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Jim Morrison

CFO
Teknor Apex Company
Pawtucket, RI

 

What do you do when you discover you don’t enjoy chemical engineering? Get a degree in accounting, of course.

Jim Morrison began his collegiate years in chemical engineering, but soon realized he did not enjoy it. Knowing he wanted to be in business and industry, Jim chose to learn the language of business through accounting. “Know the numbers and all else will follow,” he says.

A typical day finds Jim making high-level decisions, attending high-level meetings and discussing credit lines, budget proposals and March Madness. Sometimes, however, Jim believes you have to “put your brain in a different mode.”

For Jim this usually consists of playing the guitar or banjo. Sometimes he goes in a totally different direction, such as turning his company’s service awards into a roasting event. “Historically, this was a boring litany of the person’s jobs while they were at Teknor,” he says. “Now it is respectful and fun for all, including the roastee.”

But he wasn’t always at the top. Jim spent four years in cost accounting at a major plastic plant, before moving into financial analysis and writing speeches for his general manager. He took advantage of opportunities and positions on the Pacific Rim and began working on joint ventures and international finance.

Back in the United States, still stepping up to opportunities, Jim became the CFO of Angus Chemical in Chicago before taking the CFO position at Teknor Apex. “When something needs to be accomplished, we don't wait for other functions to volunteer,” he says. “We step forward. Life is much more interesting that way. And never boring.”

To high school students interested in accounting, Jim says, “Every successful business and economy is based on sound financial strategies. Understanding financial basics and the alternative they present leads to good decisions. The CPA is the leading credential of the financial expert who guides those decisions.”

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