- One word to describe yourself: Loyal
- Alma mater: University of San Diego
- Favorite hobby(ies): I also enjoy golfing with family — I'm terrible, but I still love it. Weekends are spent watching my kids play soccer, baseball and basketball. I am also a huge Huskers [Nebraska], Irish [Notre Dame] (by marriage), Hoyas [Georgetown], and most recently, a Vegas Golden Knights fan.
- Fun fact about yourself: I have a deaf cousin, so I started learning American Sign Language when I was 6. I am a little rusty these days, but at one point I was fluent.
After only 12 years since joining MTS as an entry-level staff accountant, Erin Dunn is now the agency’s controller, which is one of the most important positions at any company where every dollar counts.
She accepted the promotion to become the agency’s controller in 2013, where she advises the chief financial officer and chief executive officer on financial matters related to MTS. She leads a department of 13 professionals within accounting and payroll and is responsible for management and oversight of all financial transactions of a $400 million organization and executing an employee payroll platform for 2,300 people, totaling $135 million in annual payments. She also manages the agency’s $100 million treasury and is the primary liaison to the MTS Board of Directors and Audit Subcommittee to ensure complete visibility into the agency’s financial condition.
She is responsible for ensuring all of MTS’ financial records are conducted within governmental standards, as well as appropriate accounting principles. She spearheads the agency’s comprehensive annual financial report and prepares MTS for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board updates and General Accepted Accounting Principles compliance. She reports to and advises the MTS’ Audit Oversight Committee on the status of annual audits and regulatory requirements and supervises six separate required external audits annually
Dunn led the agency’s implementation in 2016 to ERP system. The ERP implementation was a multi-million dollar consolidation of three separate inventory, financial and data tracking systems. Through her leadership, this project was completed on time and under budget, and MTS can now successfully manage with one system: 300,000 inventory items valued in excess of $17 million located across three different warehouses; 22,000 annual purchase orders and contracts; $2 billion of MTS assets; and the administration of all MTS federal, state and local grants for greater visibility and compliance.
“I love how dynamic my position is, it keeps me on my toes. Somedays I will be in our ERP system the entire day crunching numbers and other days I might be out in the field testing the fare collection system. I love how it allows me to work with individuals throughout the agency and really appreciate the efforts of all departments.”
“We have a very ambitious yet lean management team, so managing and prioritizing our time and resources to meet agency goals is a constant challenge.”
“[The accomplishment I am most proud of is that] MTS has received the GFOA Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting, the highest award a government agency can receive, for all 12 years I have been at MTS.”
“Relationships, both internal and external, are vital for success. Your impact will be greater with a strong team supporting you.”
