University, Queens campus, in May of 1987. I received my CPA accreditation in July of 1990 and have since gone back to SJU and completed an MBA in finance in May of 2000.

Q. What were your motivations for wanting to pursue an accounting career? Additionally, what were your expectations, and have they been met?

A. I wanted to pursue a career where I could put myself in the position to succeed. A natural ingredient in the recipe for success usually is a dose of utilizing one’s assets. For myself this meant a career where I could apply my strengths in mathematics, organizational skills, administrative skills and interpersonal skills.

Another motivating force was the choice of a career path that would always be in demand and allow me the opportunity to easily transfer my skill set from one situation to another. Lastly, I wanted a career that would provide the financial rewards commensurate with the time committed. An accounting career has met all of my expectations.

Q. After completing your accounting program, how and where did you get your start? What led you to your current position with the New York Jets?

A. Upon graduation from SJU, I accepted a staff accountant position with Ernst & Whinney’s (which later became Ernst & Young) New York office. I spent three and a half years at Ernst, and worked on various audit clients. My industry experience was varied. I worked on engagements in financial services, insurance, health care, not-for-profit, manufacturing and the one that led to my current position, sports and entertainment. I was the senior auditor for the Jets engagement for two years, which provided me with the opportunity to interact closely with the assistant controller. When the controller of the Jets retired in 1991, the assistant at the Jets was promoted and he offered me his position. As he indicated to me, he’d had two years to interview me.

Q. Please describe your role and responsibilities with the Jets organization.

Controller

Reports to: Chief financial officer

Supervises: Senior accountant, accounts payable coordinator, payroll and human resource administrator

Basic Function: Performs and supervises the accounting and finance functions of the organization.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for maintenance and operation of financial accounting systems, including general ledger, accounts payable, cash management, sales, inventory, fixed assets, payroll, reporting and planning systems.
• Design, implement and maintain systems of internal accounting controls.
• Act as principal accounting manager, with responsibility for accounting entries and preparation of financial statements and related reports.
• Preparation and review of account reconciliations and work papers required in connection with financial reporting.
• Preparation of financial forecasts and special projects with CFO.
• Compile financial results and compare actual performance against financial projections.
• Approval of operating disbursements and petty cash funds.
• Approval of payroll disbursements and issuance of all government reports and year-end payroll tax information to employees (W-2s, 1099s, etc.).
• Review and approval of box office statements prepared by ticket office.
• Custodian of all contracts, including player and non-player employment contracts, leases and personnel files.
• Draft and file sales and use tax returns.
• Assist CFO in all other business matters (human resources, insurance, treasury).

Principal Working Relationships:

• Work closely with executive management team, principally the CFO, to manage the financial resources of the organization and carry out all financial related strategies.
• Act as focal point for external financial reporting and compliance (i.e., government agencies, independent accountants, NFL Office and lending institutions).
• Support all departments with the accounting and financial information necessary to manage operations.

Q. How is your job tied to your accounting degree and background? Did your school’s accounting program provide you with suitable training and knowledge for your career or have you developed most of your skills in the field or through continuing education?

A. A majority of what I do on a daily basis is closely aligned with what I learned back in college. Believe it or not, those T-accounts still come in handy at times. However, my daily tasks do not include only accounting-related activities. Other subject matters covered by my curriculum come into play on a daily basis, whether it be finance on cash management matters, management principles on dealing with my staff, statistics when forecasting, or business law when reviewing a sales contract.

The skill set I have acquired is truly a by-product of my academic and practical experiences. St. John’s provided me with a solid core which I could build upon, but my invaluable experiences from public accounting helped me to take the theories and put them into practical situations. Continuing education is and will always be the proper maintenance that is required to keep the skill set current and in tune with today’s business climate.

Q. Do you believe accounting students have more or fewer career opportunities than when you were in school? Do you believe the financial reporting scandals of the last 12 months will scale back the number of work opportunities that are available to CPAs?

A. Today’s accounting students definitely have more career opportunities than when I was in school. The role of the accounting professional has been re-engineered in recent years. While the traditional tasks were primarily record keeping and reporting, today’s accounting professionals are more involved in the strategic management process. Today they are very much involved in taking the information that has been assembled and analyzing it further to provide management with feedback and to make recommendations to effectively manage operations.

Organizations have begun to tap into a resource that had been traditionally excluded from the decision-making process and this has created opportunities for accountants to expand their roles both in industry as well as in public accounting. While the scandals of the past 12 months have brought our profession under major scrutiny, I believe the profession’s immediate and proactive approach toward restoring confidence in our profession will ultimately lead to even more opportunities for CPAs. One that immediately comes to mind is that of forensic accounting.

