Insight Magazine – Spring 2023

Exploring the issues that shape today’s business world.

INSPIRING PROGRESS

A Look at the State of Women in Accounting

Building a Stronger CPA Pipeline

What CPAs Should Know Before Considering Cannabis Clients

How to Slow the Exodus of Experienced Talent

3 Technologies to Leverage in 2023 And More!

Spring 2023

18 Building

spotlights

2 CEO Outlook Looking Forward to Moving Forward

4 Chair’s View Accounting Today: More Give Than Take Required

6 Capitol Report Ready for the 2024 CPA License Renewal?

50 Gen Next Finding the ‘Right’ Career Path

52 In Play

Larry J. Wolfe, CPA, talks making a name for himself on the streets of the South Side. trends

8 Technology 3 Technologies CPA Firms Must Leverage in 2023

10 Hiring & Retention

Minding Your Mid-Careerists: Slowing the Exodus of Experienced Talent insights

34 Growth Perspectives

The CPA Profession Is Greater Than Its Stereotypes

36 Leadership Matters

5 Tips for Creating an Impactful Off-Site Team Retreat

38 Evolving Accountant Accounting’s Strength in Numbers

40 Financially Speaking A Call to Women CPAs: Consider a Career in Financial Planning

42 Corporate Insider

4 Ways to Make Finance a Strategic Business Partner

44 Tax Decoded

Illinois’ Corporate Income Tax: Never-Ending Complexity

46 Ethics Engaged

How Can CPAs Ethically Interact With ChatGPT?

48 Practice Perspectives

Where Are Your CPAs Going, Exactly?

ceooutlook

Geoffrey Brown, CAE President and CEO, Illinois CPA Society

Looking Forward to Moving Forward

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a personal passion for leadership and service. From my youth through my adult years, my life has been profoundly shaped by my interest and focus on these intersecting areas. If I weren’t driven by this passion, I can safely say that I wouldn’t be an association professional today—and I certainly wouldn’t be connected with so many outstanding professional associations and communities.

I’ve been fortunate to work with and lead organizations across a variety of disciplines and sizes during my nearly 23-year career in association management. I spent my last nine years as CEO of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors—where we served professionals adjacent to but often intertwined with CPAs. These experiences have given me a broad perspective on the role and power of professional associations and their strategic initiatives.

I understand the power and importance of building and sustaining rich and authentic relationships, whether they’re with members, volunteers, partners, legislators and regulators, or the media. I lead with an abundance mindset, encourage all voices to have a platform to be heard, foster creative and inspired thinking, embrace meaningful change, and aim to deliver on articulated priorities. Importantly, I also believe in coaching, mentoring, and supporting the next generation of leaders by empowering them to find their own solutions to common and uncommon problems. Can you see why I was so attracted to the prospects of leading the Illinois CPA Society?

As I now look to the future as the society’s new president and CEO, I ensure you that we won’t lose sight of the society’s strong position as a respected thought leader and catalyst for change in the profession. The society is built on a solid foundation, with a rich history and a great team and culture, so I’m confident we’re positioned to navigate the change we’re facing internally as an organization along with the change impacting the members and profession we proudly serve.

Many of the major issues that’ll impact the society’s future require leaders that are willing and able to confront those challenges headon. Issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion; meeting the ever-changing expectations and needs of members and their employers; nurturing the next generation of CPAs; and leveraging technology to create valuable member experiences, just to name some, demand that we embrace taking risks and being a voice for blazing a new path into the future.

Over the next few years, my outlook is that we’ll continue to focus on making the society and profession more relevant and sustainable. This focus will be anchored in developing and delivering member value through our strategic pillars of advocacy, information, education, and connections; amplifying our work to diversify the profession; and cultivating valuable relationships with our partners and stakeholders.

In my short time with the society so far, my appreciation for its focus on the profession’s relevance, talent, and diversity challenges has only grown. These are long-term issues that demand the attention and resources of everyone connected to the CPA profession—and we’ll be here to champion positive change.

It’s an honor to become part of this organization’s 120-year history, and I’m excited to continue the society’s mission of enhancing the value of the CPA profession. I’m looking forward to the prospects for our future and beginning the next era in the society’s history, and I hope you are too. So, as we look to our future, I welcome you to reach out and share your thoughts on how I—and your Illinois CPA Society—can keep moving the CPA profession forward.

As the society enters a new era in its 120-year history, focusing on enhancing the value of the CPA profession remains a top priority.

ILLINOIS CPA SOCIETY

550 W. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60661 www.icpas.org

Publisher | President and CEO

Geoffrey Brown, CAE

Editor

Derrick Lilly

Assistant Editor

Amy Sanchez

Senior Creative Director

Gene Levitan

Copy Editors

Mari Watts | Jennifer Schultz, CPA

Photography Derrick Lilly | iStock

Circulation

John McQuillan

ICPAS OFFICERS

Chairperson

Jonathan W. Hauser, CPA | KPMG LLP

Vice Chairperson

Deborah K. Rood, CPA, MST | CNA Insurance

Secretary

Brian J. Blaha, CPA | Wipfli LLP

Treasurer

Mark W. Wolfgram, CPA, MST | Bel Brands USA Inc.

Immediate Past Chairperson

Mary K. Fuller, CPA | Citrin Cooperman

ICPAS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John C. Bird, CPA | RSM US LLP

Jennifer L. Cavanaugh, CPA | Grant Thornton LLP

Brian E. Daniell, CPA | West & Company LLC

Pedro A. Diaz de Leon, CPA, CFE, CIA | Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC

Kimi L. Ellen, CPA | Benford Brown & Associates LLC

Lindy R. Ellis, CPA | Ernst & Young LLP

Jennifer L. Goettler, CPA, CFE | Sikich LLP

Monica N. Harrison, CPA | CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Joshua Herbold, Ph.D., CPA | University of Illinois

Scott E. Hurwitz, CPA | Deloitte LLP (Retired)

Joshua D. Lance, CPA, CGMA | Lance CPA Group

Enrique Lopez, CPA | Lopez & Company CPAs Ltd.

Leilani N. Rodrigo, CPA, CGMA | Roth & Co. LLP

Richard C. Tarapchak, CPA | Verano Holdings Corp.

BACK ISSUES + REPRINTS

Back issues may be available. Articles may be reproduced with permission. Please send requests to lillyd@icpas.org.

ADVERTISING

Want to reach 22,600+ accounting and finance professionals? Advertising in Insight and with the Illinois CPA Society gives you access to Illinois’ largest financial community. Contact Mike Walker at mike@rwwcompany.com.

Insight is the magazine of the Illinois CPA Society. Statements or articles of opinion appearing in Insight are not necessarily the views of the Illinois CPA Society. The materials and information contained within Insight are offered as information only and not as practice, financial, accounting, legal or other professional advice. Readers are strongly encouraged to consult with an appropriate professional advisor before acting on the information contained in this publication. It is Insight’s policy not to knowingly accept advertising that discriminates on the basis of race, religion, sex, age or origin. The Illinois CPA Society reserves the right to reject paid advertising that does not meet Insight’s qualifications or that may detract from its professional and ethical standards. The Illinois CPA Society does not necessarily endorse the non-Society resources, services or products that may appear or be referenced within Insight, and makes no representation or warranties about the products or services they may provide or their accuracy or claims. The Illinois CPA Society does not guarantee delivery dates for Insight. The Society disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and assumes no responsibility whatsoever for damages incurred as a result of delays in delivering Insight. Insight (ISSN1053-8542) is published four times a year, in spring, summer, fall, and winter, by the Illinois CPA Society, 550 W. Jackson, Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60661, USA, 312.993.0407. Copyright © 2023. No part of the contents may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of Insight. Send requests to the address above. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Insight, Illinois CPA Society, 550 W. Jackson, Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60661, USA.

chair ’sview

Jonathan W. Hauser, CPA Chairperson, Illinois CPA Society | Partner, KPMG LLP

Accounting Today: More Give Than Take Required

It was probably around 8 p.m. on a school night. I had just finished helping my dad with milking cows, feeding calves, and cleaning all the milking equipment. We were walking back from the barn when I turned to him and said, “I don’t think I want to be a farmer.” I couldn’t have been more than 10 or 11 years old at the time, but I’m thankful his response was one of encouragement. As the years passed, growing up on the farm became more invaluable to me, as it taught me the meaning of an honest (and hard … oh, so hard) day’s work. Then, in high school, I got my first taste of accounting.

Having grown up in a small, rural town in northwest Illinois, it still amazes me that I even had access to an accounting class, but it turned into the catalyst for my career. I enrolled at Eastern Illinois University (EIU) and declared accounting as my major. After my four years there flew by, I made my way down to the University of Florida for my master’s in accounting. Oh, I had plans back then! I’d move to sunny Florida, finish up school, and find a job that would keep me in the warmth of the South.

So, why am I writing the Chair’s Letter in the cold of Chicago? The answer is simple: people. While I was at EIU, a couple of Accounting Advisory Board members sacrificed some of their precious time to get to know me, encourage me, and help open doors for me. Thanks to them, I received an offer to join KPMG in Chicago during my first week of grad school. Some may say I was foolish for not interviewing with any other firms, accepting my first offer, and leaving Florida. But I have so much to be thankful for now—like my ascent to partner—that it’s hard to think that there would’ve been a better offer to consider.

My involvement with the Illinois CPA Society has mirrored my time in the profession and has been equally rewarding. I started out by joining the Young Professionals Group, which led to working on various committees, which eventually earned me the privilege of serving on the society’s board, which has now afforded me the opportunity to be the board’s chairperson.

I never sought out this particular path. Instead, I’m here because of all the people who took time to invest in me along the way. I’m fortunate that there’s always been someone tapping me on my shoulder and giving me that little bit of encouragement to keep forging ahead. My hope now is to inspire the same in others and to help give back to the profession that’s already given me so much.

So, I ask this: Who are you investing in? The accounting profession is amazing because it gives us all the opportunity to invest in those around us. Whether it’s our teams, our clients, our peers, or the next generation of CPAs, the profession succeeds as a result of us reinvesting what we learn into those that come after us.

However, our profession sits in an interesting place today, and it needs our help. The profession’s attractiveness is waning, the number of new CPAs is trending lower, there’s much uncertainty in our economy, and technology is changing what we do and how we do it more quickly than ever. To face all this adversity, I believe it’s time we give more than we take. We need to refocus on supporting and serving one another. We need to find new ways to inspire others to join us. We need to adapt how we lead our teams and pass on our values of integrity, trust, and accountability. We need to do more to reach out and tap the shoulders of others. And we need to encourage and invest in not only those around us now but also those that’ll come into the profession next.

I’m truly looking forward to serving as board chair during the next year. I hope to meet so many more society members, hear your stories and, most of all, work together to build upon the foundation laid by those who came before us to continue moving our profession forward.

Giving back to the profession that’s given us so much is how we move forward.

Martin Green, ESQ Senior Vice President and Legislative Counsel, Illinois CPA Society @GreenMarty

Ready for the 2024 CPA License Renewal?

Just as we’re finally getting over the huge hurdle of the extended 2021 CPA license renewal period, the next cycle is right around the corner. As a reminder, CPA licenses are good for a three-year period, and your current CPA license will expire on Sept. 30, 2024. Due to the extenuating circumstances that occurred during the last renewal period, I wanted to provide some food for thought early enough for Illinois CPAs to prepare for the road ahead.

As you may recall, the 2021 CPA license renewal was of crisis proportion. In fact, some are still working through the process of getting their licenses renewed, reinstated, or issued a new license from that year. Why? Well, typically, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) sends licensees renewal notices three months prior to the license expiration deadline (i.e., Sept. 30). Unfortunately, that year IDFPR’s legacy IT enterprise system failed to send this notice and, as a result, renewal notices were significantly delayed. Further complicating matters, when the notices were finally transmitted there was chaos caused by a shadowed resetting of licensees’ online passwords. These circumstances created enormous barriers to the online renewal process, necessitating the Division of Professional Regulation (DPR) director to extend the expiration of CPA licenses to Dec. 31, 2021, followed by a second extension to Jan. 31, 2022.

While the IT hurdles were incrementally mediated over time, the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) Government Relations team communicated with IDFPR leadership on the expiration extension and its impact on continuing professional education (CPE) deadline requirements since the earlier proclamation from the DPR director didn’t include an extension of CPE completion. It’s important to note that when renewing your professional license, marking the box that you’ve completed the required CPE is attesting to the fact that you’ve completed all your CPE requirements as of the date that you electronically annotated the box in the online portal versus completing the CPE by the expiration date of your license.

What does all this mean moving forward, and how does it impact your 2024 CPA license renewal? As professionals who deal with numbers and analytics, you’ve probably realized that this license cycle has been shortened due to the extended expiration of your 2021 license renewals. Therefore, you’ll need to take a closer look at your CPE records and the hours you claimed during the extended renewal period. Be mindful of whether you claimed CPE hours earned beyond Sept. 30, 2021. If you did, you can’t double count those hours toward the 120 required hours for the 2024 license renewal period.

