[ HAWAII AT WORK ]
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Accountant left
medicine for mathDebra Arakawa's affinity
for technology has aided her
in her varied careerI have been an accountant for about 25 years now, but it was not what I had intended to be. I wanted a career in the medical field, such as medical technician, veterinarian or something along those lines. However, after struggling with chemistry in college, I realized that medicine was not the path for me.
I started taking accounting classes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and found that I had a knack for facts and figures and organizing them all to make sense. I graduated with an accounting degree from UH and immediately got a job with a local accounting firm where I worked for seven years. I got married along the way, and we had our first child, a daughter. I decided to leave the company just prior to the birth of our son and take temporary work in order to have more time with my family.
One of my temporary positions was an accounting position in a property management company that managed a major downtown office building. I was given the challenge of testing and selecting a computerized property management accounting program, and I guess I did all right, because this temp job became a permanent position. That was where I met my current business partner, Daisy Yamada.
I learned to use my accounting skills in new ways and quickly became familiar with property management terminology. I learned about things like common area expenses, budgeting principles for property management and allocation of expenses for different properties and spaces. The accountant is obviously key to any company's operations, and property management is no different. I found it interesting to use my skills in a different environment.
In 1992, Daisy and I formed a partnership called Property Concepts Group Inc. when we were entrusted with the management of the Waikiki Trade Center. That's where we are today, more than a decade later.
As a result of learning and adapting various computer accounting programs for our company, I have become quite computer-savvy over the years, and am often called on to help out as a techie for others.
I guess my point is that you never know where life's path will lead you, so don't fight it when opportunities outside of your plan present themselves. Venturing off the path may just lead you where you're supposed to be.
"Hawaii at Work" features what people do for a living in their own words. Send submissions to business@starbulletin.com
