Rullman accounting prowess starts with penny pinching

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Barb Rullman started out her accounting career in a different place than where she is today.

After six years of working in public accounting, she was looking for something different.

“I worked in the client services department for a CPA firm and loved my job, but as much as I enjoyed the work tax seasons get long and I was ready to make a change,” Rullman said.

Her decision to find a job led her to Bell, Moore & Richter in Madison, where she has worked as the firm’s accountant for the past 27 years.

“I was hired to internalize accounting functions at the firm that were previously outsourced. Even after all these year, I still enjoy what I do and no two days are the same,” Rullman said.

Her duties in the firm’s business office include posting and balancing all daily cash receipts, balancing and processing accounting activity, and researching and resolving all questions pertaining to check and cash receipt activity. Rullman performs these tasks daily with a high degree of accuracy, productivity and attention to detail, even in the most hectic and high volume times of the year.

Throughout Barb’s time at BMR, she has contributed heavily toward the success of their team.

“Barb is indispensable to the firm. Most our clients are in the insurance defense field, and many insurance companies have complex payment systems that they like to tweak every few years. Barb is an expert at navigating this and explaining the client’s intricate billing requirements to the attorneys, and making sure the firm gets paid. We literally could not function without her,” said Sheila Sullivan, a shareholder at BMR.

Her resourcefulness and focus on problem solving have been recognized by the firm’s attorneys, clients and vendors. She is constantly on the lookout for ways to reduce spending.

“For example, she reuses envelopes for financial reports to the members of the Board of Directors. These come in envelopes labeled ‘Return to Barb.’ She is so conscientious about penny pinching that she asks us to give back the envelopes so she can reuse them month after month. I have been getting my reports in the same envelope for eight years,” Sullivan said.

Even after two decades of working at BMR, Rullman is glad she decided to take her career in a different direction all those years ago.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized for doing what I do each and every day, which is a testament that everything is running smoothly. It takes many talented professionals to support a successful law firm, and I am thrilled that I am a part of it” Rullman said.