As part of your preparation, you should also make sure the IDFPR has a current and lasting email address as part of your licensure record. As with the two previous renewal periods, IDFPR will be sending renewal notices, along with other formal communications, via email to the address they have on file. As a reminder, an email address of record for licensees is required by the Illinois Public Accounting Act.

Lastly, a bit of good news—Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s state operating budget for fiscal year 2024 included a $10 million appropriation for the support of a new IDFPR licensing system. You read that correctly—the state is procuring an entirely new licensing system! Secretary Mario Treto Jr. reached out to ICPAS last winter to discuss the department’s plan to retire its legacy IT enterprise system and transition it to an entirely new system. ICPAS President and CEO Geof Brown, CAE, and I have met with the secretary to discuss IDFPR’s plans for bringing the new system online and the potential impact it may have on licensees. Other professional associations regulated by IDFPR are also lobbying for more information to be provided to stakeholders.

Overall, we’re grateful to Gov. Pritzker and IDFPR’s leadership for their commitment to modernizing the state’s professional regulation and licensure services. As always, we’ll continue to keep you informed of these developments—focusing on this conversion remains our top priority.

The key to the next license renewal period is preparation—now’s the time to update your continuing professional education records and contact information.

3 Technologies CPA Firms Must Leverage in 2023

BY DANIEL P. DERN

NOW more than ever, technology is essential to CPA firm growth and business development. Whether it’s automating mundane, time-consuming tasks or enabling access to more data and insights, the new technologies available today can help CPA firms elevate their roles as trusted business advisors and meet ever-growing client demands.

“If you aren’t moving forward with new technologies to improve workflow and add value for your clients, you’re effectively going backward relative to your competitors,” says LeeJay Stewart, CEO and managing director of StratusComm, a provider of fully managed IT services and support for the financial services and other industries.

With that in mind, here’s a brief look at three technologies CPA firms can leverage in 2023 to bring value-added services to their clients.

1. CLOUD HOSTING

A typical CPA firm today uses more than 100 different software applications for various practice management and accounting-

related tasks, including the familiar productivity tools like Microsoft Office, web browsers, Zoom, and Teams.

According to Roman Kepczyk, CPA, CITP, CGMA, director of firm technology strategy at Right Networks LLC—a cloud service provider focused exclusively on the accounting profession—about two-thirds of these programs are now available via software-as-aservice (SaaS) or cloud services. Just consider many of the leading applications used by CPA firms today, like those offered by Intuit, CCH/Wolters Kluwer, Sage, and Thomson Reuters.

What this means for CPA firms is that they can now access and run these applications using a mix of web browsers and remote-access tools that, to the user, provide the same desktop user experience but eliminate many of the burdens of the firm’s IT staff maintaining the applications.

For instance, key updates to applications are applied quickly and uniformly by the cloud provider. “If Congress passes a law with tax consequences, the major accounting software providers have to quickly update their software, often several times a week throughout tax season, which can be challenging for some internal IT departments not experienced with these accounting and finance applications to keep up with,” Kepczyk says. “With a cloud hosting

With more work to do than staff can deliver, deploying new technologies is key to meeting client demands—here are three to consider.

provider, a firm doesn’t need to worry about this and also gains the ability to easily ramp up users as needed during busy season and downsize afterward.”

To successfully move your applications to a cloud hosting service, Kepczyk recommends using a cloud hosting provider that works with accounting firms, either exclusively or as one of their vertical markets: “Evaluate the providers—find one that does or can host all your applications and is certified with government and industry security and privacy regulations.”

Since accounting-related cloud hosting providers likely already host all the applications CPA firms typically use, Kepczyk says the migration process should be straightforward. “There’s no code migration or development involved,” he notes. “Meaning, once a pre-sales assessment is done and the contract is signed, it typically takes about two-to-six weeks to match your application and infrastructure configuration requirements, migrate any software licenses, copy your data, and transition everyone over to the cloudhosted system.”

2. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

“Digital transformation can refer to taking anything being done manually, or with manual processing, whether from paper or human entry, and turning that into digital transactions,” Stewart says. “But digital transformation goes beyond simply making information available to users through online portals and workflow, analytics, and other software. It must combine information and processes to help analyze the data and provide summaries, highlight exceptions, suggest actions, and more.”

When considering a firm’s current activities, digital transformation can reduce task turnaround and employee time-per-task and provide customers with better service. For example:

• What had once been a 10-step manual process involving several people might become a single click from a dashboard by one person.

• When a client calls, emails, or texts, a CPA can instantly see a client's information with action items highlighted.

• A client can login to a firm’s website to check for information, request forms, e-sign documents, and more.

Overall, Stewart stresses that digital transformation allows an organization to be nimbler: “You can make quicker adjustments, faster changes.”

When information changes from paper to digital form, tasks also become less tied to a specific individual in a specific location and, similarly, eliminates the need to access physical forms or documents, which COVID-19 and other work-from-home factors have made increasingly essential.

Additionally, digital transformation allows CPA firms and their teams to provide higher levels of advice (i.e., customer-facing services and analysis that can help clients improve and grow their businesses), which could add new revenue streams or allow different business models to flourish.

Stewart notes that the time and cost to digitally transform a given process depends on many factors, including the number of transactions being processed, what needs to be automated, how many people are involved, and the maturity of the existing process: “For simpler processes and smaller organizations, it may take less than a month, but in more complex situations, it may take up to a year to fully automate a process.”

3. ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION

Robot process automation (RPA), also known as robotic accounting, means turning manual accounting tasks into computerized, “fewerclick” ones. RPA allows tasks that are typically multiple steps of data entry to be encoded as a set of rules and actions—like Excel macros with the exception that it can work with and across multiple applications.

According to Blackline, which provides cloud software that automates and controls critical accounting processes, “RPA shines when running discrete, simple, high-volume tasks that would usually require little human supervision, such as invoice processing, entering sales orders, processing refunds, and automating customer service responses.”

“If you’re a CPA firm doing work for property management or real estate companies, trying to analyze data from Excel spreadsheets across multiple systems manually could take you up to 40 hours,” says Todd Cooper, senior manager of Channels at CPA.com. “But with RPA, you may be able to pull that same data in less than an hour.”

Within the past year or so, RPA tools have begun incorporating new technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. Combined, more intelligent RPA tools are helping firms automate business processes faster and less costly than in the past, while also allowing more sophisticated and higher-value tasks to be automated.

At minimum, CPA firms need to explore RPA because it can reduce staff time and involvement in accounting tasks, help provide faster responses to clients’ requests, improve accuracy, and monitor compliance.

“Automating accounting tasks helps eliminate errors—if the process is repeatable then automating it can help eliminate errors,” Stewart says. “Generally speaking, having the right information available at the right time also lets CPAs and clients make decisions faster.”

RPA can be implemented with automation platforms (e.g., Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, and UiPath) that connect to a firm’s existing systems, rather than requiring them to be replaced. Notably, the more cloud-based a firm’s IT architecture already is, the easier it is to implement RPA solutions. Also, depending on a firm’s size and IT preferences, the implementation may be outsourced to the RPA tool provider. However, be prepared for RPA implementation to take time, particularly the first test cases. Allowing sufficient time ensures that not only the processes work as intended, but that safety in terms of data privacy, security, and compliance are top of mind.

CPAs used to just be bookkeepers. Today, they’re expected to be clients’ most trusted and strategic business advisors. As more CPA firms develop and deploy advanced technologies to support their value-added and expanded client accounting services, the more critical it’ll be for every other firm to keep up. For CPA firms looking to embrace these new technologies, the best advice seems to be to start with specific, well-bounded tasks and processes, and then build on success.

Remember, cloud hosting, digital transformation, and RPA are interrelated. Ultimately, the more CPAs and their firms move their applications and data into the cloud, the easier and more effective implementing a complete digital transformation supported by RPA will become.

Daniel P. Dern is a Boston-based freelance technology and business writer.

Minding Your Mid-Careerists: Slowing the Exodus of Experienced Talent

What can CPA firms do to prevent their more experienced, mid-career professionals from making a grand exit? Firm leaders, human resources professionals, and executive consultants agree that putting employees first is a necessary step to keep them in the leadership pipeline.

BY TERI SAYLOR

THE CPA shortage has been bubbling up in recent years as baby boomers retire and the remnants of the pandemic linger. Today, the exodus of accounting professionals is reaching its boiling point as mid-career CPAs—those at the peak of their productive years—are following retirees out the door, leaving firms short-staffed and without a pipeline of experienced talent to take over.

This loss of talent is especially damaging, as mid-career employees are often responsible for leading implementation of their firms’ strategies and goals and fostering office cultures that are supportive, visionary, and purpose driven for all staff. However, add in today’s societal pressures and lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s no surprise these employees have been left drained, stressed, and reevaluating their life priorities like so many others.

In fact, a recent report from the Hinge Research Institute, “The Great Resignation: Navigating the Mid-Career Crisis,” revealed that nearly a third of mid-career professionals between the ages of 30 and 45 years old had quit their jobs over the past year, many without another job lined up. Further, less than half of mid-career employees are satisfied with their jobs.

Dave Levine, CPA, managing partner at Topel Forman in Chicago, has witnessed firsthand the exits of many mid-career CPAs at this firm. Specifically, he recalls two key managers who left to pursue careers that offered more flexible lifestyles: One went into financial planning, essentially to avoid long hours, and the other left the profession altogether. “Public accounting has always seen people leave for private accounting or other fields, but ever since the pandemic hit, we’ve been seeing some real career changes,” he says.

The Illinois CPA Society’s 2022 Firm Staffing and Benefits Survey backs up Levine. Since 2020, acquiring experienced staff has been

the leading management challenge Illinois CPA firms have faced, followed by retaining existing staff, and the number of firms struggling to acquire new staff jumped significantly in the wake of COVID-19.

The AICPA’s 2022 CPA Firm Top Issues Survey commentary reflects the same: hiring and retaining qualified staff is among the top concerns for most CPA firms.

While many firms have found ways to tackle some of this business upheaval, including offering remote work benefits, the mid-career exit boom continues to keep most firm leaders up at night.

To battle this troubling trend, experts say now’s the perfect time for firms to create lasting retention strategies. Here are six ways CPA firms can build employee-centric organizations that mind the wants and needs of their mid-career talent.

1. ESTABLISH FLEXIBLE HOURS, DYNAMIC JOB DESCRIPTIONS

At Topel Forman, firm leadership has tried to reinvent what public accounting looks like. Levine recalls his early career experiences some 20 years ago when working seven days a week during busy season was the norm and putting in 12-hour days was mandatory.

“The only choice we had was deciding if we wanted to work from 8-to-8 or 9-to-9. Today, people won’t do it, and I don’t blame them because it’s a terrible lifestyle. Topel Forman has become increasingly flexible over the years. Today, the firm is largely remote and offers employees an accommodating work schedule,” he explains. “We don’t require anyone to work in the office and almost everyone is taking us up on that. We probably have 30% of our firm in the office three days a week.”

In addition to work-at-home opportunities, employees can schedule their workdays around their personal needs, such as child care, pet care, or self-care.

“We’re just figuring out every possible way to be flexible and continue to run a profitable business,” Levine says.

Of course, some managers are concerned that offering employees a completely flexible schedule could discourage teamwork and collaboration. For those managers, a model that incorporates core hours with flexibility could offer the best of both worlds.

Amanda Lilley, CPA, SHRM-CP, PHR, a human resources consultant with Rosenberg Associates in Portland, Ore., advises her clients to assign specific times of the day when employees must be available for internal meetings, client consultations, and phone calls. According to Lilley, this ensures employees are accessible for collaboration and that business functions are still getting done.

“Many firms are implementing core hours when employees need to be online while allowing them to be flexible the rest of the day,” she says. “We all have obligations outside the workday and flexibility is something that all generations, including mid-career professionals, want from their employers.”

Flexibility can also extend to job descriptions and work product. Mary Fuller, CPA, managing partner of Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC’s Chicago office and immediate past chairperson of the Illinois CPA Society Board of Directors, says she’s seen more mid-career professionals leave their jobs because they feel like they’re stuck in a rut, doing the same tasks, and filling the same roles with clients year after year.

“Firm leaders need to be mindful of giving individuals tasks that are varied, interesting, and challenging,” she says. “This includes special

projects and exciting work that makes them feel valued for their ability to take on important assignments. Employees, especially those in their mid-career, want to feel like they’re making a difference.”

2. CREATE A WELCOMING OFFICE CULTURE

While flexibility remains a top want for many mid-career CPAs, so is a positive work culture. Jay Scherer, president of Chicago-based Scherer Executive Advisors, says there are three concepts that firm leaders should embrace to create a welcoming culture: caring, learning, and delivering results.

“I view workplace culture as an effective and reasonable balance of those three elements,” Scherer says. “When you demonstrate you care about your employees, they’ll go the extra mile for the firm. When you engage your team to learn new things, they’ll stay motivated. And when you involve your team in getting results, it allows them to share in the firm’s success.”

A culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) also opens the door to an office culture where employees from all walks of life feel welcome, says Sandra Wiley, shareholder and president of Boomer Consulting Inc.

“Leaders need to pay attention to DEI because it’s of growing importance in the workplace,” Wiley stresses. “Many cities and towns, especially those with universities, are seeing their populations become more diverse. When professionals are recruited to work in firms where there’s little to no diversity of races, cultures, identities, and abilities, it can be a problem.”

A strong DEI strategy can help make individuals feel like part of the greater good and give them a stronger sense of purpose.

“DEI creates a place where employees can see themselves staying and contributing,” Wiley says. “It improves culture and communication and creates a healthier and more positive workplace overall by giving everyone a chance to fully take part.”

3. OFFER ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COACHING

No matter what level a professional is at in their firm, Wiley says most are keen to grow—they want and need continuing education and career coaching.

“Mid-career CPAs absolutely want to continue their career paths, whether that means going into a higher level of tax, audit, consulting, or taking on an advisory role, and they want someone to coach them on how to continue to grow and improve,” she says. “The day they feel like they’ve learned everything at their workplace is the day they may leave. You have to encourage them to keep learning—offering career coaching and professional development is key to that.”

Levine agrees, noting that Topel Forman has created an education curriculum for people at different stages of their careers, including mentoring and coaching: “Providing continuing education is just a given in the accounting profession at this point, and if you’re not doing it, you’re behind the curve.”

Tuition reimbursements and stipends for accessing education, pursuing advanced degrees, and earning certifications—and the CPA credential—are value propositions for employees and benefits that could help differentiate a CPA firm from its competition.

4. DESIGN COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION PACKAGES

According to Hinge’s report, one of the top reasons mid-career professionals leave their jobs is to seek better compensation packages, which extends beyond salaries.

“We’ve become a lot more generous with our benefits,” Levine says. “For example, a new employee right out of college gets five weeks of vacation.”

Levine’s firm also contributes more money to health insurance, paying for almost all of it, and offers additional perks, like covering health club fees and planning special events to build camaraderie. “Employees often volunteer together for charity projects, such as packing boxes at a local food pantry and socializing together, all during work hours.”

Levine adds that his firm set up all 120 employees with home office equipment, including laptops, monitors, and a Wi-Fi subsidy. “Yes, it’s expensive, but we look at the cost as an investment in their happiness and their quality of life.”

Lilley considers competitive compensation packages as one of the most important aspects of employee retention and says her firm is seeing clients offering higher salaries than ever. She recommends establishing a competitive base salary and adding on a bonus or incentive structure for staff, partners, and other firm leaders so they can reap the rewards from meeting the firm’s goals.

“If you’re falling behind, your chances of retaining talent or hiring new talent will be challenged because somebody could easily jump ship and go elsewhere for more money, especially if that salary increase is coupled with a better work-life balance,” she cautions.

5. ASK EMPLOYEES WHAT THEY WANT

When it comes to enhanced perks at the workplace, it’s important to remember that one size doesn’t fit all. While management may offer generous benefits, it won’t impact retention if employees don’t see the value in them.

“The accounting profession is super competitive for talent, so we do a pulse survey twice a year to learn what our people are thinking to help us stay competitive,” Levine shares.

Gauging what individuals want out of their careers can save time and money and encourage longevity. Lilley recommends conducting “stay interviews” during normal performance evaluation cycles or anytime throughout the year.

“You could just sit down with employees in an informal setting and ask them for feedback on workplace aspects they appreciate, what frustrates them, and how the firm can retain them as employees,” she adds.

Establishing open-door policies and establishing a system of touch points throughout the year can also help keep communication flowing between employees and managers and create as a safe space where individuals feel they can express their true feelings and concerns.

“Ask employees what they want out of their careers, the professional development they need, their compensation goals, and where they hope to be in three years,” Fuller encourages. “These touch points give employees a chance to be in the driver’s seat of their careers, which helps them feel more comfortable about being open and honest. Sometimes employees are quiet and never speak up, and then suddenly they announce they’ve decided to take a new position. I always feel bad when someone does that because I would’ve wanted them to at least talk to me before they pulled the trigger and left.”

6. PUT YOUR PEOPLE FIRST

“In the CPA profession, you’re likely working for a corporation where you have the monthly grind of closing, which never goes away, or in public accounting, where you have busy seasons, and they take a toll on people,” Scherer says. Though, he adds there seems to be a noticeable culture shift, moving the profession in the right direction.

“In the past, people felt that they didn’t have a choice, but it’s not like that anymore,” he says. “The way to win today is to drive your culture to be more focused on employee empowerment and well-being.”

Scherer recommends that firms work on building healthy relationships with their employees by understanding their needs and educating them on the needs of the organization for mutual benefit.

“To be successful today, management must treat employees like colleagues or even friends,” he says. “The firms that understand this will thrive.”

Teri Saylor is a Raleigh, N.C.-based writer with experience covering a range of topics from business to lifestyles. She’s also a frequent contributor to AICPA’s FM Magazine and Journal of Accountancy.

The journey to CPA licensure has never been easy. A recent legislative change requiring fewer credit hours to sit for the CPA exam in Illinois could help change that, as stakeholders across the profession work to build a better, stronger CPA pipeline.

BY AMY SANCHEZ

sk a CPA what the credential means to them and most will tell you it’s a sign—a sign of competence, trust, and credibility. However, despite the CPA credential’s perceived value from those that have already earned it, a growing number of accounting students and young professionals are foregoing the path to CPA licensure. What was once seen as the accounting and finance profession’s “gold standard” has seemingly lost some of its luster.

For many years, the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) has warned of this troubling trend and has been on a quest to determine its root cause. To do just that, in 2021, ICPAS conducted a national survey to gauge accounting students’ and young professionals’ perceptions of the CPA credential. The findings were published in the Insight Special Feature, “A CPA Pipeline Report: Decoding the Decline.” As a profession known for its busy season and long hours, it’s not surprising that one of the most common barriers faced by survey respondents was the time commitment to study for and pass the CPA exam—63% noting workload time commitment and 41% noting personal time commitment as barriers to licensure.

Recognizing the value of time and its significant influence on an individual’s decision to pursue CPA licensure, ICPAS, along with the Illinois Board of Examiners (ILBOE), advocated to reduce the credithour requirement for CPA exam testing eligibility in Illinois from 150 credit hours to 120. In 2021, the Illinois House and Senate unanimously passed ICPAS-sponsored legislation amending the Illinois Public Accounting Act with this change, which became effective as of Jan. 1, 2023.

To be clear, individuals passing the CPA exam in Illinois will still need 150 credit hours to become licensed CPAs. And while ICPAS is hopeful this legislative victory will help address one of the more prevalent barriers to licensure (i.e., time), there’s no denying that other barriers still exist, including misconceptions about the credential’s value, employer demands, and overall confusion on the licensure process.

The Public Accounting Perception

According to ICPAS’ 2021 report, today’s accounting students and young professionals seem to have a narrow view of what value the CPA credential offers, often believing it only applies to individuals pursuing careers in public accounting, tax, and audit. In fact, among the survey respondents who said they had no plans to earn the CPA credential, 32% specifically said they didn’t see the value or relevance the credential has in their careers.

Martrice Caldwell, CPA, controller for the Chicago Fire Football Club, can empathize. “I don’t think I fully understood the CPA credential’s value when I first sat for the exam. I see it more now as a working professional,” she emphasizes. As a longtime ICPAS member and board member of both the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois and ILBOE, Caldwell has seen in her career and others’ that having the CPA credential—even outside of public accounting— opens many doorways.

“A lot of it goes unspoken, but the CPA credential carries so much weight and value in the marketplace,” she says. Even though the CPA credential may not be listed as a requirement in many job descriptions, particularly in corporate finance, Caldwell notes recruiters and hiring managers still often hold the credential at a higher level. Caldwell wishes more accounting students were aware of this because, as she puts it, “I know I’ve been looked at for roles because of my CPA credential.”

Joshua Herbold, CPA, Ph.D., teaching professor of accountancy and associate head of the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois (U of I), shares similar feelings. “I’ve never worked for a Big Four firm. Most of my career has been in academia, but I still maintain my CPA license because I see the value in it. It’s a sign to others that I have some additional knowledge that might be relevant and useful.”

Herbold also stresses that the CPA credential opens opportunities for professionals to specialize in certain niches more easily. He notes that serving the cannabis or entertainment industries, for instance, becomes more accessible: “Without a license it’s doable, but tougher to break into.”

“By having the expertise the CPA credential brings you, you don’t just have to live in public accounting or even stop at the CFO level, and I think that’s what a lot of students and young professionals mistakenly think,” Caldwell adds.

The Employer Effect

Beyond misconceptions about the CPA credential’s value or relevance, outside influence has been linked to the CPA credential’s decline. For some, that outside influence comes from their employers. ICPAS found that 39% of its survey respondents indicated their employers or prospective employers influenced their decisions of whether to pursue the CPA credential or not. Additionally, for individuals with no plans to earn the CPA credential, 28% said that their employers or prospective employers didn’t require or support it.

Another notable finding—accounting students and young professionals ages 22 and over are less likely to pursue the CPA credential, which typically coincides with their entry into the workplace (i.e., as they begin full-time careers, their focus and time for studies dwindle as employer demands grow).

Herbold believes there are two things employers can do to better support the CPA pipeline and encourage more students and young professionals to earn their licenses: 1) make it worth their time, and 2) give them time to study, test, and complete the licensing process.

“The overarching message I hear from students is, ‘I’ll do the work, but you’ve got to make it worth my while.’ That means either pay them more, give them more opportunities, or set them up for a better future career,” Herbold stresses. “But if they can find all that from an employer without the CPA credential, they won’t see the point in earning it like they did years ago.”

Beyond the value proposition of potentially better pay and opportunities, young professionals simply need the time and support to complete the licensure process. “A lot of students have the best intentions to finish the CPA exam once they start working, but work comes first, and work tends to consume everything. As a new person at work, you’re likely not going to be comfortable saying no,” Herbold cautions. “You want to make everyone happy, and then the CPA exam becomes a lower priority.”

Herbold suggests that employers, specifically those who mandate billable hours, review their requirements or build time into their work structures to allow their CPA candidates to complete their studies. “If you’re telling your junior accountants they need to have 1,800 billable hours, that’s probably too much,” he says.

Caldwell adds that flexibility can go a long way in supporting staff interested in pursuing the CPA credential. Working with staff to

adjust schedules or establish remote work options that allow them to pursue the career path they want with your organization can be a key to unlocking greater employee development, satisfaction, and retention.

“People are looking for individual career plans. We know there isn’t only one plan or roadmap that everyone can or should follow. Being an influential employer today means learning what your employees need and helping them pursue their individual goals,” Caldwell encourages.

Notably, some of these concerns do appear to be resonating with Illinois’ CPA firms. According to ICPAS’ 2022 Firm Staffing and Benefits Survey, 58.3% of Illinois firms provide time off to study for the exam, which is up by nearly 10 percentage points since 2021. However, that number varies widely by firm size. For example, just 43.5% of small firms (those with one to 20 full-time employees) provide time off to study for the exam, compared to 75% of midsize firms (those with 21 to 50 full-time employees) and 69.2% of large firms (those with 51 to 199 full-time employees).

ICPAS’ findings also show that more CPA firms are responding to demands for better pay. For example, 75% of firms pay their staff a bonus for passing the CPA exam, which is up by 8.3 percentage points from 2021. Broken down by firm type, however, only 60.9% of small firms pay their staff a bonus for passing the CPA exam, compared to 75% of mid-size firms and 100% of large firms.

Other forms of financial assistance can also help bolster the CPA pipeline. Implementing exam fee reimbursement policies or allowing candidates to expense the fees for CPA exam review courses can help ease the financial burdens associated with becoming a CPA—and help differentiate the firm.

ICPAS’ 2022 Firm Staffing and Benefits Survey found that not all firms are providing financial assistance for the CPA exam. Among small firms, 56.5% pay for a CPA exam preparation class, compared to just 41.7% of mid-size firms and 69.2% of large firms. Further, 47.8% of small firms pay for the CPA exam fee, compared to only 41.7% of mid-size firms and 69.2% of large firms.

In addition to carving out time for staff to study and financial incentives, employers can also provide internal support by connecting CPA candidates with a go-to staff member that’s recently passed the exam and/or an internal sponsor that can champion their success.

“Knowing who to reach out to and ask for advice and support is key,” Caldwell says. In fact, Caldwell was recently able to step up and support a staff member pursuing the CPA credential who was just shy of a business communications class: “Through my involvement with the ILBOE, I knew there were course templates available that could help determine which classes would qualify for the education requirement.”

Of course, ultimately sharing staff success stories internally and on social media can offer some extra encouragement and inspiration, while also supporting awareness and appreciation for the CPA credential.

The Path to Licensure

As previously stated, prospective CPAs in Illinois now only need 120 eligible credit hours and a bachelor’s degree to apply to sit for the CPA exam. However, individuals passing the CPA exam will still need 150 eligible credit hours to become licensed CPAs in the state.

