Jay M.

Kusler, CPA

Career Objective
To obtain a rewarding position in the field of education where I can utilize my strengths as well as my
education, work and personal experiences.
Education

9/89 - 5/93: Bachelor of Science Degree from Northern State University (NSU), Aberdeen, SD 57401.
Major: Business Administration / Accounting Option
Cumulative GPA: 3.8 / 4.0 scale
7/09 – 12/09: Passed 23 credits towards a teaching certificate at NSU (4.0 GPA)
1/18 – 5/18: Complete my teaching certificate at NSU
5/94: CPA certified

Work Experience

Aberdeen Chrysler Center, Aberdeen, SD 8/13 – 1/18

Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram Automobile Dealership
Office Manager
 Supervise a staff of four office personnel
 Post vehicle sales daily
 Directly responsible for all of the accounts payable duties for the dealership
 Reconcile the Chrysler Corporate Account on a weekly basis which includes incentive payments,
warranty payments, parts charges and a host of other accounting activities
 Reconcile and pay four different credit card accounts for the company (25-30 total individual
credit cards)
 Reconcile daily credit card deposits
 Prepare daily bank deposits
 Prepare dealer trade payments and all related paperwork including processing checks received
from other dealerships
 Post new incoming vehicle deliveries
 Process delivery drivers’ payroll activities on vehicle deliveries
 Record ABRA sales and post into accounting software
 Prepare daily posting for the Detail department work
 Prepare and close customer job tickets for the accessories department
 Close service job tickets as needed
 Assist the front counter personnel as necessary (waiting on customers, answering telephones)
 Assist service personnel with training reservations and travel money
 Process referral payments

Climate Control, Inc., Aberdeen, SD 6/10 – 8/13

HVAC (Heating & Cooling) Contractor
Business Manager
 Directly responsible for all accounting functions including accounts receivable, accounts payable
and payroll
 Compile monthly financial statements of balance sheet and income statement
 Daily cash management including bank and credit card reconciliations
 Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual reports such as the Federal 941 and 940 reports in addition
to multiple state sales tax returns, excise tax, unemployment, Simple IRA and IFTA returns
 Compare and contrast quotes on employee benefit plans and business insurance programs
 File parts and labor warranty claims and tracking claims to ensure payment is received
  Order parts and equipment as needed
 Submit equipment warranty registrations, send those to customers along with other pertinent
paperwork including Federal tax credit and State Property tax credit forms
 Prepare utility usage analysis for customers
 Other miscellaneous duties that include coop advertising reconciliation, quarterly newsletter
preparation, security and maintenance agreement organization and survey card tracking

Molded Fiber Glass, Aberdeen, SD 12/09 – 5/10

Wind Mill Blade Manufacturer
Regional Controller
 Oversaw all accounting functions in Aberdeen, SD and assisted with the accounting process in the
Gainesville, TX plant
 Supervised three accounting personnel and one IT employee
 Reviewed monthly financials for South Dakota and Texas facilities
 Worked directly with production personnel to project future blade output
 Worked closely with the materials manager to ensure inventory levels were acceptable
 Developed, maintained and assisted department managers with their budgets
 Compiled and tracked overall company budget; then compared to actual results
 Reported monthly results to the corporate office in Ashtabula, OH
 Assisted the corporate office with various requests for information

Upper Plains Contracting, Inc., Aberdeen, SD 7/08 – 2/09

Heavy Highway Contractor
Contract Manager
 Responsible for subcontract & purchase order preparation along with follow-up including
miscellaneous forms that go with each of those documents
 Compiled payments received from project owners & paid the subcontractors from those payments
 Processed stockpile payments and tracked to ensure proper payment was made
 Obtained plans for jobs and set up jobs in bidding software
 Prepared change orders and project correspondence
 Assisted Operations personnel as necessary, especially during bidding process

