2024 CFO of the Year: Dawn Underwood

CFO | Morales Group

Dawn Underwood oversees accounting, finance, payroll, IT and safety for the Morales Group, a recruitment and staffing agency. She also is responsible for safety and risk assessment, focusing on creating a secure work environment while mitigating financial and operational risks.

Major achievements: Underwood helped successfully transition the company to a new local banking partner, rebuilt the finance team and filled key roles within operations to ensure that the company has a strong foundation to support growth. Additionally, she and her team reevaluated the company’s workers’ compensation program—“to not only ensure that our teammates are getting home to their families safely but also actively managing our largest expense in the income statement after wages.”

Challenge overcome: Relationship-building between finance and the other departments and overcoming misconceptions. “Being curious and asking questions to gain understanding of the problems and issues we were having and encouraging open dialogue helped us get to the root cause of the issues and led to solutions.” As the plaque on Underwood’s office wall says, “Everything is ‘figureoutable.’”

Career path: A high school accounting class inspired Underwood’s passion for accounting. She began her career in public accounting at Deloitte, then moved to HHGregg. She also ventured into entrepreneurship by starting a grain-farming business. The position at HHGregg led to Arbor Homes, where she ran the data department. She returned to accounting consulting at Morales Group and moved up to senior vice president of finance before becoming CFO.

Community involvement: Underwood volunteers through the Morales Group’s service initiatives.

What excites you about your job? The potential for growth and the opportunity to work with a purpose every day. “Our mission inspires me, and I’m passionate about being part of a team that truly believes in making a difference.”•

Check out more CFO honorees.