“This change should ultimately help more candidates sit for the exam earlier,” says Elizabeth Brown, ICPAS’ assistant director of student and diversity initiatives. “We believe a key to growing the CPA pipeline is getting more accounting students to begin planning their pathways to becoming CPAs before starting full-time work— and even before they’ve considered how they’re going to pursue their additional 30 hours of coursework.”

The fact is, with so many different pathways available to obtain the 150 credit hours required for licensure, the process can often leave students feeling confused on where to begin—it even deters them.

“The most common question I get from students when I present them with some available paths is which one they should choose,” Herbold says. “That’s a tough question to answer because it depends on the student. Some students test well and can jump right in and do great on the CPA exam, while others could really benefit from one more class or one more semester before starting.”

Ultimately, there isn’t a right answer for how students should obtain the 150 credit hours required for licensure. However, one of the more streamlined routes is pursuing a master’s program in accountancy. “It provides all the additional hours, coursework, and rigor of materials,” Brown explains. “There are also a lot of financial resources available to support students pursuing these programs.” She also suggests these alternate paths:

• Obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. Many MBA programs offer a concentration in accounting, providing an opportunity to learn skills in both general business and accounting.

• Double majoring or obtaining a minor of study. This option allows students to earn additional credit hours and learn another field of study that complements their accounting education while avoiding paying graduate school tuition rates.

• Attending community college. “Students often start their college careers at a community college before transferring to a four-year institution. However, even after they’ve started or finished at a four-year institution, they can still supplement that experience with classes at a community college,” Brown suggests. “Planned accordingly, the credits earned will count toward the 150 credithour requirement.”

• Completing certificate programs. One example of this is U of I’s CPA Pathways Graduate Certificate. “It’s designed to help students who may have more than 120 credit hours and need to get to 150,” Herbold says. The fully online program helps it fit into the schedules of working professionals while including live classes, office hours with faculty, self-paced and downloadable coursework, group discussions and projects, and applicable graduate-level coursework.

While there won’t ever be a one-size-fits-all pathway to obtaining the 150 credit hours required for CPA licensure, it’s clear that it’s in the profession’s best interest to support prospective CPAs in all the ways they can. By doing so, we might just be able to map out better pathways into the profession and, ultimately, replenish the CPA pipeline.

Amy Sanchez is the manager of communications and publications and assistant editor of Insight for the Illinois CPA Society.

What CPAs Should Know Before Considering Cannabis Clients

As the cannabis industry grows, more—and more complex—opportunities for CPAs arise. Before rushing into serving this unique client base, here are some challenges and risks CPAs and their firms should consider.

BY NATALIE ROONEY

recent years, the U.S. cannabis industry has been on fire, showing no signs of burning out as more states push to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Currently, 21 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use for adults ages 21 years and older, and 37 states have legal medical marijuana programs.

In Illinois, recreational possession and sales of cannabis products became legal as of Jan. 1, 2020. The state currently has about 113 dispensaries, and their legal cannabis sales totaled $1.5 billion in 2022, up from nearly $1.2 billion in 2021.

With the industry becoming more widely accepted throughout the United States, opportunities for CPAs in this niche are growing. Even if CPAs aren’t actively looking for cannabis clients, those businesses are actively looking for CPAs.

In the run-up to legalization in Illinois, Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) member Nathan Summers, CPA, an audit principal at Miller, Cooper & Company Ltd., describes interest in the market as a “green rush.”

As a firm that specializes in audit and tax, Summers says a handful of clients approached them asking for help. “We started consulting with them, walking them through the processes and challenges, and it just took off.” The result? A new, fast-growing cannabis practice within the firm.

Though despite the growing interest and size of the marketplace, the cannabis industry is highly regulated and extremely complex. Before CPAs and firms jump into serving this unique client base, there are several challenges and risks to consider.

IS THE CANNABIS NICHE RIGHT FOR YOU?

As ICPAS member Kenneth “Kenny” Mason, CPA, MBA, founder and CEO of Equibis, watched the cannabis industry start to take off in Illinois, he recalls having to “really think” about whether stepping into it was right for him. “This is an industry with a target on its back,” he cautions. “Developing a firm to support cannabis clients has required a lot of time, effort, and headaches, but it’s been worth it. These businesses need our support just like any other business.”

Ultimately, Mason committed to becoming an expert in the cannabis space and now helps cannabis retailers all over the U.S. exist legally and manage their finances, particularly their taxes. As cannabis remains a federally illegal substance, he observed cannabis businesses struggling with the tax code. “They pay federal taxes but can’t take advantage of tax credits and deductions like most businesses can, which creates opportunities for CPAs to step in and provide valuable, much-needed guidance.”

ICPAS member Molly Mayfield, CPA, member manager and founder of GreenFlex Financial PLLC, says initially, she was nervous about reactions to her decision to work in the cannabis space, and she understands why others may be reticent to work in it.

“At first, I wouldn’t even comment on or like cannabis-related posts on LinkedIn,” Mayfield recalls. But, she also knows that working within the ethical boundaries of the accounting profession, there’s no reason she can’t offer her services to cannabis clients, particularly when Illinois requires cannabis operations to consult CPAs for specific services. “As long as I serve everyone’s businesses well, cannabis and non-cannabis clients, I’m doing my job.”

As a former public accounting firm auditor, ICPAS member Fay Rofalikos, CPA, senior director at Green Thumb Industries, a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer, says her job change brought a lot of surprises. “When you’re an auditor, you think of everything in terms of debits and credits,” she says. “When you’re an operator, especially in cannabis, it’s not that simple.”

Summers says it’s also important to consider the impact adding a cannabis practice might have on a firm’s existing client base—what they might think and how they might react to the firm’s decision.

Ultimately, from a reputation standpoint, Mason says firms should ask themselves: Do we want to stick our necks out and work with cannabis companies?

NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGES

Ironically, for an industry that’s highly regulated, there’s not always a lot of direction. “We’re constantly asking what rules we should be following,” Mason says. In the early days, he used his best judgment, watching how court cases were handled and monitoring how the IRS made decisions.

Even prior to the pandemic, Mason was working virtually with clients all over the U.S., some of whom didn’t have bank accounts. These days, banking has become slightly more lenient as state governors have worked to help financial institutions support cannabis operations. “But implementing internal controls and getting accurate numbers for these cash-heavy businesses is still a challenge,” he admits.

Before getting involved in the cannabis niche, the biggest lift for Summers’ firm was getting everyone educated. “There’s not a lot of history, so you can’t always find other examples to study,” he says. “It took a lot of digging to understand how cannabis compares to more mature industries.”

Summers admits that the firm’s education efforts are continuous. “You don’t learn everything in a month. We constantly work on staying up to date about what’s new, especially from a regulatory perspective.”

Mayfield says working in this illegal/legal dichotomy means there’s a complexity to the accounting and back-office processes involved. “Many times, we’ve taken the long way around to get to the answer,” she explains. “Because we operate with the stigma of

illegality, we don’t have the privilege of operating with optimal systems and technology.” She says companies in every sector, from technology to transportation, may not do business with cannabis companies. As a result, cannabis companies don’t have as wide a range of vendors to choose from. “It takes us longer to get to those necessary efficiencies.”

Rofalikos agrees. “We’re not out there dealing with Chase or Bank of America, for example. Our options are more limited because of who can work with us for banking and payroll,” she says. “That doesn’t mean the accounting is bad or we don’t have accurate statements, but we’re not always working with the top-tier technology. As a CPA, you need to be extra aware and understand the challenges. What’s simple for your other clients isn’t as simple for your cannabis clients.”

TAKING THE LEAP

CPAs setting up shop in the cannabis space can learn a few things from the professionals who’ve gone through the process already. They offer these seven tips:

1. Get coverage: Consult with attorneys and insurance providers and add language to engagement letters as a protective measure. Mayfield says before she went through the process of confirming her insurance coverage, she found there was a special type that was better for her to have as an entrepreneur versus a more general policy.

2. Create connections: Actively connect with other CPAs and mentors within in the tight-knit industry. “Because we’re so limited on banks, merchants, and other service providers, it really helps to network with other professionals in the industry for their intel,” Rofalikos says. “Without that network, you don’t know who can help you and your clients succeed.”

3. Understand industry compliance: When a financial institution accepts your cannabis client, be prepared for rigorous compliance, and stay vigilant. “CPAs in this field must have spectacular, timely reporting or else a client’s bank can shut them down,” Mayfield warns. “Knowing how to navigate IRS rules at both the state and federal level is critical for those of us working in this space. We need to guide our clients to make the most out of these regulations.”

4. Know your clients: “When practitioners don’t understand the nuances of what this industry deals with, it leads to frustration and stumbling blocks,” Rofalikos says. “You’re asking the same questions, but you need to take a step back. While generally accepted accounting principles are the same as other manufacturers and retailers, we operate differently on the processing side.”

5. Be flexible: The state-based nature of the cannabis industry remains one of the biggest challenges. “There’s a different regulatory framework in every state,” Rofalikos says. “You’ll need separate legal entities and banking. If you’re in 14 states but use the same vendor for each business, you’ll still have to cut 14 checks to that vendor—one from each state. It takes more people, time, and resources. While a typical manufacturing company with centralized accounts can take advantage of efficiencies, our accounts must remain decentralized. Streamlining will continue to be a challenge until cannabis is federally legal.”

6. Be persistent: When times are tough, Mason reminds himself of his “why,” which isn’t only building a community and being on the forefront of a burgeoning opportunity, but also helping struggling businesses. “We’re all trying to figure out this unknown. It’s about persistence. Keep your eyes on the prize and find other people who are going through similar situations.”

7. Go all in: Don’t dabble in this industry, Summers advises: “Specialization, expertise, and experience all come over time. If you’re going to be in it, do it right.” Summers’ firm began by sending team members to conferences and doing a lot of research. “We wanted everyone to be properly educated before we started offering advice,” he explains.

While the cannabis industry is moving quickly and making progress, cannabis still remains illegal at the federal level. Therefore, businesses and the CPAs that serve them will continue to face unique challenges and scrutiny.

Mason describes his cannabis clients as being between a rock and a hard place, and he’s determined to help. “There’s an urgent need for our expertise,” he says. “This industry is only going to continue to grow. It’s exciting as we figure out a way to help these businesses come out on top.”

Rather than shy away from the industry, Rofalikos encourages CPAs to embrace it. “Consider this ‘Prohibition 2.0.’ Look at where we are now, and don’t be afraid to get involved. You can be a part of shaping something new—you can’t ask for a better opportunity.”

Above all, Mayfield says it’s worth it to enter the cannabis space and make a difference in the quality of life for others, not just the cannabis business owners, but the customers they serve. “If we do our job right, and do it consistently, we give our clients—and theirs—peace of mind by making sure they’re working with a CPA who’s experienced, educated, and connected within the cannabis industry. They know they can rely on CPAs to be their strategic business advisors and help them reach their next level of success.”

Natalie Rooney is a freelance writer based in Eagle, Colo. A former vice president of communications for the Ohio Society of CPAs, she has been writing for state CPA societies for more than 20 years.

INSPIRING PROGRESS

A Look at the State of Women in Accounting

Female CPAs weigh in on the changes, challenges, and opportunities to keep advancing women in the accounting profession.

BY KASIA WHITE

While women remain underrepresented in leadership positions at the world’s largest businesses, the data for women specifically in accounting has turned encouraging. In recent years, the accounting profession has seen a rise in gender diversity within leadership, with women holding 39% of partnership positions at U.S. CPA firms, up dramatically from just 23% two years earlier, according to the AICPA’s “2021 Trends” report released in spring 2022. Overall, women make up 46% of employee counts at CPA firms.

The latest data from executive recruiting firm Crist | Kolder Associates’ “Volatility Report 2022” further highlights a significant increase in female corporate leadership. The report analyzed 681 companies from the Fortune 500 and S&P 500 and found that the percentages of female CEOs and CFOs are at an all-time high. In 2022, 11% of CEOs and 25% of CFOs were women, up from 4% and 11%, respectively, a decade ago.

While this data illustrates that progress has been made in advancing the roles of women in accounting, challenges for achieving parity still exist. As the CPA profession continues to confront inequity head on, four female CPAs share their take on how organizations can make change and inspire, grow, and maintain a robust and resilient pipeline of women accountants.

Promoting Real Work-LIfe Balance

Jessica Freiburg, CPA, managing partner at Sassetti LLC, believes the COVID-19 pandemic has led to more opportunities for women in the partnership ranks. More specifically, the pandemic opened doors to new ways of working—think more flexible schedules and hybrid or fully remote work options—which many firms are continuing to embrace even as the pandemic begins to fade from being a day-to-day concern for many.

“These work options have created more opportunities for women to be able to step up and fill a role perhaps they or their superiors didn’t feel like they could fill before because they’re now allowed a new level of flexibility,” Freiburg says, who started at Sassetti right out of college and became one of the firm’s first female partners. By the end of next year, Sassetti, a firm comprised of 50 accountants, will be majority women owned.