Q. How can accounting students determine which niche in the profession is right for them? Are there any steps that students should take prior to entering the field to both prepare them for a career in accounting and help assure that they land a good job?

A. I believe the best approach would be to secure a position in a public accounting firm that will provide students with diverse exposure to as many practice areas as possible. This will allow them to develop a niche which would be based on their personal experiences and observations, rather than making a career choice based solely on academics.

The best advice I could offer toward pursuing a career and landing a good job would be to use one of the intermediate accounting courses as a barometer to gauge your attitude toward becoming an accounting professional. If your attitude toward becoming an accounting professional remains the same or increases after this course, you should continue to work hard in school and build upon this cornerstone. This will lead to job opportunities upon graduation, as many firms will look to one’s academic performance as a basis for granting interviews.

After this, it is important to use some marketing principles and sell yourself to a prospective employer. The next important step would be to gain experience and expose yourself to as many different practice aspects as possible. Along with this step, it is important to focus on passing the CPA exam early on in one’s career, as responsibility levels tend to increase after the entry-level position. Being armed with work experience and the professional accreditation as a CPA will lead to even further opportunity for advancement.

Q. Since entering the profession, what do you believe are some of the defining developments or trends that have had an effect, either positive or negative, on CPAs?

A. The reporting scandals of the past 12 months have definitely brought our profession unprecedented publicity. When I was graduating back in 1987 and telling people I was going to work for one of the “Big Eight,” they often would remark, Which college is that: USC, UCLA? I would then have to go on to explain that Ernst and Whinney was one of the eight largest accounting firms in the world and not a school in some athletic conference. However, today everyone seems to know the names of the large accounting firms and, regrettably, that is due to the events surrounding the Enron and WorldCom reporting irregularities.

While this negative publicity has brought the profession the attention it was not quite looking for, the public has also been educated on how serious the profession views its role in our society. Working closely with our governmental agencies, the state societies of our profession have quickly responded toward restoring the public’s confidence in our profession. To me this speaks volumes about our profession and will help us to rise back up to the role of a “trusted professional.”

Q. How demanding is a career in accounting? Do you still have time for other interests and priorities outside of work?

A. The time commitments are commensurate with that of the status and recognition received by CPAs in the business community. You are viewed as a professional, and as a professional you have a responsibility to see to it that your tasks are completed on time and with accuracy. Accountants are very “calendar conscious,” hence it seems there is always a deadline: month-end, quarter-end and year-end. However, there are enough gaps in these time frames to allow one to devote the proper time to other interests and hobbies.

My accounting career allows me to devote the proper time and attention to my other full-time career, parenting, and provides me with the opportunity to play ice hockey and coach Little League. I truly feel that my career path has assisted me in achieving a proper balance between my personal and professional life.

Q. What are the pros and cons of working in industry as opposed to an accounting firm?

A. Which is a pro and which is a con is purely the opinion of the individual asked, but for myself the differences I see are as follows: 1) Working in industry has allowed me the opportunity to focus all of my attention on one organization and gain an in-depth knowledge of its activities from both the operational and the financial side. In my 12 years at the Jets, I have been exposed to all areas of our business (ticketing, broadcasting, sponsorships, player personnel, etc.). In public accounting you’re working on several engagements a year, and the time constraints and the nature of your work (attestation, audit, review) does not allow for the same level of analysis; more emphasis is placed on the financial side. 2) The workflow in industry seems to be more predicable. The activities of your organization rather than that of your clients dictate your responsibilities and deadlines. 3) The daily interaction among your peers is vastly different. In public you are interacting primarily with accounting and financial personnel with similar training and background, and in industry you are interacting with personnel all along the organizational spectrum.

Q. What do you enjoy most about working with the Jets organization and the NFL? What are some of the fringe benefits to your position?

A. Working with the Jets and being part of an NFL franchise is a unique experience and one that is both professionally and personally rewarding. Personally, my position affords me the opportunity to attend all of the home games with my family. It has instilled a fall Sunday tradition of either going out to the stadium or watching Gang Green on television together. On the professional side, I have a passion for sports, and my position at the Jets allows me the opportunity to interact with people and examine issues on a subject matter that millions of people tune into or read about on a daily basis.

I am very fortunate to be working in the world of professional sports. As a child I would often wonder if I would ever become a part of a pro team, and as the controller for the Jets I have fulfilled that dream. The fans do not see my performance, but for myself and the rest of the front office, we are working toward the same goal as the players on the field, which is to bring a world championship to our organization and all of the fans who support our team.