Q&A with LabConnector Lanette Hixon, Vice President, Accounting

What are some of your job responsibilities?

As the Vice President of Accounting, my responsibilities are ensuring that all LabConnect financial activity is recorded in accordance with all financial laws and regulations, developing and maintaining internal accounting controls, developing KPI (Key Performance Indicators) reports, evaluating financial transactions and managing my team of eight accounting professionals.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

My favorite part of my job is mentoring my team; there is nothing I enjoy more than sharing my experience or teaching someone a skill [that] they’ve never been exposed to before. I love to give my team stretch goals to help them develop into the next level, whether it’s directly-related to their professional goals but also with their personal goals. For example, I have members of my team that I’m encouraging to take the CPA exam to expand their skill set. I truly enjoy connecting with [my] team and being a part of their development.

How would you describe the company culture and what do you believe makes it unique?

I would describe the culture as very collaborative. In order for my department to reach its goals, we rely on working very closely with our Project Management team, Project Analysts, Budget Managers and Budget Associates. Since we are fortunate to have such a collaborative culture, I always tell LabConnectors to be proactive about raising their hand to ask questions because their colleagues are always willing to help.

How do you carry out LabConnect’s values in your daily work? Partnership, Excellence, Execution, Forward-Thinking, Collaboration, Accountable, Informed, Nimble.

Execution.

In my role, we live and breathe LabConnect’s value of execution. I need to ensure that despite any challenges, my team and I deliver the expected results such as driving the month-end close process and that our deadlines are met. In order to make sure that our tasks are timely and accurate, I work with my team to ensure that our accounting processes are efficient and productive.

What is one thing colleagues don’t know about you that they would be surprised to find out?

It may come as a surprise to some that I hold professional certifications in two distinct areas. I’m certified as a personal fitness trainer and have even taught kickboxing classes. I also incorporate my professional experience and my passion for mentoring and teaching by being a Dave Ramsey Certified Master Coach, teaching financial literacy classes to middle school students and church groups.