“It’s exciting,” Freiburg says. “It happened a little bit by chance, but I also think it’s because we genuinely promote work-life balance. I know a lot of people say they have that, but we work hard to make sure that it’s a real thing.”

The pressure to balance work and child care, as one often cited example, is very real for many women. There are decades worth of research showing that the responsibility of child care typically falls on mothers, but that burden deepened during the pandemic due to school closures and loss of child care. Women with children ages 12 and under spent an average of eight hours a day on child care, while at the same time working an average of six hours per day in their jobs, according to a July 2021 Brookings Institution analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“No matter how you slice it, women still have, by and large, the greatest responsibility of their families. That’s just a fact,” says Natalie Manley, a seasoned CPA and member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing District 98. “I don’t know for certain if that’s tied to the historically low number of female CPA firm partners, but I think a mom is a mom and it’s hard for us to reach that level—as much as we want be in the game, as much as we want to be successful. Not everybody has a spouse or someone else to help them care for their kids.”

Illinois Rep. Amy Elik, CPA, representing District 111, says she faced this challenge at her firm while pregnant with her first child. “I was very torn about what to do and, thankfully, the firm worked with me,” Elik says, who was employed at the time by C.J. Schlosser and Company LLC. “The attitude, forgiveness, and grace they gave me when I needed to be at home meant the world to me. Accounting is certainly a challenging field with lots of late nights, weekends, and busy seasons, which frankly aren’t even seasons anymore— it’s all year long.”

Because of the flexibility and supportive work environment Elik experienced, she stayed with the firm for 20 years, calling it her home. For Freiburg, having that same level of flexibility and respect from her firm made a tremendous difference as well. Not only is she a mother to four children, but she’s also an active member of her community, focusing on initiatives impacting women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with multiple sclerosis. She’s currently on the board of trustees at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and is involved in the Council for IWU Women at Illinois Wesleyan University, where she mentors students and prepares them for interviews. She’s also volunteered with the Chicago Foundation for Women and the Illinois CPA Society’s (ICPAS’) Women’s Initiative Task Force, where she helped create the Women’s Mentoring Circles.

“I was able to have opportunities outside of work that the partners were always really supportive of, whether it was volunteering or doing something with my own family,” Freiburg says. “When you find a place where you have that balance, it makes everything feel that much better, more worthwhile.”

Besides a family-friendly environment and flexible schedule, another reason why Freiburg has stayed with the same firm for nearly 20 years is because of the positive work culture.

“I always felt like the partners really showed me a lot of respect and were willing to listen to my ideas,” Freiburg says, noting that she helped the firm create its employee handbook, parental leave policies, and a revamped scheduling system. “I saw there was opportunity for making positive change that was there for the taking. I just needed to put in the effort, develop the leadership skills, and continue working my way up.”

ALIgning CoRe Values

Wendy Kelly, CPA, president and managing principal of CDH PC, believes in the power of finding an organization whose values align with your own. CDH, an international accounting and consulting firm that employs more than 100 professionals, prides itself on four core values: accountability, individual responsibility, integrity, and growth.

“If you’re at an organization where your personal values and vision for the future aren’t in alignment with the firm’s, go find a place where you can be elevated to be your best self, succeed, and become a leader,” Kelly urges.

Freiburg stresses that her ascent to partner is highlighted by her personal values fitting well with the core values of her firm: “It makes it easier because there’s a comfort knowing that the decisions the firm makes are in alignment with the decisions you would make.”

“Unfortunately, some women who go into public accounting end up at a firm that doesn’t click for them. Instead of finding another opportunity that fits them better, they choose to leave the profession,” Kelly says. “I choose a place where I don’t feel like being a woman holds me back. I chose this place.” Kelly, who’s been in the accounting profession for more than 30 years, and with CDH since 2010, became the firm’s first female partner. Today, her firm is “proud of the number of women” in its talent pipeline.

Mentoring Tomorrow’s LeadeRS

Throughout her career, Kelly has been heavily involved in women’s initiatives. She was once the chair of ICPAS’ Women’s Executive Committee and a board member of the Exclusive Professional Women’s Networking Group. Today, she’s more focused on diversity and inclusion for all. But that’s not to say that she doesn’t still believe in advocating for women—far from it. She believes one

of most impactful ways to build up women and help them succeed, especially early on in their careers, is to be a mentor.

“Be someone willing to identify and develop your up-and-coming women leaders to help them springboard and move forward in their careers,” Kelly says. “Let them know they can do it. Help them understand how they can do it.”

As one who embraces a similar mindset to Kelly’s, Manley has hired two full-time female employees into her state office. “When I was interviewing them, I told them that I want to cultivate professionals. I want to help these women become professionals, give them experiences, and challenge them to support them on their journeys,” Manley says. “These women have been great to work with, and I respect their opinions. It’s been super gratifying.”

In a way, Manley is paying it forward. She gives credit to the CPA firm where she worked for 25 years for raising her professionally: Wermer, Rogers, Doran & Ruzon in Joliet, Ill.

“They believed in me. It’s like a family there; they support one another,” Manley says, adding that three out of the four partners at the firm are women. “I think they’re ahead of their time in many ways, as far as giving women and minorities opportunities. They’re a good model for giving everybody a chance and helping people rise to the top regardless of their age, sex, and race.”

Moving in the Right DiRection

Reflecting on her career, Kelly has noticed an overall positive shift in gender diversity and how accounting firms treat their employees. “Things were very different when I entered the profession 34 years ago. How everyone was treated in the workforce was different,” Kelly notes. “The world has evolved in the way executives interact with their teams.”

Manley has noticed the same trend. “Thirty years ago, men ruled the accounting industry. There was an unsaid doctrine that men were in charge and the women worked for them. And while I don’t feel that’s the case anymore, it’s worth noting that women have fought to get to the top,” she says. “Encouragingly, a lot of women have made their way up the ladder.”

While progress has been made and more women are in leadership roles, achieving true gender parity is likely to remain an uphill battle. Meaning women’s resilience will be required awhile longer.

“It seems we always have to work a little harder than our male counterparts, but that’s OK because that means we’re better prepared,” Manley says with conviction. “It’s not easy, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. And so, to be taken seriously, to be embraced, sometimes you have to work harder—but in the long run, your hard work—your resilience—is what sets you apart.”

Kasia White is a freelance writer who specializes in profiling small businesses, covering the musical products industry, and interviewing leaders of globally renowned companies.

Brian J. Blaha, CPA Growth Partner, Wipfli LLP bblaha@wipfli.com

The CPA Profession Is Greater Than Its Stereotypes

It’s time to change the narrative—growing the CPA profession will require all of us to redefine our brand, become more diverse, and deepen our skill sets.

Much is being said about the CPA profession’s pipeline problem, lack of diversity, and its strict requirements for entering the field—and just as much is being said about how to fix these issues. I, for one, believe that growing the profession is a good place to start. As the chief growth officer at Wipfli LLP, my focus is always on the top line, so I naturally think about growth a lot—and I believe growth in our profession starts with people aligning to the needs of internal and external clients.

To grow the profession, we need to redefine and enhance the meaning of the three coveted letters that follow our names—CPA—to include a broader set of traits centered on strategy and advisory. With this in mind, I think we’ll need to focus on three key actions: 1) redefining the profession’s overall brand, 2) diversifying the profession, and 3) deepening our communication and advisory skill sets.

REDEFINING THE CPA BRAND

Think of all the stereotypes of a CPA: boring, introverted, math wizard, tax code know-it-all, someone who pounds away at a calculator all day while sporting a pocket protector and green eyeshade. Are those even around anymore? You get the picture, and if you’re a CPA, you know there are many more stereotypes that paint us in a less-than-positive light. Are there some CPAs that fit these old stereotypes? Sure, but the CPA profession has been, and always will be, so much more. It’s up to all of us to help the narrative and flip the script so we are seen as a sustainable, vibrant profession for many decades to come.

We’re no longer the profession where a traditional CPA must source the work, staff the work, review the work, bill the work, and ensure the cycle continues. We’re a diverse profession and our clients want us to be curious, anticipatory, consultative, and offer proactive, strategic advice. We’re required to have strong communication and analytical skills and thoroughly understand the industries we serve. Although accounting and finance are intrinsic to our profession, we need to be defined by how we use our expertise in those areas to deliver solutions to complex problems.

The AICPA and its nonpartisan public policy organization, the Center for Audit Quality, recently launched a nationwide campaign, Accounting+, aimed at attracting the next generation of students. The campaign represents the profession’s many options, career paths, diverse skill sets, and flexibility. It’s also aimed at increasing overall diversity within the accounting profession. Overall, I think it’s a great start since part of changing the script

of what accounting is requires a change in public perception. However, we can all be working in our own ways to redefine the CPA brand, expose more people to the profession, and find new ways to show that CPAs aren’t what the stereotypes make us all out to be.

BECOMING BROADER, MORE DIVERSE

Making our profession more open to diverse viewpoints will provide for a larger tent for an expanded employee base to find rewarding careers in. However, being open to diverse viewpoints in and of itself won’t change the profession—it requires thoughtful planning and action.

Many large firms, including Wipfli, have instituted business resource groups (BRGs) or equivalent groups to focus on the needs, challenges, and opportunities of minority and underrepresented groups in the corporate environment. These groups have opened the space for knowledge sharing and dialogue on important issues that have plagued the CPA profession for years. Being curious about others and the challenges they’ve endured can help create common understanding, and learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable allows us to see each other for the individuals that we are. Sometimes it’s that shared understanding that makes all the difference.

In other cases, diversifying our profession requires more pointed action. One of the easiest things each of us can do is become a mentor. I’ve had the privilege of being a sponsor and ally to many managers and senior managers in a program started by our Women of Wipfli BRG. Through this program, I’ve helped connect employees with others in the firm, supporting them in building their internal and external networks and deepening their understanding of firm economics. For our multicultural BRG, we recognize the challenges some of our employees often face are unique and require different actions. For example, we’re exploring a formal mentorship program for our younger minority employees.

I believe the next phase of our profession’s diversity journey is to shift our efforts externally. We need to create opportunities to better connect with students in high school and college and share our experiences on why accounting is an excellent career choice that opens a world of possibilities for them. When the Illinois CPA Society surveyed thousands of students and young professionals to understand who most influences them in deciding to pursue the CPA credential, the findings presented in “A CPA Pipeline Report: Decoding the Decline” showed that their employers or prospective employers (39%), college professors (33%), and family (27%) carried significant influence. Individual volunteerism, serving as brand ambassadors for the profession, and helping to build private and public partnerships are all going to be critical aspects for us to pursue if we want to make meaningful progress in this area.

DEEPENING OUR SKILL SETS

Over the last decade, technology has greatly reduced the long list of mundane tasks typically associated with a CPA’s work. By leveraging technology, we’ve been able to gain hours back and deploy them in more meaningful work, providing more value to our clients.

University curriculums have done a great job of preparing CPA candidates for the traditional work they’ll encounter. Yet, a singular focus on the technical aspects of our jobs has left a gap in skill sets necessary to deliver on the CPA value proposition of today. The skills required to be the most trusted and strategic business

advisors to our clients are essential—and unique enough that they need their own focus. Without filling those gaps, we risk losing ground to other professions.

We must work together to ensure higher education, professional associations, firms, and corporations are providing the education necessary to serve our profession in the manner our internal and external clients are demanding. Additional focus is needed on increasing our industry expertise, communication skills, and techniques to enhance our advisory capabilities.

To secure our profession’s role in the consulting arena and ensure a holistic approach to the client experience, we need to prepare CPAs to think bigger and more strategically, while utilizing the advances in technology that are allowing them to actually do this.

I think we can all agree that we’re all much more than the stereotypical accounting bookworms so many make us out to be. We’re making progress, but we need to pick up the pace and commit to a concerted effort to change the narrative and make our profession more attractive to a new generation of diverse and talented CPAs. This requires a firm-by-firm approach, along with the help of academia and our partners in innovation. Everyone has to get on board—the CPA profession’s future depends on it.

Jon Lokhorst, CPA, PCC Executive Leadership Coach, Lokhorst Consulting jon@lokhorstconsulting.com

5 Tips for Creating an Impactful Off-Site Team Retreat

When was the last time you pulled your team away from the daily grind to work on the team, not just as a team?

The best leaders recognize the need to get off the hamster wheel of never-ending operational tasks to focus on building a cohesive, high-performing team. An off-site retreat is one of the best ways to do just that.

While you may consider an off-site retreat to be just a warm, fuzzy, nice-to-have, research shows that there’s plenty of value in investing in in-person team development. For starters, as many as 80% of jobs are now in remote or hybrid work arrangements, according to Gallup. Additionally, according to “The Great Resignation Research Report” from Plan Beyond, participants ranked a bad relationship with their supervisor and a lack of respect for colleagues as two of the top four reasons for quitting their jobs.

The good news? An off-site retreat can help resolve these startling trends and build back the “know, like, and trust” factor among your team members. To help you get started, here are five tips for creating an impactful retreat experience for your team.

1. CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE TO TEAM BUILDING

Do everything possible to escape the office and the distractions and interruptions that reside there. Although your team might welcome a trip to the Caribbean, you don’t need an exotic location to create energy and spur creativity. Of course, there’s the typical hotel or corporate meeting facility. But I’ve also facilitated client retreats at a coastal resort, public library, golf club, local community center, and nearby church. The key is to get away to a place that suits your team!

Additionally, take some time to prepare and set up your space in advance to ensure its conducive to an engaging, lively discussion. This may include:

• Distributing an agenda of topics and activities that’ll help your team know what to expect and help them determine whether they need to plan for your discussions.

• Providing healthy and not-so-healthy snacks and beverages to accommodate a variety of tastes.

• Enlisting interested team members in planning these logistics, as their involvement will encourage their ownership of the experience.

2. USE ASSESSMENTS TO PROVOKE INSIGHTS ABOUT WORKPLACE TENDENCIES

Assessment tools offer significant insights that provoke self-discovery and an understanding of differences among team members. Some of the more well-known and widely-used tools on the market are DiSC, Myers-Briggs, and StrengthsFinder. In fact, you might already have

profile reports on file from one of these assessments. I prefer the combined Path4 and Path6 profiles from RightPath Resources due to their narrower focus on workplace behavioral preferences versus general personality traits.

Assign the assessment as advance preparation for the retreat, providing team members with a self-debriefing guide to help them identify strengths, struggles, and potential blind spots. The assessment can also help your team members identify their keys to productive working relationships, leadership styles, communication preferences, and approaches to conflict and change.

3. APPRECIATE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND RECOGNIZE TEAM DYNAMICS

As you provide team members with opportunities for self-discovery from their profiles, invite them to share these insights with their colleagues. This provides an opportunity for team members to better understand how their differences and preferences can create breakdowns in communication and relationships, as well as how they can complement their strengths and create opportunities for collaboration to move crucial team initiatives forward.

For example, a highly extroverted team member might see the value of providing time and space for their introverted colleagues to think through challenging questions and issues before jumping into a discussion. Likewise, the more structured, detail-oriented team member can appreciate the creative thinking that more unstructured, spontaneous teammates bring to the table.

4. MAKE COMMITMENTS TO PLAY WELL TOGETHER IN THE SANDBOX

I grew up before the video game age (unless you count the original “Pong” game), so playing in the sandbox was one of my favorite pastimes. I recall how my neighborhood friends and I would gather at Johnny’s sandbox, each of us in our own corner to play with Hot Wheels, Matchbox cars, and Tonka trucks. Our playtime started with all of us getting along well, but often devolved into territorial battles, arguments, harsh words, and someone leaving the sandbox in tears. It usually required parental involvement to restore order, remind us of healthier behavior, and obtain commitments to play well together.

Leading your team can feel the same way at times. After all, adults aren’t that much different from kids when conflict arises—just bigger problems and bigger bodies. As such, your team needs to work together to create rules of engagement for healthy communication and other team behaviors. Rather than having your team follow a list of rules and expectations, I suggest having each member state and make positive commitments to one another. Here are a few examples:

• I commit to responding to my teammate’s email or voicemail message within 24 hours, even if it’s simply to acknowledge that I received it and to estimate when I can provide a more thorough response.

• I commit to addressing disagreements or conflicts directly with the person(s) involved rather than involving third parties who are neither part of the problem nor the solution.

• I commit to approaching feedback from my teammates with openness and teachability rather than being defensive.

5. PLAY WITH PURPOSE

During your retreat, I recommend building in opportunities for socialization, such as happy hour, dinner, or an evening activity. Or you can wrap up the retreat with such activities. Axe-throwing, improv night, go-kart racing, an escape room, Whirlyball, and a cooking class have been hits among my recent clients.

One of my favorite activities was with a health care team that ended their first afternoon of a two-day retreat with a “sip and paint” event (i.e., tasting wine while painting under the tutelage of an experienced art instructor). I kept my lighthouse painting as a memory from that event—miraculously, you can even tell it’s a lighthouse!

Notably, these playful activities offer a great opportunity to kick off discussions at your more structured team gatherings. For example, you can incorporate a debriefing of the activity in your discussions and focus on observations of team dynamics in action and how they can shape a more healthy, productive team experience.

Soon after the retreat, conduct an after-action review with your team: Identify what went well, what didn’t, and how to improve the experience for next time. Most importantly, make your retreat a regular experience (at least annually) to build a healthy team culture that no one wants to leave.

EVOLVING ACCOUNTANT

Accounting’s Strength in Numbers

Andrea Wright, CPA Partner, Johnson Lambert LLP

March was Women’s History Month—a time when we celebrate, commemorate, and observe the contributions that women have made to American history. Within our profession, this is often a time we see firms showcase on social media the women that serve in their leadership roles. And while this annual occasion rightfully deserves recognition and celebration, it’s also an important reminder to reflect on where women in accounting stand and how much further we have to go.

While women have begun to crack the glass ceiling of public accounting leadership, they sadly still make up only 23% of partners in U.S. CPA firms, despite being 50% of new hires, according to a report from the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the California Society of CPAs (CALCPA). The AICPA’s “2021 Trends” report, released in spring 2022, pegs the number of women partners in U.S. CPA firms at a higher 39%, but even that begs for a stronger push toward parity. More recently, and closer to home, the Illinois CPA Society’s (ICPAS’) 2022 Firm Staffing and Benefits Survey found that women make up just 27% of partners in Illinois CPA firms. The obvious question is why?

What the IMA/CALCPA report found is that 73% of the women surveyed reported that biases toward them negatively affected their ability to enter the profession’s leadership ranks.

In the accounting profession, there’s at least recognition that the lack of women representation is an issue, and various programs have been instituted to combat this problem by state and national bodies. For instance, the AICPA adopted the Women’s Initiative Executive Committee (WIEC), with the goal of promoting a work environment that provides opportunities for women to advance to leadership positions. WEIC’s primary contribution in this area has been through the development of educational programs and resources. While this and other programs, like ICPAS’ Women’s Committee and Women’s Mentoring Circles, have had some successes, the statistics of women in leadership in the profession demonstrate that progress has been slow. As we see another Women’s History Month come and go, now is the perfect time for women to assess our state in our profession and consider how we might use the framework of community to chart our own path forward.

The concept of community has always been the glue that binds individuals together, and professional community is no different. As individuals, we flourish when we’re connected to community. We become our best selves and have the greatest impact when we act together.

The annals of history prove true that communities acting together have the power to effect change. A recent example of this is the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT).

In 2022, dozens of current and former team members became the public symbol of gender parity with the successful settlement of their equal pay lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, the sport’s national governing body and employer of the players. Megan Rapinoe’s iconic, open-armed, post-goal pose during the 2019 Women’s World Cup quarterfinal

By harnessing the power of community, the accounting profession can create a pathway to gender parity.

versus France is forever etched in my memory. Not solely as a symbol of victory, but as an invitation to community and the power that community can harness.

As such, I believe there are three lessons that women in accounting can learn from the USWNT’s fight for pay equity.

1. COLLECTIVE ADVOCACY

The idiom “there’s strength in numbers” seems obvious but worth reiterating. Six years before the USWNT players won their court victory, five players unsuccessfully filed a similar pay equity complaint. It wasn’t until all 28 team members of the current team decided to join and stick together that they were successful in their efforts.

A critical aspect of collective advocacy is the focus on the community’s common goals while acknowledging the nuances that exist within it. Collective advocacy drives movement for the benefit of the community, not solely for the individual.

2. SHARED EXPERIENCES

A benefit of community is knowing that you’re not alone. Shared experiences have the benefit of producing visible role models. Sometimes it takes just one other person who’s willing to start the conversation for others to recognize that they’re not alone in their experience. The more vocal the USWNT players became about their experiences, the more other women in sports, business, academia, and politics joined the conversation. In fact, not long after the USWNT players gained national attention for their pay equity struggle, players of the Women’s National Basketball Association launched their own gender equity movement.

Realizing that women thrive in environments where there are viable role models, many organizations created spaces for employees to gather and share their experiences. My firm has created similar initiatives—but I’ve found that they’re not well attended by women in firm leadership. These groups are a good first step, but for them to really make an impact, women must take the reins and make the groups work for them.

For the benefit of the community, women in leadership must be willing to share their experiences in more open, public forums. Some of us can tell stories of long careers with promotions within a firm or company where we’ve made a difference. Others can share how they moved around but have had doors open because of the CPA credential or accounting and financial acumen. Being vocal about our experiences ignites not only enthusiasm but can also create a movement.

3. WELCOME OTHERS

For me, one of the highlights of following the USWNT’s journey was seeing how welcoming the team was to others. A community may begin with a group of individuals who share unique or specific characteristics; however, it doesn’t have to remain defined as such. For example, not long after the USWNT players began their public campaign, the men’s soccer team pledged its support to them. A community is made stronger, in part, by the effective partnerships and coalitions it’s able to develop. Which brings us full circle to the first point made in this article—there’s strength in numbers.

Women have contributed a great deal to the accounting profession over its history and we have much more to contribute. As one writer put it, “as the advancement of women goes, so goes the firm of the future.” If we learn to harness the power of community, I have no doubt that the future will be bright.

Mark J. Gilbert, CPA/PFS, MBA President, Reason Financial Advisors mgilbert@reasonfinancial.com

A Call to Women CPAs: Consider a Career in Financial Planning

Building trust and developing relationships—skill sets that women generally excel at—are key components of a successful career as a financial planning professional. And the profession needs you.

Despite all the progress I’ve seen in the accounting and finance profession, and the business world as a whole, throughout my professional career, women are surprisingly still underrepresented in my primary area of focus—personal financial planning. Current estimates show that just 27% of certified financial planners (CFPs) are women. This, of course, is in spite of the fact that women make up at least 50% of the U.S. population. With this in mind, I was curious to know how the Illinois CPA Society’s (ICPAS’) membership compared. ICPAS currently states that approximately 38% of its members are women. While policymakers and thought leaders will undoubtedly continue to develop programs aimed at achieving gender parity in industries throughout the U.S. economy, it seems to me that improvements can, and should, also grow out of grassroots initiatives. In my small corner of the accounting and finance world, for example, maybe increasing the number of women in the field is a matter of helping to better educate my fellow ICPAS members on the benefits of life as a personal financial planner.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the various aspects of professional life that I enjoy as a CPA and personal financial specialist (PFS)—a certification only CPAs can earn. And thanks to some of my female colleagues sharing their thoughts and experiences with me on the financial planning profession, here’s why we think more women should consider a career in financial planning.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER, CLIENT CHOICES

First and foremost, most CPAs already have the technical skills needed to easily transition into the financial planning environment. In fact, the CFP Board has identified 70 principal topics in which a CFP certificate holder must be proficient, and working as a CPA can be helpful in mastering these topics.

Elizabeth Buffardi, CPA, CFP, president and owner of Crescendo Financial Planners Inc., agrees. She says that her prior tax experience from working in a large public accounting firm was extremely helpful in preparing her for the technical demands of personal income tax planning and other areas of personal financial planning.

Similarly, Allison Alexander, CPA, CFP, CDFA, member owner of Savant Wealth Management, shares that her tenure in a Big Eight firm and private industry prior to joining Savant have been useful, especially when working with business owners on their succession plans.

Ashley Gorman, CPA, a financial advisor with Savant, completed three internships at public accounting firms before pursuing financial planning, which has helped to hone her craft. “I’d like to stay with Savant for the long-haul, so I know that by having these skills I’ll have a better chance at growing with the firm and being presented more challenging opportunities,” she says.

“Opportunities” is a key word. Entering the financial planning space allows a CPA to further diversify their skills and the services they can offer current or prospective clients. Or, for those looking to transition out of public accounting or corporate finance altogether, it offers the opportunity to start one’s own firm or join an existing one that offers a different work culture and environment.

WOMEN ARE GOOD ADVISORS, INVESTORS

Truthfully, I believe women naturally have an extraordinary advantage over men in being successful CPA financial planners. Why? One reason, in particular, is that I believe women are generally better suited in handling the personal nature of the work. Often, a client’s financial position carries with it tremendous emotional ties, as money often intersects with important career, relationship, and health care decisions. Simply, women advisors may understand these emotions around money better than their male counterparts.

Alexander has seen this herself, sharing that “when a client asks, ‘should I sell my business,’ this may really mean ‘should I sell the business now, so I can spend more time with my terminally ill husband.’” Trusted financial planners who know their clients and their families can add real value in helping them make these decisions.

“We know that 80% of widows search for a different adviser after the death of a spouse. The husband’s adviser often does not listen to their concerns, is condescending in his answers, and uses confusing jargon,” says Blair duQuesnay, CFA, CFP, an investment advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management, in an interview with the CFA Institute. “Women are shown to be better listeners, to have more empathy, and to be better at explaining financial concepts in simple, plain language.”