Dakotaland Feeds, LLC, Huron, SD 10/03 – 5/08

$22 Million annual sales from livestock feed production
South Dakota Wheat Growers, Aberdeen, SD 5/07 – 4/08
Grain & Agronomy Cooperative serving North & South Dakota
Heartland Grain Fuels, LP, Aberdeen and Huron, SD 10/03 – 4/07
$56 Million annual sales of ethanol and co-products
Controller (for Heartland & Dakotaland – time split 50/50)
 Supervised one Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable/Payroll Clerk
 Daily cash management and reconciliation for both companies
 Daily corn reconciliation for Heartland including contract maintenance
 Monthly inventory reconciliation for both companies
 Compiled monthly financial statements for both companies including balance sheet, income
statement, cash flows statement, margin analysis, volume analysis and year to year comparisons
 Prepared annual financial budget for both companies, including fixed assets
 Maintained fixed asset listing for both companies
 Responsible for a majority of the human resource functions for both companies including
worker’s compensation functions and completing the OSHA 300 logs on an annual basis
  Recording Secretary for the boards of directors for both companies
 Obtained price quotes on employee benefits and business insurance on an annual basis
 Prepared various monthly/quarterly/semi-annual and annual reports for both companies which
included sales reports, 401(k) and pension plan payroll reports, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco &
Firearms (BATF) reporting, Commodity Credit reporting, Form 2290 Heavy Vehicle Use Tax,
Form 720 Excise Tax and state feed production reports
 Solely responsible for all accounting for Heartland Producers, LLC (group of approximately 330
South Dakota resident investors (primarily farmers) that owned roughly 47% of Heartland Grain
Fuels, LP)
 Primary contact for year-end financial audit and tax return preparation
 Managed all investor relations functions for Heartland Producers, LLC including sales, transfers,
annual meetings as well as all correspondence with investors
 Elected as the regional member on the Board of Directors for the Coop 401(k) Plan
General Accountant (for South Dakota Wheat Growers – time split with Dakotaland 50/50 then 70/30)
 Assisted with a variety of accounting related duties including year-end inventory, acquisition
inventory, agronomy accounts payable reconciliation, month-end budget to actual comparison and
several other miscellaneous duties

Presentation College, Aberdeen, SD 2/03 – 10/03

Non-profit four-year college
Chief Business Officer
 Directly supervised Accounts Payable Clerk, Accounts Receivable Clerk, Director of Financial
Aid, Bookstore Manager and Director of Housekeeping
 Annual budget preparation including fixed assets and adjustments thereof
 Compiled monthly financial statements
 Maintained compliance with Government funding stipulations and donor requests
 Adhered to auditing policies and procedures
 Obtained price quotes and negotiated with vendors
 Arranged five and ten year projections and tracked changes

Cardinal Industries, Aberdeen, SD 10/01 – 2/03

$4 Million annual sales of Plastic and Rubber injection molded products
Controller
 Supervised one Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable Clerk
 Set up system and procedures for data collection on a monthly basis
 Prepared monthly financial statements and performed weekly payroll duties
 Utilized Quickbooks accounting software, with frequent use of Microsoft Excel and some
Microsoft Word
 Computer technical assistance as needed in the office
 Handled most of the human resource duties relating to employee benefits

Principal Financial Group, Aberdeen, SD 2/01 – 10/01

Financial Services Representative
 Sold investment and insurance products to individuals
 Sold employee benefit programs to businesses

Aberdeen American News, Aberdeen, SD 7/97 – 2/01

$9 Million annual sales of newspaper manufacturing
 Chief Financial Officer – (1/99 – 2/01)
 Promoted from Finance Manager to CFO
 Supervised accounting staff of five people (downsized from six)
 Strategic initiatives for 3 to 5 year long range planning, organizing department heads and
conducting reviews of those plans
 Monthly financial statement preparation and reporting thereof to corporate office
 Prepared annual financial budget as well as any changes throughout the year
 Compiled capital project budget and administration of capital project computer system
 Maintained compliance with corporate internal auditing guidelines and procedures
 Extensive use of Microsoft Excel on detailed and complex spreadsheets
 Completed monthly salesperson commissions
Finance Manager – (7/97 – 1/99)
 Supervised accounting staff of five people
 Maintained inventory control and prepared individual product cost analyses
 Primary contact for Oracle accounting software implementation in Aberdeen
 Reported to corporate office in an intranet environment
 Assisted CFO with monthly financial statement preparation and annual budgeting

Computer Skills
Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word & PowerPoint, QuickBooks, Agris, Oracle, MAS 500, ABRA, DIS
(Dealer Information Systems), ADP/CDK Global and HindSite

Activities & Interests

Member of First Baptist Church - Served as a deacon, on the finance committee, in TV production, Sunday
school teacher and AWANA youth group volunteer; Junior Achievement teaching volunteer; Teacher for a Day
volunteer; Volunteer coach for youth soccer, basketball and baseball; Volunteer referee for YMCA basketball
tournaments.

References
References available upon request