Jody Decker
PARTNER
Present Position
- Partner
Education
- B.S. in Business Administration/Accounting from Wayne State College
Certifications & Designations
- Certified Public Accountant
- Peer Reviewer
Specialties
- Auditing of not-for-profits, employee benefit plans, and insurance and construction companies
- Tax preparation for businesses and individuals
- Small business consulting
Professional Involvement
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Nebraska Society of Certified Public Accountants
Charitable Involvement
- Make-a-Wish Foundation of Nebraska – Wish Committee member and Co-Coordinator of wish album volunteer group
What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?
I love being the mom of 2 daughters. Their sports interests have become my summertime life full of travel, sunshine, and usually warmer weather. One other interest that I indulge in on occasion is scrapbooking. I am way behind on my girls’ albums, but I love living in the moment while they’re still at home, rather than living to catch up on albums.
What is your background?
My parents are both originally from Nebraska, but we moved to Northern Minnesota (Detroit Lakes) when I was very young. In Minnesota, my family made life-long friends with another family (originally from Nebraska themselves) with which we shared so many life events – to this day, they are still our besties! We moved back to Nebraska when I was 14, and I graduated from Norfolk High School. Right out of college I joined a public accounting firm in Sioux City, IA, but after getting married a year and a half later, my husband and I decided we wanted to relocate to either Lincoln or Omaha. I found a job first in Omaha, so we moved to Omaha. I worked with McDermott & Miller, P.C. (M&M) in Omaha for 22 years starting as a staff accountant and became a shareholder in 2013. I was with M&M until they merged with Lutz & Company, P.C. in 2017, and was a shareholder at Lutz prior to joining BMG as a partner in August 2019. There are so many people who have impacted my life in such positive ways, but I think the overall things that I have taken away from each one of those individuals is to enjoy what you do, take life in stride when difficult moments arise, cherish the amazing moments and accomplishments, and be the kind of friend to others that you desire to have yourself.
What makes you excited to come to work every day?
I love what I do…every day! I work on different client projects constantly, some of which are the same year-to-year, some of which are similar client to client, but all of which have some unique flair to them on a regular basis. I love to help clients solve problems when they might arise, and in conjunction with problem-solving, figure out how to avoid the same types of issues or problems going forward.
What are the values that drive you?
The primary values that drive me in both my professional and personal life are commitment, honesty, and caring. Even though we all have lives outside of work that need to be balanced, I am committed to performing the work for my clients that they are expecting, in a timeframe that they would expect, and in a manner that makes them feel as if they received something more than just a finished tax return or audited financial statement. If I am hard-pressed to meet any of these client expectations, I am always honest with them as to what happened and try not to make excuses. I truly care about my clients, their goals, and their families, even if I am only able to get an update annually during busy season.
What are your credentials/past experience for working in your position?
Working in my very first accounting position after college, I was obviously one of the youngest on staff, learning everything from the ground up. My manager was 10-15 years older than me at the time, but I could ask as many questions as I wanted or needed to ask, and he always made time to answer my questions while never making me feel stupid for asking any of them. I have bragged to others about the training I had from the start of my career, and I absolutely keep that in mind when I sit down with the younger or newer staff to make a specific effort to train them in that same fashion. I want to be approachable, and I want to share with others what I have learned over the years to help them grow themselves.