This implies women CPA financial planners may also hold an advantage for connecting with female clients over their male counterparts. In fact, according to a March 2022 Financial Planner Life article, 70% of women who work with financial advisors prefer female advisors.

Of course, countless studies have also shown that women are often better investors than men. In a 2021 analysis of 5 million Fidelity customers over a 10-year period, women’s investment returns outperformed men’s by 40 basis points. A Wells Fargo study examining investment returns during the January 2016 to December 2020 period found women achieved higher returns while taking on less risk than men. Wells Fargo found that women took approximately 82% of the risk that men took when investing. Women also seem to do a generally better job of avoiding impulsive decisions: Nationwide found that only 8% of women liquidated their retirement accounts during volatile markets, compared to 15% of men. Further, Vanguard found that women trade 40% less frequently than men, which is consistent with a University of California, Berkeley study showing that women traded 45% less frequently than men. High investment turnover, in many cases, leads to lower returns.

What I take from this is that women financial planners have a strong likelihood of being “better” advisors to their clients. Ultimately,

financial planners have their greatest impact when their clients believe they have a trusted partner who offers independent advice and relates to them and their families.

THERE’S BETTER WORK-LIFE BALANCE

In the current business landscape, in large part to the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. employers have become more enlightened to the needs of their employees—both men and women—for working in an environment that’s respectful of their time outside the office. Nevertheless, issues like starting a family, arranging for child care, caring for elderly parents, and similar family matters still often fall more on women than men, which can cause detrimental impacts on their professional careers.

Gorman is well aware of these burdens, noting that she specifically chose not to work in public accounting because of the challenges associated with multiple busy seasons. Instead, a career in financial planning has offered her a better work-life balance. “In November and December, I’m busy with year-end tax planning,” she says. “But I find that I have more regular work hours throughout the rest of the year.”

A career in personal financial planning can be rewarding for both men and women CPAs. However, my experiences and the findings of others point to the interplay of technical and emotional aspects around wealth and money making a career in personal financial planning especially suitable for women CPAs who are seeking a challenging professional environment, career advancement opportunities, and better work-life balance. While I encourage all my fellow CPAs to explore careers in financial planning, I especially encourage women to explore the benefits it could offer. After all, as the numbers show, the financial planning space needs you.

Shifra Kolsky, CPA Senior VP, Chief Accounting Officer, Controller, Discover Financial Services shifrakolsky@discover.com

4 Ways to Make Finance a Strategic Business Partner

Corporate finance professionals must become strategic business partners who drive successful business outcomes. Here’s how to take that step.

As corporate finance professionals, we play a key role in the operations of our organizations and help enable good decision-making based on sound analysis. We help assess the impact of each option that’s weighed and help hold our colleagues accountable for meeting goals and targets. While we’ve historically been seen as scorekeepers across industries, we’ve also fought to secure our seat at the table as strategic business partners who can share important insights and help guide meaningful conversations in the interest of driving greater outcomes for our companies.

I spent some time with my colleague Vishal Shah, business unit CFO of Discover Global Network (the payments brand of Discover), to understand his approach to being an effective strategic business partner. Shah sits in a unique, and sometimes challenging, position where he serves two bosses—his business unit head and our enterprise CFO.

“To be successful, you have to remain unbiased and be willing to advocate for your business unit while still remaining true to your responsibilities as CFO,” he says. “It may require some alignment conversations and some finesse, but if you ensure that everyone is talking with each other about a shared goal, you can play a key role in helping folks meet in the middle.”

According to Shah, there are four elements every corporate finance professional needs to be mindful of to be an effective strategic business partner.

1. UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS

While deep knowledge of the numbers is always important, exercise your curiosity to learn more about what’s behind the numbers and spend time gaining a deep understanding of the business you support and how it functions. Talk with your stakeholders to learn both what they do and why they do it. Be clear on how the business makes money and what it takes to be successful. A business model canvas, which is a template for documenting a business plan on a single page, can be a useful tool to guide your research and summarize what you learn. With this understanding, you can better assist in blending business and financial goals.

2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

If you want your business partners to listen to your views and consider your thoughts, it’s important to build trust and credibility. Start by getting to know your partners. Learn what’s important to them, their passion projects, and how they view their business unit’s role within the context of achieving the enterprise’s overall goals. Then, demonstrate your competence to them by bringing ideas that are meaningful to helping drive the success of the business.

3. MAINTAIN ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

Strong partnerships are fostered through clear lines of accountability and transparent reporting, which are key to successfully driving desired business outcomes. Remember, as

a strategic business partner, you’ll be engaged in both annual planning and project-level planning. Better business decisions will be made when everyone involved has a clear understanding of the project’s plan, how it’ll be managed, and how it’ll be measured.

• Project planning: During the planning process, the finance team often takes the lead to connect business initiatives to desired financial outcomes. Understanding how value is created and how different levers drive impact is important to building the business case for a particular initiative, and you’ll want to ensure early on that project leads can clearly articulate how their initiative will drive value for the company. It’s important to have a clear understanding of the risks and opportunities, as well as any assumptions used to build the business case for the initiative. Using this information, you can translate the desired financial outcomes into a system for managing financial decisions and can pressure test the assumptions to ensure the plan is appropriately balanced between being aggressive and achievable. A documented decision tree or criteria to consider in a decision framework can clarify expectations and decision thresholds up front.

• Project management: For any initiative, implementing general project management principles will help with accountability. It’s important to put a scoping document together to clearly establish a common understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish or the value you’re trying to create, the timeline and key milestones, the workstreams, tasks, ownership, help needed from others, and key dependencies. By documenting everything clearly, you can gain alignment up front and clarify anything that needs to be further refined. Once that’s all documented and agreed upon, it’s critical to put systems in place to ensure information flow, processes, and structure are there to help drive the right decisions.

• Project measurement: With these systems in place, you should have the data available to transparently influence outcomes, ensuring that the right thing is rewarded and receives visibility. Often, you’ll need to help the team determine the best metrics or measurements to track key decisions and actions, and using a scorecard that reflects the appropriate metrics can help. During this time, consider whether your value drivers are at the right level of detail or whether you need to break them down further for tracking. Additionally, identify your hypothesis on achievable outcomes and ensure that the items you expect to move or change, or that are most sensitive, are being tracked. Lastly, ensure that scorecards are shared broadly across the team and that there’s time set aside to review and understand progress on a routine basis.

4. NAVIGATE CHALLENGES

At times, you may find yourself at odds with the team you’re trying to support. In order to get these relationships back on track, you may have to sit down and directly discuss the root cause of your disagreements. While you may not come to a full agreement in these discussions, you can at least understand where each party is coming from and find a better way to resolve the issue(s) going forward.

Becoming a strategic business partner requires corporate finance professionals to look well beyond the numbers. A strong understanding of your business, a dedication to your partners, and effectively driving outcomes for the company must all become top priorities. However, with clear communication and by consistently demonstrating that you’re always seeking the best outcomes for the company, you should have no problem earning a seat at the table and bringing your business partners together to support each other’s—and the enterprise’s—success.

Keith Staats, JD Executive Director, Illinois Chamber of Commerce Tax Institute kstaats@ilchamber.org

Illinois’ Corporate Income Tax: Never-Ending Complexity

Having the state’s income tax mirror the federal tax base seems simple enough, but decoupling from federal tax treatment makes it anything but.

The Illinois Income Tax Act, as is the case with virtually all other state income taxes, piggybacks off the federal income tax. In the case of corporations, the determination of income subject to Illinois income taxation begins with federal taxable income.

In the early years of the act, Illinois’ tax base mirrored the federal tax base. Those who drafted the legislation believed it would keep the Illinois tax so simple that there’d be no need for the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) to hire state income tax auditors. Obviously, we now know better—the Illinois income tax is anything but simple. Instead, it’s full of complexities caused by decoupling from federal tax treatment that, in my opinion, costs taxpayers and IDOR money and time.

DECOUPLING STRATEGIES

Over the years, Illinois has decoupled from various provisions of the federal tax base. In some instances, such as addbacks for related party expenses, Illinois decoupled from the federal tax base to address what IDOR and the Illinois General Assembly perceived to be improper “tax planning” that resulted in an understatement of income “properly” attributable to Illinois. In other instances, such as the River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act, decoupling was motivated by a desire to encourage redevelopment of certain areas of the state by providing a special tax benefit.

In other instances, such as decoupling from federal net operating losses, the decoupling was an effort to address complexities triggered by other corporate income tax changes and, in later years, to increase Illinois income tax revenues. For example, Illinois decoupled from federal net operating losses in 1986. At the time of decoupling, one purpose was to address complications that ensued when Illinois law adopted the “unitary business group” definition in 1982. In later years, loss carryback provisions were eliminated, and the carryforward period was shortened in an attempt to generate additional state tax revenues. However, in late 2021, the pendulum swung back the other way when the loss carryforward period was extended.

Unfortunately, these decoupling practices can sometimes be short-sighted, particularly when they introduce unnecessary compliance costs and complexity in preparing returns and creating and maintaining documentation for Illinois income tax audits. The best example of this is the decoupling from federal special depreciation.

FEDERAL SPECIAL DEPRECIATION

In simple terms, depreciation is an annual tax deduction that allows a taxpayer to recover the cost or other basis of certain property over the time the property is used. Think of it as an allowance for the wear and tear, deterioration, or obsolescence of a property.

For property acquired after Sept. 27, 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act authorized special depreciation allowances of up to 100% in the year a property was placed in service. Allowing special depreciation, including 100% expensing, has the effect of reducing federal taxable income in the year in which the special depreciation is claimed and has been used at the federal level as a method to spur investment in capital assets. It also has the effect of increasing federal taxable income in subsequent years since the depreciation deductions have been taken in whole or in part of the earliest year. Many states, including Illinois, didn’t like this result—hence, they decoupled from federal special depreciation.

The most recent Illinois legislation was the second time Illinois attempted to decouple from federal depreciation rules. After 9/11, Illinois enacted flawed legislation that was designed to decouple from federal special depreciation enacted by Congress to spur investment. This first attempt to decouple from federal special depreciation worked if the federal deduction was less than 100% in the year the property was placed in service. However, because of a flaw in the drafting of the legislation, Illinois law allowed 100% expensing in any year in which the federal special depreciation authorized 100% expensing (This drafting mistake was corrected by legislation a couple of years ago).

Currently, Illinois law requires a taxpayer to add back any special federal depreciation and then replace it with an Illinois depreciation deduction. As a result, Illinois taxpayers are required to set up a separate depreciation tracking system for Illinois income tax purposes in addition to their federal depreciation tracking.

I can attest from my time in private practice— and subsequent discussions with Illinois taxpayers and practitioners—that virtually every Illinois corporate income tax audit by IDOR results in an inordinate amount of time addressing Illinois depreciation addition and subtraction modification issues with IDOR auditors.

In the end, the amounts depreciated by taxpayers under Illinois and federal laws should be the same. The effect on a taxpayer’s income tax liabilities should also be the same. The only things that should change are the years in which the depreciation deductions are taken and the years in which taxes are paid. Therefore, the time and resources expended by taxpayers and IDOR on decoding this topic makes Illinois’ income tax anything but simple—and arguably more complex than necessary.

Elizabeth Pittelkow Kittner

How Can CPAs Ethically Interact With ChatGPT?

As CPA firms experiment with ChatGPT and other AI solutions, it is important to consider the technology’s limitations—including the ethical ones.

A powerful new artificial intelligence (AI) bot, ChatGPT, is causing quite a stir in the business world, including in the accounting profession. Using a wide range of internet data, ChatGPT can help users answer questions, write articles, program code, and engage in in-depth conversations on a substantial range of topics.

What makes ChatGPT sensational to some, besides the headlines of it passing the Bar Exam, various medical exams, and MBA exams, is its ability to hold human-like conversations with users. Essentially, AI developers designed neural networks in the technology to function similarly to the human brain. Because language is full of nuances and contextual differences, earlier versions of AI programs had not achieved as much success in this area.

As powerful as this new bot is, ChatGPT (and other similar AI) does have its limitations— including ethical ones. Before we delve into the ethics of ChatGPT, let’s first look at what the bot does well, and what it does not.

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES

Ultimately, AI programs are designed to improve efficiencies for performing basic tasks, including researching and writing. Some users are even asking ChatGPT to take on more robust forms of these tasks, including drafting emails to fire clients, crafting job descriptions, and writing company mission statements.

It is important to note that while ChatGPT can provide helpful suggestions, it is not as good at decision-making or personalizing scripts based on personality or organizational culture. An effective way to use ChatGPT and similar AI programs is to ensure a human or group of humans is reviewing the data, testing it, and implementing the results in a way that makes sense for the organization using it. For example, with job descriptions written by an AI program, at least one human should ensure the details make sense with what the organization does and does not do.

A significant reason that humans are still better at decision-making is because the neurons in our brains are autonomous, efficient, and constantly changing. ChatGPT is not an independently thinking program—despite some of its responses that lead people to believe that it is. Programs like ChatGPT have rigid neural networks and require a high amount of computing energy and electricity to learn and operate.

