Keeping the financial statements for any company is a critical job, but especially so for a publicly traded firm like Luminex that has to report its finances to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We trust our data to Carrie Prehoda, Manager of Accounting and Stock Plan Administration, who joined the company in 2016. She’s a Certified Public Accountant who earned her master’s degree in accountancy from St. Edward’s University and her bachelor’s from the University of Texas at Austin.
Q: What are your responsibilities at Luminex?
A: As you can probably tell from my title, I have a dual role here. First, I’m responsible for the general ledger and our financial statements — basically consolidating all the transactions that take place day to day into one income statement and balance sheet, which our finance team takes and reports to the SEC. The second role started last year when I took over managing the stock compensation plan, which includes the employee stock purchase program and annual grants.
Q: What did you do before this?
A: I was at Planview, a private software company here in Austin, for nine years. After that, I went into consulting for a bit to bridge the gap between my private company knowledge and my public company knowledge. That let me see a broader range of companies and do things I wasn’t exposed to at Planview.
Q: What drew you to Luminex?
A: Consulting for many clients was getting difficult to juggle, so I was looking to get back to just one company. I was really impressed that Luminex was a life science company that manufactured its own hardware/software and developed its own assays. I knew a couple of people who worked here in the accounting department, and from what I had heard, the processes were in place and running smoothly. It was also a great sign that so many employees had been here for such a long time.
Q: If you could solve any clinical or genetic challenge, what would it be?
A: I would eradicate cancer. I’ve known a couple of people affected by it, including a previous employee who passed away from it. There’s no obvious reason for why it appears or for the speed at which it spreads. The fact that it can affect children also makes it very scary to me.
Q: If you weren’t at Luminex, where would you be?
A: Ever since I was young, I always envisioned myself owning land with a bunch of dogs. As I’ve gotten older, I think it would be really cool to do training and boarding.
Q: What is something about you that no one at Luminex knows?
A: I was commissioned and sworn in as an officer in the Air Force. I was supposed to be a navigator on an AWACS — that’s an airborne warning and control system, or a central communications center up in the air. But shortly before leaving for Officer Training School, one of the doctors discovered they had mismeasured the curvature of my scoliosis and found I was a degree above their maximum. I was medically disqualified a week before I was supposed to start. Things happen for a reason, and now I’m really glad I didn’t go. That experience put me on the immediate path to grad school.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do in Austin on the weekend?
A: My husband and I have two young children, so our weekends tend to revolve around them. We like to go to different parks, the children’s museum, traveling exhibits, etc. My all-time favorite thing to do is in the summer when we take a picnic to the Concerts in the Park. Each Sunday a different section of the Austin Symphony will play outside the Long Center. We take a blanket and food, hang out, and listen — and sometimes dance — to the show.
