Ann Martinek, the Centers for Independence’s controller, has served the Milwaukee-based nonprofit agency for 12 years, streamlining processes, reducing expenses and finding new funding sources to ensure that the individuals the organization serves will continue to receive the care they need.
In the past year and a half, Martinek faced financial challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic posed, and she rose to the occasion and was instrumental in securing $4 million in state and federal funds as CFI, like so many other organizations, had unexpected increases in spending and reduced revenue, according to Candace Romano, the Centers for Independence marketing director.
Throughout the pandemic, under Martinek’s guidance, CFI’s accounting team maintained the appropriate level of internal financial control in a remote environment that resulted in a clean annual audit. Controlling costs is always a top priority, and Martinek played a role in reducing spending and improving collection procedures, resulting in improving CFI’s cash-on-hand metric by 16 days since 2019, Romano said.
“Ann has a personable leadership style and a philosophy of building and retaining a talented accounting team,”
Romano said.
