AICPA

Regine Metellus, CPA
CFO, Germantown Settlement (non-profit organization)
Philadelphia, PA

"People describe me as bubbly and outgoing. I never fell into the stereotypical accountant role but I have a business-oriented mind. They'll say 'I don't think of you as an accountant' — in a complimentary way," laughs Regine Metellus.

Regine doesn't have a stereotypical accounting job, either. As CFO for the non-profit Germantown Settlement organization (a United Way agency), she helps run the finances for a charity that empowers over 195,000 elderly and low-to-moderate income residents in Philadelphia.

"Germantown needed someone to organize their records and put in place polices and procedures and help improve the financial reporting." By making the charity's financial operations more efficient, she helps Germantown Settlement put more money back into the community and truly "make a difference."

"We fund and run after-school programs for youth and the elderly. We have programs that help people with budgeting. We assist people with first-time home buying. We have programs for people with AIDS and other health issues." Through seminars, counseling sessions, on-site health care — even Bingo nights — Germantown Settlement makes life better for the entire Philadelphia area.

Regine grew up in New York City, and got the accounting bug when she took her first course in high school. "It was a subject that really made sense to me," she recalls.

While studying at the Boston College School of Management, "I tried marketing, economics, finance and other subjects, but I kept coming back to accounting because, for me, it seemed like a logical first step to understanding business." After graduating from BC in 1989, Regine took the CPA Exam, passing two parts: audit and law. In 1991, she passed the remaining two sections: practice and theory. "I'm glad I did it — but I wouldn't want to have to do it again!"

Her first job was at Price Waterhouse, but after two years Regine decided to take her talent for business to the next level and get her MBA. So she moved to Philadelphia and attended graduate school at Temple.

Upon graduation, Regine was hired by the cable company Comcast. Her accounting skills and business smarts served her well and she quickly ascended the corporate ladder. "I started out in corporate accounting, moved into a management training program, then to operations. I became a business manager for our ad sales operations, and eventually moved up to director of finance."

"I loved Comcast. It was a very fun environment. But at the end of the day, whether people had cable service or not wasn't really going to make a difference."

Regine had done some charity work in her spare time while living in Philadelphia. And she thought it would be nice to use her professional skills to contribute to the community, so she began looking for work in the non-profit sector.

"At Germantown, what's most rewarding for me is when a donor gains comfort and feels assurance in the information I'm providing to them, then decides to continue funding us or even donate more. I know that's something that goes right back into the community."

Accounting, Regine says, is a great base for business no matter what you plan to do in life. "You can start with accounting, find that you love it, and stay there. Or if you decide it's not for you, your accounting background puts you in a great position to move into other things."