Nigel Andrews
Accounting Manager
Finance Department

What are the three job elements you focus on the most (your primary responsibilities)?
I’m the accounting manager here at APTA. My primary responsibilities center around:

* Maintaining efficiency in the cash receipts area, i.e., ensuring that all types of funds (cash, credit cards, or wire transfers) we receive on a daily basis are recorded in our database in a timely fashion.

* Supervising APTA’s multi-state payroll functions to ensure that the payroll is processed accurately and on time. Most members of the APTA staff live in Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia, but some maintain residency in other states.

* Handling the accounting side of APTA’s membership dues, registration fees, and subscriptions by ensuring that our member and subscriber payment records are accurately maintained in our database.

Do you have direct contact with APTA members? If so, please talk about the two most recent times you’ve helped out a member.
In my current position, I don’t often have direct contact with members, but whenever I do, it is always a pleasant experience.

For instance, I recently was in contact with a member who had provided us with incorrect payment information. After playing phone tag, we finally connected, I obtained the payment information, and our conversation switched to the awful weather we were having that day!

On another occasion, a representative of a member organization was having trouble locating her main contact and ended up calling me—because my name is first on the list of our employee directory. Suffice it to say, I located the individual she was trying to reach and provided the names of a few more employees who could also offer assistance with her questions.

Some years ago, when APTA was administering a contract with the Women’s Transportation Seminar, I participated in a meeting in Minneapolis. I worked in registration, which gave me an opportunity to interact with members.

What initiatives, projects, or programs have you worked on at APTA that you have taken particular pride in completing?
Of the many programs I’ve worked on over the years, one specific initiative I’m particularly proud of being a part of what was the former President’s Advisory Committee (PAC), for which I was a staff representative. The committee was responsible for initiating a number of staff benefits, including the very popular compressed work schedule APTA has offered in summer and maternity/paternity leave.

How did you “land” at APTA? How long have you worked here?
I landed at APTA by what some now refer to as the old-fashioned way—the newspaper classifieds! After having worked with other smaller organizations, I was looking for not-for–profit companies that offered interesting and challenging work and APTA fit the bill perfectly. I have been here now for 13 years!

Have you held other jobs in the public transportation industry (besides working at APTA)?
No.

What professional affiliations do you have?
None at present.

Could you tell us something about yourself that might surprise us?
I am a bit of an audiophile! Whenever I get a chance, I love to tinker with different configurations and components in my home theater to achieve optimum sound (if there ever is such a thing!). I especially enjoy jazz and world music.

Make sure you see Nigel Andrews' video, now that you've read this!