Another current weakness of ChatGPT is its ability to break and be manipulated. ChatGPT has consistently experienced overwhelmed servers, making it inaccessible to users. Additionally, some rogue users have been able to “jailbreak” ChatGPT’s safeguards, causing the technology to push out unethical and harmful information. While ChatGPT’s owners have been able to patch and update the AI for these jailbreaks, it has yet to be seen if they will be able to fully stop further attacks.

One way ChatGPT is working on preventing the release of inappropriate content is by asking humans to flag content for it to ban. Of course, this method brings up a number of ethical considerations. People who are utilitarians would argue that this method is ethical because the end justifies the means—the masses are not subject to bad content because only a few people are. Those who are more deontological in their ethical views would say this method is unethical because people cannot intentionally subject other people to harm, regardless of the outcome.

In terms of preventing unethical behaviors, such as users asking the program to write their papers to pass off as their own, some technology developers are creating AI to specifically combat nefarious usage with AI. One such technology is ZeroGPT, which can help people determine if content is generated from a human or from AI.

ETHICS, ACCORDING TO CHATGPT

I decided to try ChatGPT and asked the bot if it could tell me more about the ethics of AI. It did not hesitate to point out that the field of ethics in AI is concerned with the moral implications of the

development and use of the technology, pointing to a range of ethical topics on bias and fairness, privacy, responsibility and accountability, job displacement, and algorithmic transparency.

I also asked how I can use ChatGPT ethically. Not surprisingly, it suggested being respectful, avoiding spreading misinformation, protecting personal information, and using ChatGPT responsibly.

The points ChatGPT made in its responses are generally known as items that need to be addressed. To its point about fairness and bias, specifically how to mitigate bias in the AI, we can focus on how to interact with ChatGPT and similar programs to not be as affected by the bias.

Importantly, we should be treating the responses from ChatGPT and other AI programs as suggestions and considerations instead of as final products. Much like how internet searches are not always accurate, we should recognize that AI is still a developing and biased technology. While we can marvel in its evolution, we should still be adding judgment to the decision-making advice and data it presents.

There is no doubt that ChatGPT is a powerful technological advancement, and the hope is that it is used mostly for ethical good. As this technology progresses, it will be important for us as CPAs to consider how we can ethically use ChatGPT and similar evolving AI programs in our work while still maintaining integrity. Understanding the developing capabilities and limitations of AI will be key to guiding our interactions with it and helping us maximize its benefits while preserving our quality and ethics.

PRACTICE PERSPECTIVES

Where Are Your CPAs Going, Exactly?

Art Kuesel President, Kuesel Consulting art@kueselconsulting.com

In my years of working with CPA firms on talent development, few topics are as cloaked in mystery as “the path to partner.” Now, that’s not to say that some firms haven’t mapped the path out and shared it with their high potential staff. But, even then, the “map” itself has often been protected.

The reasons for keeping the path to partner so secretive (or not having one mapped out at all) vary, but one thing is for sure, it’s a problem for firms, particularly those facing talent shortages. Let me repeat that: It’s a problem for you. Your people want to know what their career potential is and how they’ll develop and grow with you. That’s not to say that everyone who goes into public accounting wants to make partner. We know that’s not the case. However, we also know that most people want to at least know what’s expected of them to advance in their careers, roles, or firms. They also typically want to be seen as valued contributors and be recognized for their accomplishments. Yet, despite this desire, they’re often left to fend for themselves when it comes to the specific steps they need to take to develop and advance.

Of course, there are some fantastic mentors, coaches, and leaders in our profession. Staff and associates who are lucky enough to have a personal mentor or coach in their lives probably have much more clarity as to what goes into successful advancement. But let’s stop for a minute and think about those who don’t have these amazing people to look to for guidance. Those are the ones who need the most help and they’re less likely to have clarity on their paths forward.

Notably, creating career paths is no easy task. It takes planning, research, external input, and internal feedback. First and foremost, if you’re trying to create a one-size-fits-all path for your staff, you can forget it. You need to build paths with flexibility in mind. Every single one of your people will follow a slightly different path based upon a combination of their personal and professional skills, ambition, and external circumstances. But that doesn’t excuse the need to give them direction.

So, where should you start? Consider who you have already and how they got there. Do you have a model partner right down the hall? Are there certain aspects of their personal and professional development you can extrapolate to help map out a model?

It’s time for CPA firms to make becoming partner less of a mystery and unveil clear career paths for their staff.

When developing your firm’s career path model, here are four things to consider:

1. Timeline and stages: How long does it take to reach the top, and how long is each stage or step along the way? What are the common ranges?

2. Technical skills and competencies: What skills are necessary at each level? You may need to have a healthy conversation to separate the “need-to-haves” from the “nice-to-haves.” Also, what nonnegotiable core competencies are required to achieve each level? For example, will you seek a specialization from a rising star or permit them to be a generalist?

3. Success skills (aka soft skills): Communication, relationship development, people development, client development, and business development are all generally required to earn a promotion to a senior leadership position. However, we rarely see these success skills rated on a proficiency scale. It’s important to consider and account for these variables and plan development around them.

4. Emotional intelligence (EQ): This is self-awareness and social awareness plus self-management and relationship management. While some would group EQ into success skills, I believe it’s critically important to be categorized separately. While highly rewarding, our profession can be stressful and challenging at

times. Demonstrating EQ is important within the leadership and partner ranks and working to develop this skill is a sign of a future-focused leader.

How do you fit all of this into just one model? It’s hard, and that may explain the lack of defined career paths at our firms. But what if one high potential rising star stayed with your firm and made it to partner because of your efforts? Would it be worth it? Given the challenging talent market in accounting today, I think we’d all say yes.

Importantly, this doesn’t have to be an effort concentrated only amongst the busiest people at the firm (i.e., partners and/or managing partners). Career path development can be a collaborative effort with input from all levels. In addition to lightening the load on everyone involved, this approach can bring valuable perspective to everyone at your firm, regardless of level or career stage.

However you choose to create a career path model, it’s time to make it a top priority. As I mentioned earlier, your people want to know where they can go and how they can get there as part of your firm. You might even hear this question from college students who have yet to enter the workforce who are interviewing with you for internships or their first jobs. Don’t let the lack of mapped out career paths at your firm be a reason someone leaves or loses interest in starting their career journey with you. Create your career paths and have them be the reason someone joins your firm, stays long term, and ultimately makes partner.

I GUESS I CAN SAY becoming an accountant is a family tradition: My grandfather started his apprenticeship as a bookkeeper and my mother was a corporate controller. So, when I took an introduction to accountancy class in high school and wasn’t bored by the coursework, accounting unsurprisingly felt like a natural path for me to pursue in college. What is surprising, though, is where I ended up.

With every member of my family working in corporate finance, public accounting was never on my radar until I walked into the University of Illinois’ business school atrium and realized how much it dominated the conversations. Within just a few months of starting school, a new career path emerged, and I became dead set on the plans I had laid out: get my master’s degree through the fifth-year program, get my CPA, join a tax firm, and start my own practice someday.

As it turns out, I’m terrible at tax. In fact, it would probably blow the mind of anyone who’s worked with me to hear that tax was part of my original career plan. From memorizing tax codes to reviewing tax provisions, I enjoyed none of it. I fortunately found this out not through taking tax courses but through an audit and tax rotation I had accepted during a spring internship.

Between filing 1040s and preparing audit workpapers, I quickly learned that I significantly preferred audit over tax. This was quite shocking to me; having been so set on forging a career in tax, the notion I wouldn’t enjoy it never occurred to me. As the end of my internship approached, I was formally offered a full-time position and was asked if I’d like to stay within audit or tax. Impulsively, I answered based not on my well-worn plan from the past four years but based on what I enjoyed more—audit.

Once I started as an auditor, I mapped out new career plans like most of my peers: work a few years in public accounting to accumulate experience and then join the private sector. But I also

Finding the ‘Right’ Career Path

With so many career options to explore as a CPA, the only “right” way to map out one’s future is to be willing to rechart it with each step forward.

decided to be more open to new opportunities this time around. When I reached the senior staff level with the firm, I was given an opportunity to work in one of the smaller, newer offices for two years. It was a chance for me to live in a new city, meet new people, and take on new challenges. With a less established office, I was pushed to develop technically, as many of my clients were first-time audit engagements, and I worked in a wider range of industries. I also took on more roles. From training to resource management, I was able to expand my leadership skills and grow my involvement throughout my new office. My few years in public accounting turned into seven years in audit—and then I was ready for a change again.

This time, I knew better than to map out my path forward. Instead, I made a list of what I enjoyed doing in my day-to-day work, what I didn’t enjoy, and what areas I hoped to grow in. The list was simple: I liked working on new projects, I disliked repetition, and I hoped to grow technically and become a subject matter expert. Based on these parameters, I talked to friends, coworkers, and recruiters before deciding that accounting advisory would be my next career destination. While accounting advisory was never on my radar before, by keeping an open mind and focusing on my growth rather than a set career path, I was able to find an opportunity that suited me better.

As a CPA, I’ve learned that there are so many career paths that can be explored, and there will always be new and rewarding ways forward for those that are willing to rechart their best laid plans and adapt to change. Now, I no longer worry if I’m on the “right” path. Rather, I just hope to look back when I’m another five to 10 years down the road and be proud of my growth.

Faye Zhang, CPA Financial Advisory Manager | Riveron

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hanks to an eclectic list of mentors and clients, including prominent businessmen, clergy, and professional athletes, Larry J. Wolfe, CPA, built a successful CPA firm and career specializing in tax controversy. But long before starting his practice of Larry J. Wolfe Ltd., in 1982, Wolfe had other big career plans.

In college, he concentrated on two majors—biology and accounting—with the goal of attending medical school after graduation. That’s until his father passed away suddenly during his first week of classes. “With a mother, sister, and brother to support, med school was off the table, so I decided to sit for the CPA exam,” Wolfe notes. “As luck would have it, I flopped—totally failed it. On my third attempt, I passed.”

Wolfe began his accounting career working for a couple of firms, one being John R. Waters & Company. It was during his two years there that he grew a passion for work involving offers and compromises for the IRS.

Using that experience, Wolfe headed out on his own, sharing an office with the firm Whitfield and Renninger. Of course, sharing the office came with a caveat: He had to guarantee the firm 1,000 billable hours at $20 per hour and any additional hours could be used to solicit his own clients. “The problem was that I only had one client at that time,” Wolfe laughs. However, an insurance friend of Wolfe referred him to a carpet company on Chicago’s South Side where his luck would take a surprising turn.

“At that time, there were no North Shore accountants going down to the South Side to pick up business,” Wolfe says. “That said, it took me seven visits to convince and pick that client up.”

Wolfe’s new client would eventually become one of his many mentors. Like a lot of minority-owned businesses at that time, his client was undercapitalized, financially distressed, and owed the IRS a lot of money. “I had to go down to the IRS office on Western Avenue and get him out of tax trouble without knowing 100% of what I was doing,” Wolfe explains. “It ended up being that his tax returns were done wrong. I was able to amend the returns and get

Larry J. Wolfe, CPA

Following a family tragedy, longtime Illinois CPA Society member Larry J. Wolfe took the cards he was dealt and, with the help of a few mentors, made a name for himself on the streets of the South Side.

BY AMY SANCHEZ

him almost $85,000 back. After he got his refund check, he showed it to everyone on 87th Street.”

Because of that success, Wolfe made a name for himself on 87th Street, picking up more and more clients with IRS and tax issues. One was also a well-known automobile dealer who gave Wolfe both a sales job and office to do his tax work. “I was still kind of shy and didn’t know how to talk to people, and during the lunch hour I would try to go out there and sell a car,” Wolfe says. “I didn’t make any money doing it, but I learned how to talk to people and negotiate. In many ways, I earned my master’s degree on the streets of the South Side of Chicago.”

Eventually, Wolfe’s success allowed him to open his own practice, which specializes in tax controversy issues with the IRS and the state and helping businesses turn around financially. More importantly, starting his own practice has given Wolfe the opportunity to assist in giving back to the community that gave him so much. Wolfe serves as an advisor to the Dempsey J. Travis Foundation, created by their late client who was a real estate entrepreneur, civil rights activist, and author. “Travis believed education was the key to success,” Wolfe notes. “The foundation has awarded approximately $800,000 worth of scholarships annually to minority students throughout the inner city of Chicago— including support for the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois’ Mary T. Washington Wylie Internship Preparation Program.”

Knowing the value and power of having mentors to guide one’s career, Wolfe stresses one of the conditions of the scholarship program is that the students must have a mentor. “We don’t just want to hand out money,” he says. “We want them to succeed.”

Beyond mentors, Wolfe, who’s been a prominent voice and longtime volunteer among many Illinois CPA Society and AICPA committees, contributes his storied and rather untraditional route to success to having strong partners by his side—the most important being his wife, Linda. “She took me from ‘ragamuffin’ to a guy wearing a suit,” Wolfe says. “She’s my stronger, better half.”