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Ben Richmond, the Country Manager for the United States for the fast-growing Xero software company, joined us for this episode of Where Accountants Go, the Accounting Careers Podcast. In addition to our conversation about Xero and their continuing growth in popularity here in the US, you will also find Ben’s own career progression interesting as he recounts that journey for us during the first half of the show. Ben took a chance early in his career to join a firm in a “Cadet” position, which is similar to an internship or entry—level role.  It was a little risky because it was something he chose to do prior to attending college.  However, the risk paid off in that he was able to gain some incredible experience, and still end up continuing his education to eventually become a Chartered Accountant (CA). The discussion we have about Xero and their ongoing growth is valuable just in itself, but I think you will also find Ben’s early career intriguing as it covers small businesses, public accounting, and even a national corporation during their transition from being a government operated entity to being privatized. We also get into how he met his initial contact at Xero and ended up transitioning to be a part of their sales team, eventually becoming their Country Manager for the US not long ago. In addition to Xero.com obviously, some of the other links you will want to visit include: The Xero Forward Fund: https://www.xero.com/us/forwardfund/ Partner program signup: https://www.xero.com/us/partner-programs/partners/signup/ If you enjoy this episode, make sure you check out these as well:  Kurt Rathmann of ScaleFactor, and Jay Kimelman To listen in on this interview with Ben Richmond, please use the player below:

Dena Jansen, CPA, former accounting firm partner, and the Founder of Dena Speaks, joined us for a second time on this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. Dena’s career spans public accounting in small firms, to the “Big 4”, to then a major Austin-based regional firm.  As her career developed in the approximately 15 years she spent in the audit field, she found that it was largely the interpersonal, or people development areas that she enjoyed.  For that reason, she took the bold step of leaving her partner status in public accounting to venture out on her own and build a coaching and speaking business.  That was about where our last episode with Dena began (“Episode 75:  Dena Jansen – It’s All About People”). In this update episode though, we start with a recap of Dena’s career, but delve deeper into the topic of building trust.  Dena is a frequent continuing education speaker in the accounting profession on this very topic, plus she does private training and consulting sessions with firms.  She cites several books as sources for her research, but one book in particular that we wanted to make sure we highlighted is her own!  Since our first podcast with Dena, she has become an author and written “Road To Hope” which can be found in paper form, e-book format, and even Audible editions.  Make sure you check it out at the link above. No matter what point you are at in your own career, you will find value in this episode. For related podcast, make sure you check out these episodes as well:  Dena Jansen (the first interview) and Sarah Elliott To listen in on this new episode with Dena Jansen, please use the player below:

Anthony Pugliese, the CEO for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA), joined us for this episode of the Where Accountants Go podcast! Anthony had a wonderful career story to tell, as well as tremendous insight for us on the profession.  If you are curious how an individual could start their career in a traditional staff auditor role, become the Chief Operating Officer of AICPA, and then go on to eventually lead the largest state society of CPAs as their CEO, you will really enjoy this episode. In this episode, Anthony shares… How he started with one of the national accounting firms in an audit position, How his career advanced with Deloitte through several positions across the country, To how he had the opportunity to join AICPA where he served for about 20 years, To deciding to move across the country and join CalCPA, eventually becoming their CEO. Anthony shares his thoughts on what we are doing well as a profession and where we can continue to improve, as well as some of the strategic initiatives there at CalCPA.  This interview touches on many areas.  It was truly fun to record. If  you enjoy this episode with Anthony Pugliese, you will also enjoy these interviews:  Amy Pitter and Natasha Schamberger To listen in on this interview with Anthony Pugliese, please use the player below:

Ryan Lazanis, the Founder of Future Firm Inc. in Canada, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. Ryan’s career journey started as many do.  His father was a strong influence in his life, and being an entrepreneur himself, he caused Ryan to naturally have an interest in business and accounting.  However, after a few years in the accounting world, Ryan realized that he enjoyed the accounting business, but not necessarily how other firms performed the work.  It was at that point that he decided to form his own firm built on the idea that accounting could be done 100% in the cloud. That would be quite enough for an interesting story, but Ryan’s journey didn’t end there.  Yes, he formed and built an accounting firm that was 100% cloud-based called Xen Accounting, but then he was fortunate enough to be approached many times about selling the practice.  Eventually he sold to another entity in 2018 that had similar values regarding maintaining their cloud-focused structure. Ryan now owns and runs Future Firm, a Canadian-based company focused on making life better for accountants at other firms by guiding them down the path of becoming cloud-based. If you operate an accounting practice, otherwise work in public accounting, or are considering moving into that space, you will find loads of value in this episode. For more information on Ryan Lazanis and Future Firm, visit www.futurefirm.co Other episodes you will enjoy include:   Joseph Rugger and Jay Kimelman To listen in on this interview with Ryan Lazanis of Future Firm, please use the player below.

