When asked if she has enjoyed her 12 years at Mercury Aviation, Shirley Olsen is quick to say “Oh my yes … I’ve never looked back. By coming to work here, I was able to restore my work-life balance.”

As the Accounting Manager, Shirley’s days are full. She processes accounts payable for several Mercury divisions: Mercury Aviation, Jupiter, and Mercury Americas. This includes wire, check, and ACH payments. She starts her day getting wires out as early as she can in the morning, confirming that all approvals have been made and all account details are correct. Once a month she handles the accruals and month end closing for Jupiter and Mercury Americas, which includes reconciliation of G/L accounts with Controller Kathy Caplinger.

She also handles cargo claims for Mercury Americas, which means responding to those making the claim, following up by researching the claim, and letting people know what the liability is and her recommendation for settling the claim. Lastly, she handles fixed assets for all Mercury companies; maintaining and updating the assets database.

“I have to be on top of a lot of detail, and it all keeps me very busy,” says Shirley.

But she’s quick to note that even with all of the typical day’s work, she enjoys more work-life balance than at her previous job of 31 years. She came to Mercury when her boss at the time was recruited to work there. Shirley didn’t know what that would mean for her, so she asked if there was a possible position for her. There was and Shirley followed her boss to Mercury in 2011.

“I love working here, everyone is so professional and there’s excellent communication. It’s a family.”

In her spare time, Shirley enjoys cooking for her family and trying new recipes. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and her beloved rescue ‘pups’ and working out at her swim aerobics class four times a week.