By Cassie McClure and Suzanne Michaels
Published in the Las Cruces Bulletin 8/16/19
There are things that money can’t buy, like the extra support provided by Kristi Micander PC CPA (585 S. Valley Drive) while she manages bookkeeping and prepares tax returns for clients. “During the tax season I come in at 5 a.m. to get work done… and I do a lot of visiting with clients,” laughs Micander.
Before she became an accountant, Micander completed an undergraduate degree in psychology. Even today - 3 decades after she opened her accounting office - she still can't shake the habit of sitting with clients and helping them in dark moments, divorces, closing businesses, and avoiding bankruptcies.
Micander points to a quote on her office calendar, “Calm in the midst of the storm.” She’s even calm in the midst of the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) Valley Drive road reconstruction at her front door. The project has had some financial impact on her business, and she had to change her internet provider when previous services were interrupted by the construction.
But overall, Micander is encouraged that clients have continued to come to the office, or have adapted by sending their documents online, and she notes there is light at the end of the road reconstruction project tunnel.
She’s most appreciative of clients who have used her accounting services for decades, and now bring in younger generations. ““I had a client in Deming who passed away at 97,” Micander notes. “Her kids, then grandkids, took over her ranches. Now I’m doing her great grandkid’s returns.”
Even through the lane closures and traffic barricades of the Valley Drive road reconstruction, Micander notes: “I am very pleased that in spite of the inconvenience of the orange barrels, torn up roads and heavy trucks coming and going, our clients, in and around Las Cruces, have continued to use our services and support this business.”
For the most up-to-date information on the Valley Drive road reconstruction project, attend the monthly meetings hosted by NMDOT and ASA Inc., the contractor. Meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of every month from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library at the Roadrunner Room at 200 E. Picacho Avenue.
The NMDOT Valley Drive road reconstruction project is scheduled for completion in early 2020; in the meantime, the City of Las Cruces encourages residents to continue supporting local businesses and stores on Valley Drive. More information on monthly update meetings www.valleydrive.net.
CAPTIONS:
PHOTO 1: Kristi Micander, CPA, is shown at right with accountant Carol Cooper. They, along with accountants Lya Jordan and Margie Chaidez, provide tax and accounting services to generations in Southern New Mexico. Clients know road reconstruction woes make it harder to get there, but their chats with Kristi are worth it.