Geni Whitehouse, CPA, small business consultant, author, keynote speaker, and really a comedian (!), joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. You are really going to find happiness in this episode.  We start by talking about Geni’s early career as a tax accountant, and even during that part of the interview you can hear the joy in her voice.  We quickly moved into how her career transitioned into the software training and sales business, and then eventually into keynote speaking, training, and small business consulting. After you listen to this podcast, make sure you check out Geni’s website as well for her TEDx talk video, and a link to her book – “How To Make a Boring Subject Interesting:  52 Ways Even A Nerd Can Be Heard”.  I think you will find loads of value in her own resources, as well as the podcast interview of course. Other episodes you may enjoy:  Byron Patrick and Amanda Aguillard. To leave us feedback on our show, or even just ask a question, please click here. To listen in on this episode with Geni Whitehouse, please use the player below.

Wayne Richard, the Chief Operating Officer and a Partner at Bean Ninjas, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. In this episode, Wayne shares how his career started with major corporations in industry such as IBM and HP. He spent many years “climbing the corporate ladder” with Hewlett Packard, until an unfortunate turn of events caused a downsizing and restructuring in his department. However, it ended up not being as unfortunate as many would expect. It was exactly this catalyst that launched him full-time into the world he loves: working with small businesses. Wayne now serves as a Partner and the COO of Bean Ninjas, the company he merged his prior business into, and he fully enjoys his career. If you are curious about the business model of working with remote clients, or even looking for that type of accounting service yourself, make sure you listen to this episode. Wayne is a very humble individual, but you can tell that he is definitely passionate about their services and the flexibility the business model gives him. With 5 kids, flexibility is vital! Other episodes you may enjoy will include: Joseph Rugger and Matt Malcolm To leave us feedback through our audio recorder, please click here. To listen in on this episode with Wayne Richard of Bean Ninjas, please use the player below:

David Cieslak, a CPA and frequent presenter on technology in the accounting world, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. In this interview, we start with David’s early career as a staff accountant with Price Waterhouse, and then move into how he ventured into a partnership with previous colleagues and built an accounting practice.  Along the way as they built that practice, he realized that his true interest was in how technology could help companies run more efficiently, so they further developed that aspect of their offerings.  Fast forward 20+ years, and through a couple mergers David now serves as the Chief Cloud Officer for RKL eSolutions, a larger company that they merged with a few years ago.  In addition, for years he has been a speaker on various technology topics and very deservedly earned the nickname “Inspector Gadget”! You will thoroughly enjoy this story if you… Have an interest in how your accounting background can fast track you into a career involving the latest business technologies, or Have thought about how you could build your own company doing what you most enjoy. David was very open and generous with his insights in this episode.  I’m sure you will enjoy it. Other podcasts that may interest you will include:  Kurt Rathmann and Stephen King. To leave us feedback as mentioned in this episode, please click here. To listen in on this interview with David Cieslak, please use the player below.

Dana Garnett, CPA turned mediator, speaker, and conflict strategist, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. Listen in as Dana shares her career journey with us… Starting from a solid foundation with one of the major accounting firms, To 12 years with the multi-national Coca-Cola Company, Through her many roles with Coca-Cola, including several overseas, To taking an “early—out” package and eventually transitioning into her business now, The Mindful Strategy, a mediation and conflict resolution service If you have ever considered what opportunities may arise from a career with a global organization, or conversely are interested in how your accounting background can have benefit in other small business areas, this episode is for you. Other episodes that will interest you include:  Shanikwa Davis and Sandy Smith Leyva For publications that can help you in your career, make sure you visit our Books section. To listen in on this episode with Dana Garnett, please use the player below.

