Lessons Learned for the Race Ahead

Asa child of immigrants, I learned the value of education and hard work from my parents at an early age. Leveraging my education to secure my financial future was a top priority for them, and my dad made sure to keep it front of mind. He was a skilled tradesman, could fix anything with a motor, and had a knack for teaching me lessons through experience. Whether it was through chiseling the grout between bricks to prepare for the tuck pointer, climbing into a catch basin to help rod it out when it was clogged, or being reminded of how easy we had it as compared to the hardscrabble upbringing he had in rural Ireland, I learned a lot of lessons that built me into the CPA I am today.

First, tools make the job. If I had the tuck pointer’s concrete saw, I could have saved a day’s labor and my scraped knuckles! As a CPA, the right technology also makes all the difference. Whether you are relying on bots or just stable Wi-Fi, being nimble and responsive depends on making sound investments in the right tools.

Second, a good plumber is worth every penny and can get you out of messy situations. And so is a good CPA! We might not be heading into a sewer every day, but we put in long hours digging through some messy information to sort out complex problems. Third, attitude is everything. My dad often told me to come with a solution and not a complaint. That mindset has helped me navigate some rough waters during my career and is a hallmark of what is expected at BKD as we deliver on our promise of unmatched client service. I encourage you to believe in the value that you bring.

Just as my dad taught me some impactful life lessons, weathering the pandemic has taught us all some powerful lessons that I hope will help us to build better practices, attract new talent into the profession, and be better strategic business advisors to our companies and clients in a post-pandemic world.

We learned that harnessing technology keeps us nimble and responsive and drives stability in our practices and the economy. Information portals, electronic data storage systems, online workflow tools, and digital signature apps, just to name a few, all contributed positively to our ability to work in a dispersed environment. And by using technology well, we freed up time to be more engaged and strategic with our peers and clients.

We also learned more about the diverse demands that we all manage in our daily lives. We learned to work asynchronously and, as a result, we learned to develop schedules that better consider each constituent’s wants and needs. Done well, this shift has the power to qualitatively change the culture of our profession for the better.

And, perhaps most importantly, we learned that we are more flexible and adaptable than we might have ever believed, which is important given the pace of change in which we operate. Just think of the number of different video conferencing platforms you used over the past year. I can think of at least 10! Through these tools, we have learned to connect in new ways, to be more intentional, and to listen more actively. (We have also learned that video filters can be our friends and sources of humor—or great frustration.)

I have always enjoyed the way that my work as a CPA has kept me on track for constant growth and development. As your board chair for the next year, I look forward to continuing to learn and grow alongside you as we race on to become our companies’ and clients’ most trusted and strategic business advisors.

INSIGHTS FROM TODD SHAPIRO, ICPAS PRESIDENT & CEO @Todd_ICPAS

100 Years and Counting

n 1896, the state of New York passed the first law creating the certified public accountant (CPA) designation, yet it wasn’t until 25 years later that John W. Cromwell Jr. became our nation’s first Black CPA.

Now, as we commemorate the Black CPA Centennial 100 years later, we find ourselves looking back to celebrate how Cromwell opened a door through which thousands of Black accountants would eventually pass. But I want to stress a key word in that last sentence—eventually.

It took a staggering 45 years for just the first 100 Black CPAs to be licensed. Truthfully, the progress of Black CPAs in the profession has not been without trials and tribulations. But why? Consider what’s at the core of becoming a CPA: education, experience, and an exam.

For decades, Black attendance at colleges and universities was prohibited or very limited, so historically Black colleges and universities emerged as the primary educational option, some of which lacked accounting programs.

And, of course, there’s the CPA exam. For a long period of time Black people were barred from sitting for the exam in many states. If a Black graduate did try to enter the accounting profession, they faced yet another, almost insurmountable, barrier—many firms simply wouldn’t hire Black accountants until civil rights reform. The common excuse was something like, “We can’t hire you because our clients won’t accept you.”

Chicago firms played a major role in breaking down the experience barrier—resulting in more than one-third of the first 100 Black CPAs being from Illinois. Mary T. Washington Wylie, who became the 13th Black (and first female Black) CPA in 1943, was one driving force of that progress. She grew her own accounting and tax firm out of a South Side Chicago basement, providing countless Black accountants with the necessary work experience to earn their CPA credentials.

Our own Lester McKeever Jr. was a product of Washington’s firm, which grew into one of the nation’s largest Black-owned accounting firms as Washington, Pittman & McKeever. McKeever’s life experiences and successes inspired him to pay it forward by launching the Mary T. Washington Wylie Opportunity Fund through the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois. The fund supports the Mary T. Washington Wylie Internship Preparation Program, which has provided training and internship opportunities to 231 Black and other underrepresented minority scholars since its inception in 2013.

As CPAs serve as protectors of the public’s interest and strategic business advisors, it’s in all of our best interest to help pave the way for more Black people and other underrepresented minorities to shape the CPA profession into one that matches the diversity of the people it serves. We are making progress—albeit slowly. In 1965, Black CPAs made up approximately 0.1 percent of total CPAs. In 2019, an AICPA survey found that Black CPAs made up just 2 percent of CPAs in U.S. CPA firms and a mere 1 percent of partners at those firms.

We, and the CPA profession, clearly still have work to do, which is why I am honored to join our organizing partners—the AICPA, Diverse Organization of Firms, National Association of Black Accountants, and National Society of Black CPAs—to bring forward the 2021 Black CPA Centennial, a year-long national awareness campaign that recognizes Black CPAs in the United States and that pushes for greater progress to be made in achieving diversity, inclusion, and equity in the CPA profession.

My hope is that our efforts to honor, celebrate, and build upon the rich history and progress trailblazing Black CPAs like Cromwell, McKeever, and Washington have made in the profession will help drive momentum, encouragement, and support for more Black people to pursue the accounting and finance profession and become CPAs.

The website www.BlackCPACentennial.cpa offers resources and information about the year-long campaign, including ways for individuals and organizations to participate.

LEGISLATIVE INSIGHTS FROM MARTY GREEN, ESQ., ICPAS VP OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS @GreenMarty