History

Beginning in 1986 in Human Resources Consulting
Mario J. Flores, Jr. President/Managing Partner is the founder of Flores & Associates. He established the firm in 1986 as a Human Resources Consulting entity specializing in employee selection, compensation, and benefits analysis. During the last decade he has guided the firm to become a nationally recognized leader in the field of Flexible Spending, Health Reimbursement, Direct Reimbursement Administration, and COBRA Administration. Mario's professional background consists of 5 years with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in a management capacity with emphasis in the Human Resources and Benefits field. Prior to establishing Flores & Associates, Mario worked for a regional Human Resources consulting firm for 3 years. Mario is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Mario has service in leadership roles with the Society of Human Resources Management, the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools, the Greater Charlotte YMCA, and the Charlotte United Futbol Club. Additionally, he serves on the board of three local start-up companies. Mario is primarily responsible for the introduction and implementation of key company services along with the design of new products/services.

Client needs presented Flores with opportunities
As clients experienced the quality that Flores delivered in the FSA field since 1993, they began to inquire if Flores could design a COBRA system that mirrored our FSA platform. In 2003, Flores, with the input of several key clients, began administering COBRA and now provides COBRA compliance services for over 200 groups. Instead of selecting an off-the-shelf software package, Mario and Darrell, Flores' Vice President of Information Technology, designed the COBRA24/7 platform in-house. Since the code is proprietary Flores can adjust and make changes very quickly when legislative changes such as ARRA occur, keeping clients in compliance, and participants satisfied. While we are often asked to take on other parts of the HR function such as payroll, Flores stays true to its core strengths and avoids the temptation of growing at all costs. Flores limits its own growth based on its unyielding desire to maintain a high level of quality for its existing and future clients.

Present day focus
Today Flores' services are provided based on our strong capabilities to administer reimbursements for flexible spending accounts (FSA), health reimbursement arrangements (HRA), commuter benefit reimbursements, and self-funded direct reimbursements for Dental and Vision benefits. Since 2003 our COBRA administration, retiree billing, and leave of absence billing services have grown as clients' desired Flores quality in other areas of their business. Flores & Associates' service model and technology platform differentiates us in the market place. Our proprietary software was designed/developed by principal, Mario Flores and our Vice President of Information Technology, Darrell Sullivan. Our system is user-friendly, flexible, and highly scalable. This enables us to administer large, complex clients with multiple payroll systems, various funding methods, etc. We currently administer plans for clients of all sizes and customize our approach depending on the needs of the client. Our service model is a client centered approach. The vertical integration of duties among all of the employees provides Flores the flexibility and versatility required to meet the needs of all our clients. Everyone in the organization has "participant" responsibility while each Account Manager also has responsibility for a set of clients. This versatility ensures that everyone can answer participant-centered questions and each client has their own personal contact. Additionally, our proprietary e-status system communicates with each participant via email on the 1) receipt, 2) entry and 3) payment of every claim. Therefore, participants are in the "loop" during the entire claims process which dramatically reduces questions regarding claims status. Flores & Associates reputation of excellence and innovation has positioned us to be a leader in the industry.

The Flores message, Where Service Matters.... rings true with participants, clients, and brokers. To build on our reputation we continue to increase the accessibility clients and participants have to their data. Having released more robust web portals for participants and clients in late 2010, Flores will launch our first mobile application in the summer of 2011. This initiative will empower participants with more ways to be in touch with their important Flores account information summaries. Much like mobile banking a participant is in charge of "when and where".