USA Funds Staff Profile: Varied Responsibilities, Project Budgeting Hold Appeal

Diane Tiefel first walked into USA Funds^®’ offices as an employee of a temporary staffing agency fulfilling an assignment with the student loan guarantor.

Now, almost two decades later, Tiefel is an employee of USA Funds, not the temp agency — and she’s risen in ranks through the years to become an accounting manager.

“They asked me to stay,” Tiefel recalls, laughing, of USA Funds’ management when she held her temporary position. “Now they can’t get rid of me.”

Tiefel says it’s the variety of her job and her pride in playing a role in USA Funds’ customers’ getting the best products and services that keep her with the company.

As accounting manager, operations, she is responsible for monthly and annual financial reporting to the U.S. Department of Education, managing two members of USA Funds’ operational accounting staff, and reviewing the accuracy of financial information related to guarantor functions. Tiefel also monitors and approves budgeting for USA Funds’ research and development projects.

Her work helps to ensure that USA Funds is providing required financial information to the U.S. Department of Education and other external and internal auditors, and it helps to ensure proper funding for the research and development of new projects.

“I like the continual challenge of my job,” Tiefel says. “No two days are the same, and it’s never boring.”

The focus of Tiefel’s work changes according to accounting cycles. One week she might be entrenched in closing out records for the previous month, but another week her primary focus could switch to other accounting functions such as her responsibilities with research and development.

She’s held her current position since December 2006, but she’s had her research and development finance-related responsibilities for a decade. Prior to becoming accounting manager, Tiefel was a research and development analyst. Her first permanent position with USA Funds was as cash balance specialist, in the processing of payment on defaulted loans.

“Over the years I’ve been able to expand my knowledge base as USA Funds has developed and grown,” Tiefel says.

The Indianapolis native originally planned to pursue a career in computer programming but found that roles in accounting also suited her abilities. Tiefel currently is pursuing a business and accounting degree from the University of Phoenix — an endeavor that takes most of her free time, she says.