Bridget Kaigler, an accomplished state & local tax expert in the Louisiana area that is also making a difference in the area of helping emerging leaders grow, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. In this interview, we cover how Bridget’s career journey… Started later than you may expect as she was a “non-traditional student”, needed to work to support herself early in life, To how she turned to accounting as a way to provide a better life for her young son and herself, To her entry into the SALT (state and local tax) field happened by accident, but was a blessing as well, Up through her creation of Bringing Leadership Back LLC, an entity she formed to help aspiring leaders grow their leadership skills This is a truly inspiring story, and I hope you take the time to listen to the whole interview.  Bridget worked hard to get where she is, with the help of a few friends of course.  But now she is working hard to help others grow as well.  You may even want to listen twice!  😊 Other episodes you may enjoy on similar topics will include:  Shanikwa Davis and Amanda Aguillard For other publications that can help you in your career, click here. To listen in on this episode with Bridget Kaigler, please use the player below:

Bethany Eggleston, a CPA whose career journey took her into the field of project management, shares her insights on the similarities and differences between the two fields on this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. In this interview, we will cover Bethany’s early years as she became interested in accounting due to a familial influence, and then how her career started with one of the Big 4 firms in an audit position.  We’ll also cover her transition into a position in industry with a publicly-traded organization, and then her eventual move into project management within the energy sector. Bethany also covers… How project management and audit require some of the same skill-sets, What she finds fascinating and enjoys each day about her role in project management, and How getting involved in professional associations such as the CPA Society in your area can help you stay connected and move along faster in your career This episode is packed with insights, and you’ll get a little project management education along the way as well!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did recording it. Other episodes you may enjoy include:  Joey Tackett and Paula Gold-Williams To find the publication mentioned in this episode (“49 Tips for Working With A Headhunter”), click here. Please use the player below to listen in on this informative interview with Bethany Eggleston:

Crystal Cooke , Senior Manager of Governance and Talent at the Center for Audit Quality, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. In this episode, Crystal recounts the story of her career starting with a role in internal audit, and then moving into public accounting audit in order to expand the variety of her experience, and then to the AICPA-supported Center for Audit Quality (CAQ). We also discuss the topics of diversity and attaining your certification as well.  Crystal had a wealth of insights to share. If you are… Interested in audit as a potential career choice, or Trying to decide what type of audit role to pursue, or Interested in how decisions are made that affect the audit field as a whole, or Considering whether or not to pursue a certification exam, … then this episode is for you! Other episodes that may interest you include:  Samantha Bowling and Deborah Beams For the career content blog mentioned in this episode, click here. To listen in on our conversation with Crystal Cooke, please use the player below:

We know your time is short during the holidays, so instead of bringing you a full episode, we had just a few items to pass on to you this Christmas Eve 2019. Thank you! First and foremost, thank you so so much for continuing to listen in on our interviews with successful accounting professionals.  It’s hard to believe over 3 years have passed since we first started, and 150+ guests as well!  It’s been fun.  However, it wouldn’t be near as much fun without you – the listener.  Thank you for continuing to come back each week.  We appreciate you. LinkedIn and Facebook While we are on the topic of following the show, make sure you follow us on LinkedIn and/or Facebook as well.  We generally use those two platforms for all our special announcements, so it’s a great way to stay up to date on what’s going on at Where Accountants Go. Our LinkedIn page is:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/where-accountants-go?trk=public_profile_experience-item_result-card_image-click Our Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/whereaccountantsgo/ 99 cent book! And lastly, if you would like to take us up on our special $0.99 cent offer on the Kindle version of our first book, make sure you do so before December 31st.  The book will still be available afterwards, but the price will return to the normal level until we can do another promotion later on. The Kindle version can be found at:  https://www.amazon.com/49-Tips-Successful-Accounting-Career-ebook/dp/B07HHDFWP3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NRMV2P9YMXCT&keywords=49+tips+for+a+successful+accounting+career&qid=1576851476&sprefix=49+tips%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-1 The paperback can be ordered as normal at:  https://www.whereaccountantsgo.com/book/49-tips-for-a-successful-accounting-career/ That’s all for this year.  Please come back in 2020 as we continue to bring you more and more stories of accounting success.  As we always say… there’s more to come.  

