Now hiring: Lowe’s is looking for talented accounting and finance professionals to join their expanding teams

Lowe’s has had a record-breaking 2020, and now they’re expanding their teams so they can do it again in 2021.

With Americans spending more time around the house this year, the home improvement retailer has blown away their projected sales forecasts. In fact, Lowe’s net sales rose over 30% to $27.3 billion in Q2, topping expectations of $24.27 billion.

But while business has boomed for the retailer this year, the pandemic has hit local businesses hard and Lowe’s has been trying to help out. Lowe’s announced they’d be giving away $55 million in grants with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to support minority-, women-owned, and rural small businesses that continue to be disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

In Charlotte, 37 small businesses have received grants from Lowe’s and LISC. The company also provided $200,000 in gift cards to support more than 120 small businesses in Uptown and South End.

The incredible growth Lowe’s has experienced, and their efforts to give back to the community, wouldn’t have been possible without the talented people who make up their accounting and finance teams. And, as the company continues to grow, they’re looking to add even more talent to their ranks.

If you crunch numbers in your sleep and want to work for a creative, fast-paced company, then it’s the perfect time to put Lowe’s on your radar.

Here are some of the open roles:

• Senior Finance Manager
• Pro Pricing Senior Analyst
• Finance Manager
• Senior Financial Analyst
• Finance Director – Direct to Consumer

See their full list of open positions here.

To learn more about these departments and what working at Lowe’s is like, I spoke with Mario Martinez, Director of Accounting for Canada (Mario is based in Mooresville but his team supports Canada), and Sara Kulikowski, Director – Credit Risk Management/Pro Credit. Together, they have almost 20 years of experience at the company.

What is your day-to-day at Lowe’s like?

Mario: I would say that my role is that of a problem solver. Most of my days and weeks consist of meetings with individuals, either on my team or those I support throughout the organization, to develop solutions to problems or challenges people are facing.

One week of every month is dedicated to the monthly close process (i.e. closing the books), which entails working with individuals throughout the organization to record monthly accruals, analyze account balances and activity, prepare variance analyses, and develop monthly reporting packages. For the rest of the month my team is focused on various activities which include, but are not limited to: performing account reconciliations, developing process efficiencies, working with business partners on upcoming projects, developing new reporting, as well as other ad hoc projects/assignments.

Sara: Some of the projects I have worked on involve bringing to life new product offerings for our customers, partnering with our third-party providers on managing risk tolerance and collection tactics, performing analysis to explore customer behavior and recommend actions from the data, improving profitability within our span of control; day to day often involves some level of predictable work including monitoring performance and reviewing reporting, along with the unpredictable day to day work around needs from the field and our sales teams, and ad hoc projects.

What makes Lowe’s a good place to work in accounting or finance?

Mario: Lowe’s accounting and finance teams are world-class as we strive to hire the best and the brightest individuals in the industry to work on our teams. Personally, I’ve really enjoyed working within the Lowe’s accounting organization as it’s given me so many opportunities to work on new and different things.

Sara: Lowe’s is a great place for accounting and finance professionals because of the visibility you get to various parts of the business. After 10 years, I still learn things every day as I am exposed to different parts of the organization and often have to re-learn things as we have to be nimble as we respond to the changing needs of our internal and external customers.

What individual growth opportunities are available for Lowe’s employees?

Mario: The sky’s the limit. Individuals have the opportunity to move up within the organization or can move laterally to other groups within Lowe’s. Obviously, everything is dependent on the availability of open positions for upward advancement, but generally speaking, if you work hard and have the right skills and talents, you’ll have every opportunity at Lowe’s you’ll need to grow in your career.

Sara: Lowe’s offers a lot of opportunities for individual development and training, along with opportunities for mentoring, job shadowing, and lateral moves to learn different parts of the business. There is also opportunity to move upward in your career at Lowes due to the size of the organization and the growth potential.

What do you love about working at Lowe’s?

Mario: I love the people I work with. Even though we’re so large, the accounting organization still feels like a family. We celebrate wins together, birthdays, weddings, baby announcements, etc., just like a real family! The culture we have within our organization is that of hard work, mutual respect, and flexibility.

I really enjoy what I do and the fact that my job is much more than being an accountant. Although being an accountant is my main role, like I stated earlier, I’m a problem solver, a project leader, a motivator, a problem diffuser, etc. I get to be many things to many different people. There’s so much to do and so many opportunities, my job feels like it changes from week to week. There’s always something new and different to do, and I always look forward to the new challenges each day brings.

Sara: The number one reason I enjoy working at Lowe’s is the people I work with on a daily basis. Our team cares about each other like family and we have immense pride in partnering together to achieve our goals. The Lowe’s culture is one of trust and teamwork, and you truly feel like you are valued within the organization. Our company core values are emphasized, and the culture around hard work and integrity is strong.

How has Lowe’s adjusted during the pandemic?

Mario: Currently, only approved associates are allowed on campus, and we’re encouraged to work from home until further notice. Overall, our transition to working remotely has gone surprisingly well. All of the teams have been able to execute their responsibilities to the highest standards, despite the abrupt transition to remote work. Speaking for my group in particular, we’ve been able to successfully close the books each period with no real issues.

Sara: The company has put our health and safety first, focusing on ensuring we are set up for success while working remotely. They have also been focused on outfitting our stores with the right resources and PPE needed to keep customers and associates safe. We have also been busier than ever during this time, and while we all continue to work extremely hard, leadership has also emphasized the need for us to focus on our families and well being which has been refreshing.

[Related story: Lowe’s associates are using 3D printers to donate face shields to the community]

What do you think the future of Lowe’s looks like?

Mario: Lowe’s has an extremely promising future, and I see a lot of upside potential in the near and long-term. This year, Lowe’s is experiencing record-breaking performance as our leadership team has positioned us well to be able to effectively serve the customer and meet their needs during this difficult time. Our hard work is with one goal in mind: to become the number one leader in the home improvement industry.

Sara: The future is extremely bright. Our new leadership has strong values and communicates our mission and goals regularly. Lowe’s is a great place to be right now as people are investing in their homes more than ever. It is also rewarding to know we are part of something bigger, to help our communities build out their “safe zones” in their homes.

Any advice for candidates applying for accounting and finance roles with Lowe’s?

Mario: We’re looking for talented, hardworking individuals, with diverse backgrounds and experiences that will help Lowe’s compete effectively in the market. We’re looking for individuals that are motivated to do their best and who will act with integrity regardless of the situation.

Sara: At Lowe’s we are looking for professionals with intellectual curiosity, a desire to learn, and a drive for results.

Ready to apply? Learn more about Lowe’s company culture and browse all of their open positions here.

(This content was created in partnership with Lowe’s.)