Rick Ludwig Email and Phone Number

As Chief Financial Officer at The Hawks Nursery Company, a landscape design, installation and maintenance company, I oversaw the accounting department. I filled the position and did the work of Accounting Manager, Controller and CFO. I leveraged strong accounting, organization, leadership and communication skills to assess the department personnel, records and processes and procedures. I made corrections where necessary and designed and implemented new procedures which improved the efficiency of the department. I was responsible for month-end processing, close and financial statement preparation and analysis I had control of the general ledger accounts, the adjusting entries, accruals, prepaids and account reconciliation. I prepared accurate and complete year-end schedules as requested by outside accounting firm, eliminating the need for on-site fieldwork which reduced their accounting fee.I prepared all necessary documents, schedules and worksheets to apply for the government COVID-19 business relief programs. This resulted in a large Paycheck Protection Program Loan, a SBA Economic Impact Disaster Loan Grant and a SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan, which brought a large cash infusion into the company. I created all the documentation required to apply for forgiveness of the PPP Loan, obtaining forgiveness for the entire PPP Loan balance. The total amount went straight to the bottom line. I formulated the COVID-19 sick pay program, accurately recording and documenting sick pay paid for this program, which resulted in savings of the amount paid. I lead a computer software upgrade and computer conversion completed in one month and handled the annual insurance review and open enrollment.

As President and Treasurer of Atlas Pipe Threading Co, a small manufacturing business, I handled all the matters required to run the business. This included the accounting, tax return preparation, banking, business and health insurance, employee benefits and overall decision making for the corporation. While at Atlas Pipe Threading, we went through several business phases, including expansion, contraction and even closing. I performed all the steps necessary to close the business, including winding down the business operations, negotiating the sale of all the machinery and equipment for a favorable amount and arranging the removal of all other assets. I developed a system which would predict when we would receive payment for each invoice. The system was based on the invoice date and the customer’s payment history over the previous 12 months. Using this system resulted in better payment planning and vastly improved cash management. I also created a raw material inventory tracking file. This file was updated daily for all raw material receipts, withdrawals for shop production and future requirements. This file was used to determine what and when raw materials would need to be ordered. Raw material not needed, or in quantities more than needed, would not be ordered. The result was cost savings and improved inventory control.