Sabine Charles in New York shares her story of starting as a French & Spanish major, to landing in internal audit, to now starting the audit function with a national educational institution!  Plus, Sabine helps others attain the professional certifications they desire through customized, strategic coaching programs.  We discuss all these topics, plus many more career insights, all on this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. If you… Are or have been a “non-traditional student”, having come to accounting later in life, Or are thinking about a career in Internal Audit, Or have had difficulty, or think you will, getting the professional certification you desire, … then this episode is for you! To listen in on our interview with Sabine Charles, please use the player below. Other episodes you may enjoy will include:  Kelly Richmond-Pope and Mansour Farhat For the publication referenced in this episode, “49 Tips For A Successful Accounting Career”, click here. To listen in on this interview with Sabine Charles, please use the player below:

Jay Kimelman, Founder of The Digital CPA, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast.  In this episode, we cover Jay’s career starting in industry accounting roles, through owning a nutritional business, and then to starting The Digital CPA and becoming an Ambassador for Xero. “Let’s take Accounting for fun” Jay shares the story of how he became interested in accounting early in the interview.  His uncle was a partner with one of the national accounting firms, so the field was always of interest to him.  He had the opportunity to take accounting in high school and get college credit for the class, so he and a few friends decided to “take it for fun”.  Per Jay, they were the “jokers” in the class, but obviously it worked out well for him.  He later eventually became a CPA, and fast forward a few years and he has founded several accounting-related businesses! The middle years Prior to starting The Digital CPA though, Jay learned more about business and technology integration through a few experiences in industry.  Jobs weren’t as plentiful in those years in our economy, so he got his first few opportunities through referrals.  However, these experiences have proven invaluable as they gave him the opportunity to take systems that were behind the times in private companies and increase efficiencies by implementing more current technology.  In addition, he was able to learn invaluable skills in the area of management along the way. The Digital CPA Around 2011 Jay went full-time in his Digital CPA business.  For over a decade before that he had done work in that area part-time, but the opportunity presented itself to devote all his efforts to that practice for a while and so he decided to go that route.  And it’s been a fun ride!  Jay does many things these days, including continuing to run The Digital CPA there in Orlando.  They focus on e-commerce clients, which is an area Jay has personal experience with.  In addition, he co-founded Bluewire Strategies with Amanda Aguillard in New Orleans.  Bluewire is a company that helps accounting firms integrate cloud technology for better efficiencies.  He also serves as a Xero Ambassador as well.  The mixture of all of these interests ensure that there never is a dull moment.  He truly seems to enjoy his career. If you find this episode interesting, please also check out the following:  Amanda Aguillard and Robin Thieme For the book mentioned in this episode, click here: “49 Tips For A Successful Accounting Career” To listen in on our conversation with Jay Kimelman, please use the player below.

This week we revisit one of our most popular shows from 2018, “How To Pass The CPA Exam – Tips from 5 Newly Certified CPAs”. This episode was popular for many reasons.  First, all the participants were very recently certified at the time of the recording, so the efforts they went through to pass the CPA exam were still very fresh on their minds.  Consequently, the insight they share is invaluable for those looking to pass the CPA exam themselves. Secondly, the insight wasn’t just fresh, it was truthful.  Our newly-certified CPA guests were very transparent about how much time they truly had to devote to studying, as well as what they truly had to give up in their personal lives while pursuing the exam.  The sacrifices were temporary, but they definitely had to give up a few things in order to get their primary goal accomplished. And lastly, the insights our team shared are meaningful because passing the exam and becoming a CPA really does make a difference in your career and your life.  Although there were items that had to be sacrificed, none of our guests had any regrets.  All of them were pleased they made the choice to buckle down and get the exam passed.  CPA certification makes a difference no matter what area of accounting you work in. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it.  And thank you to the guests as well!  We couldn’t do it without you. For additional career-related resources, please check out our publications by clicking here. To listen in on this episode, please use the player below.  

