The Rat in Ratatouille Comes to Mind
A major disconnect between businesses and their accountants occurs at the bookkeeping level. Everyday business bookkeeping is not often concerned with the kind of financial reporting required to elicit a loan or file a tax return. When an accountant finally touches the records, it may be difficult to parse out which debit or credit fits into which category. As a result, many businesses end up with faulty financials and tax returns not because of an accounting issue itself, but only because of a communication problem.

Lawhorn & Associates set out to eliminate that communication gap when it acquired Bookkeeping Essentials as a division in 2008. Bookkeeping Essentials places small business bookkeeping firmly in the arena it should have been in all along: the accountant’s. Now businesses can find an outsource point for their accounting and (traditionally in-house) bookkeeping under one roof.

Ashleigh Carithers is the face and voice clients most associate with Bookkeeping Essentials. She has been with that company since 2006, before it was acquired by Lawhorn & Associates. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Johnson & Wales University as a chef, and she’s been cooking the books ever since.

Ashleigh has two fantastic daughters, Olivia (6) and Zoe (4), that keep her busy and entertained.  In her spare time, Ashleigh has been known to love the thrill of day hiking in Bhutan, camping in Mt. Ranier National Park, or pretty much anything that involves being outdoors.   She also enjoys going to movies and spending time with friends and family. You would never know it by looking at her, but she is a cooking fanatic and loves to test her creations on her girls. She actually used to have three girls, but we won’t get into that story.