Bringing balance to business

SEELEY LAKE – Bonnie Johnson, EMBA, CPA learned accounting from her father as a child and made a career out of it. After retiring to Seeley Lake, she has opened The Johnson Management Group, LLC to provide businesses and individuals the resources to better manage their finances and free them up to do what they love. She believes financial information provides a story that is very powerful and an important component to all other aspects of a business.

Johnson was born and raised in California. Her father was a CPA and she started working with him in high school. She loved how accounting fit with her organizational skill set and was like putting the pieces of a puzzle together.

Johnson received her undergraduate degree in accounting from California State University Fullerton, Calif. in 1981. She earned her Masters in Business Administration from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. in 1995.

"Accounting is in my bones. I love it. I think it is fun," said Johnson. "Accounting is more than just a collection of numbers. For me accounting and the financial reports really tell a story about what is going on so it is really an art. It tells you what is happening."

Johnson retired as a Chief Financial Officer after 25 years in the corporate world. While she was still consulting, she evolved into teaching full time. She taught the business curriculum at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif. for 15 years. She loved developing her students and watching them mature through their four years.

Johnson got her CPA license in 2007. When she passed the exam, she was already well established in her career. Rather than taking the normal auditing track, she chose a special track offer in California for accountants in her position.

While Johnson grew up on the beach, she loved the mountains. The Johnson family purchased land in one of the first phases of the Double Arrow Ranch in 1978. While they visited the area frequently and spent their summers in Seeley Lake, they finally built on the property and moved here June 1, 2018 after retiring from teaching.

"I love it up here. This is always where we wanted to retire," said Johnson

Johnson is the sole owner proprietor of The Johnson Management Group, LLC. She is an Executive MBA, with more than 10 years of executive experience. She is also QuickBooks certified.

Johnson's primary experience has been in the service industry and with non-profits. However, she has also worked in the corporate world, with individuals, small business and in the manufacturing industry.

"I have worked in just about every industry you might want. Accounting is accounting," said Johnson. "There are certain nuances to every industry and once you learn those nuances, it is still the same."

In Johnson's strategic management class, she taught the four pillars of an organization: finances, marketing, organization and development. All four pillars must be in balance – thus Johnson's motto "Bringing balance to business."

"They are all equally important," said Johnson. "The financial part tells a story that is powerful and can help you move forward. It also helps to support everything else."

Johnson offers bookkeeping, payroll, taxes, general accounting, business and financial consulting for specific projects or as an ongoing service. She does not do audits, financial planning or personal investment counseling.

"I look at my service as freeing people up to do what they love to do instead of being bogged down with the stuff that they don't particularly care to do," said Johnson. "Not only can I give them those numbers but I can interpret them and help them to use that in managing their business."

The Johnson Management Group, LLC is located in the Lazy Pine Mall, 3027 Highway 83 Suite M, and is open Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment. Johnson will travel to her clients and operates remotely when needed. Call 406-499-2482 or email bonniejohnson@johnsonmanggroup.com to set up an appointment.