Delene Taylor, CPA and Marketing Director for Deming, Malone, Livesay, & Ostroff in Kentucky joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. The early days… Delene started her career in accounting because of the positive influence from both her mother and father.  Mom had worked in accounting, and Dad worked in systems with IBM.  Consequently, when she entered college she decided to pursue both accounting and computer science.  However, she found out quickly that she didn’t care for coding, and therefore decided to drop the computer science focus. Delene’s first job out of college was with Arthur Andersen.  She was an auditor on some of their larger client engagements.  To her surprise, the audit role wasn’t something she enjoyed as much as she thought she would.  The particular engagements that she worked on were limited in scope, and she felt like she was always a bother to the client being audited.  It wasn’t something that she could see herself doing for long.  Consequently, it became time to look for something new and Delene moved into industry. A preference for people! After a few years in industry, she decided to move back to her home town and figure out what the next step may be.  A family member introduced her to a prominent accounting firm there, and she joined in somewhat of a floater capacity.  Delene basically would help out on whatever project had a need, and eventually this flexibility led to her having the opportunity to work in firm administration, marketing, and recruiting!  Many years later and after a merger, Delene moved on to take the position of Marketing Director with the local firm Deming, Malone, Livesay, & Ostroff (DMLO) in  Louisville, Kentucky, where she has been since 2013. Social enterprises One of the facets that Delene most enjoys about DMLO is the freedom and support of her involvement with social enterprises such PBC’s and B-Corporations.  In fact, DMLO has won philanthropy awards locally four years in a row, having booked 6,300 volunteer hours with their small team of only 90 employees!  They definitely value community service. If you enjoy this episode with Delene Taylor, you will also enjoy our episode with Harriet Helmle. For the publication mentioned in this episode, click here. To listen in on this interview with Delene Taylor, please use the player below:

Adriana Carpenter, the Chief Accounting Officer for Ping Identity, a company in Colorado that just recently went public, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. From finance major to CPA Adriana knew from an early age that the business world appealed to her, and consequently she started out early in an internship with IBM in the Accounts Payable department. However, due to her dislike of that particular internship, she decided to go the finance route in college instead and initially got her Bachelor’s degree in Finance. After a short time in her first financial analyst role though, she realized that she wanted to be closer to the financial reporting process, so with the support of her employer she went back to school to finish a Masters in Accounting, and subsequently became a CPA as well. Narrowing in on her interests After becoming a CPA and continuing her career in industry for a few years, she decided to move on into the Big 4. For almost 12 years, she worked her way up at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) before eventually deciding to move her career back into a leadership role in industry. However, it was during this time at PwC when she found that the technology sector in particular appealed to her. It was also this experience that helped her hone her team management skills. Ringing the bell! For over 10 years now Adriana has been back in industry, this time in the technology sector. For the first five years of that period she worked with an international technology company helping them rebuild their global accounting team. Afterwards though, Adriana had joined a start-up in the identity and access management field (Ping Identity) that recently went public on the NYSE. Adriana had the opportunity to be part of the team that “rang the bell” to open the markets on the trading floor just a month or two ago. She goes into great detail to help us visualize the experience. It really is cool part of her story. I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as we did recording it. Adriana shares many insights that will help you further your career, whether you are just starting out or have many years of experience. There truly are some gems in this interview. If you enjoy this episode with Adriana Carpenter, please check out these episodes as well: Sylvester Sly Johnson and Sarah Elliott For information on the publication mentioned in the interview, please click here. To listen in on this conversation with Adriana Carpenter, please click on the player below.

Kecia Williams Smith, PhD and CPA from the North Carolina area, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. A strong foundation Kecia became interested in accounting and overall business at an early age.  As she was about to enter college, it became apparent to her and her family all the opportunities that existed in accounting at that time, and so she made the choice to pursue the field as her career.  As Kecia describes it, she was a “cookie cutter” accounting major, and started in a typical intern role with Deloitte that later turned into a full-time position.  The next 9 years or so with Deloitte gave her a strong foundation in many areas, and also helped her realize where her passions and strengths were – in the audit quality and risk management arenas. An exciting adventure – early days at the PCAOB She received a recruiting call for the PCAOB  after about 9 years at Deloitte. It was just starting up, and the opportunity was to get in on the ground floor as an inspector.  Given her passion for audit quality, it was an exciting opportunity and she decided to take the risk.  Kecia spent many years with the PCAOB as well and worked her way up into an Associate Director role prior to deciding to go back and check off one of her bucket-list items – attaining her PhD. Shaping the future of accounting Kecia landed her first role as a professor at Virginia Tech after completing her PhD.  It wasn’t long until the opportunity to return to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State came along, and she decided to make the move.  She just recently has assumed the position of Director of their Masters of Accountancy program.  A few of the insights that Kecia shares with regards to being a successful Masters student include: Don’t look at your Masters program as simply more classes. They are meant to strengthen and enhance your critical thinking skills Don’t fall into the trap of “just studying enough.” Work to retain the information you learn as well. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.  You can tell from the audio recording that Kecia has enjoyed every stage in her career, and she is excited about the future as well. Please check out the following related episodes as well:  Kelly Richmond Pope and Mansour Farhat (Click on this link for the publication mentioned in this episode: 49 Tips for Working With A Headhunter, click here.) To listen in on the audio podcast with Kecia Williams Smith, please use the player below:

