45 BEACON: MEET THE AMS

ANNEMARIE MURPHY

Assistant Controller

When Annemarie Murphy returned from Ireland to Boston due to the high unemployment rate at the time, her plan was to work in the United States for a few years. That was in 1988. After finding her ideal position of working in a small accounting office, she has remained at AMS since her arrival.

"I didn't think that I would stay here," Annemarie explains. "But when I was provided with this position, I found it difficult to give up and have stayed ever since."

Annemarie attended secondary school and the Regional Technical College in Galway, Ireland, for business studies, majoring in accounting, from 1982 to 1986. After school she worked for a nonprofit association, the Gahvay Association for the Mentally Handicapped, doing accounts payable. Although the job gave her some hands-on training, she had the desire to expand into all fields of accounting and bookkeeping.

"I wanted to get involved in all aspects of accounting on a day to day basis," Annemarie says. "The position at AMS was appealing because I would be able to utilize my education in financial accounting, auditing, and business education."

Annemarie, who works closely with AMS Controller Barry Mohan, is responsible tor financial reports and supervises a small staff. She is in charge of the general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank reconciliations, and payroll. Annemarie also oversees monthly and yearly financial reporting and prepares income statements and balance sheets.

"Because of the size of our department, I'm able to be intimately involved in all aspects of this job," she says. "I've always loved math and working with numbers and this position gives me the opportunity to do so daily. I feel this opportunity to multitask and work closely with a small group of people is important to the overall operations at AMS."

Every year at the AMS Annual Meeting, Annemarie gets a chance to venture outside of the Accounting Department into other aspects of AMS operations. Working with the Meetings Department, she typically helps at the registration desk. With the limited exposure to AMS members in her department, Annemarie finds it interesting to meet the community face to face. She also enjoys traveling to a new city each year. When possible, Annemarie and her family travel back home to Galway.

"I do miss Ireland," she admits, "but the opportunities I've been provided here, particularly at AMS, have made it more than worth my while to stay."

-RACHEL S. THOMAS-MEDWID