Brian Kush and Amber Setter of Intend2Lead joined us to discuss strategies for passing the CPA exam on this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast. It’s more than just the basic goal… While goal setting is an important part of any passing strategy, our experts Brian and Amber discuss with us the right way to set a goal specific to passing the exam.  Many exam takers will set deadlines and timelines for studying, but it’s important to recognize that every individual’s situation is unique.  What works for one examinee won’t necessarily work for another.  When setting your own personal goals, you need to do more than simply follow a prescribed amount of study time.  You need to take into account what is effective for you personally, and your specific strengths and weaknesses with regards to topics. Visualization Another topic that we get into deeply is the strategy of visualizing what success will look like once you pass.  For many of us, we may have visualized seeing the passing results, but it’s important to go deeper with your visualization.  How will you celebrate passing?   Whom will you tell first?  What will the next day be like for you at work?   Who do you think will be the most happy that you passed?  The more specific you can be in your visualizations of success, the more driven and refreshed you will be as you move towards the goal. Self-care Everyone knows what they need to “give up” or “sacrifice” in order to pass.  We know that there will be trade-offs with respect to how we spend our time.  However, while it’s important to say “no” to many things in order to have the time to prepare, it’s also vital to say “yes” to critical activities as well.  Those activities that are not study related but are still just as critical are those activities that help you feel good about the process and keep you invigorated for the journey.  For some people that may be some family time, or for others it could be physical activity such as going to the gym.  Whatever that item is for you that keeps your thoughts clear and allows you to regain focus, that is just as necessary as following a study regiment.  Yes, you will need to sacrifice some social activities, but don’t cut out so much that your actual study time isn’t effective. I think you will get a tremendous amount of value out of this discussion with Amber and Brian.  They were very generous to spend this much time with us, and I know that it will help many that are pursuing passing the CPA exam. Other episodes you may enjoy include:  Amber Setter and Brian Kush. For the publication mentioned in this episode, click here To find the article by Brian Kush that is mentioned in this episode on the Intend2Lead website, click here

Stefanie Cavanaugh in Austin, Texas, joined us to share her career journey moving from a national accounting firm audit position, to CFO of a small non-profit in only 5 years, to executive-level roles with billion-dollar, publicly-traded companies. It all started in middle school As we began the interview, Stefanie shared that she became interested in accounting at a much earlier age than most.  She had heard that accounting was a good field for women while she was still in middle school, so when she entered high school she not only took the accounting courses, but she also was involved in FBLA and even worked doing bookkeeping on a volunteer basis. Progressing from audit to CFO Her career started as many do, in an auditor position with an accounting firm – Arthur Young in this case.  It was after 5 years with Arthur Young (and then Ernst & Young), that she decided to move into industry.  Her first industry position was the CFO role with a local city symphony.  She much enjoyed the position as she was quickly exposed to all the other areas that are necessary for a small entity to run, such as human resources and IT.  From there, Stefanie decided to change industries and moved into the medical field.  For the last 13+ years she has been in management accounting positions with medical organizations, most of which were undergoing rapid merger and acquisition activity.  Because of that M&A activity, she was fortunate to have her roles continue to grow such that there seems to have never been a dull moment.  Currently she serves as CFO for a rapidly growing medical company advancing the field of less-intrusive surgery. What she’s enjoyed… One of the items I was curious about is what Stefanie enjoyed most about the medical industry.  I understood why she got into that industry, for growth and stability, but I was curious what kept her interested on a daily basis now.  Stefanie very quickly answered that she appreciated being a part of the bigger picture.  Because of the work she performs in the accounting and finance realm, her company is able to continue to make advancements in medical technology and continue to make life better for patients everywhere. I believe the lesson here is that as accountants sometimes we view our role as being too limited.  The reality is that without our oversight of the financial side of an organization, it’s likely nothing else would be successful.  It takes many talents to run a company, and we as accountants play a vital role in the success of any organization. If you enjoy this episode with Stefanie Cavanaugh, please also listen in on: Chris Rosas and Lisa Trefger For the courses mentioned in this episode, please click here.