The One Personality Trait All CPAs Share

As Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month comes to a close, we share the story of one CPA, his remarkable achievements and the traits that were instilled in him growing up in a Chinese-American household. 

In my five years working closely with CPAs of diverse backgrounds, I am increasingly seeing one very consistent trait all CPAs seem to share, no matter what their background: drive. I know CPAs who have faced frustrating, even heartbreaking obstacles in pursuit of their credential. Even through the obstacles those same CPAs also strive for excellence in every aspect of their lives. 

That certainly seems to be the case with Patrick B. Lee, CPA. It’s not something he can shut off. Whether he’s teaching or running a marathon, he always seems to be devising new strategies to do things better and faster.

As someone whose instinct tells him to analyze and problem-solve, Lee, an assistant professor of accounting at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, finds that drive creeping into all areas of his life.

How One Next-Gen CPA Dreams Big: Part 2

We spoke with Jeff Badu shortly after he launched his own firm, Badu Tax Services, LLC. Jeff has a bold, intrepid, entrepreneurial spirit and is passionate about helping people and giving back to society. He recently started Badu Investments and is preparing to take the PFS exam this summer so he can broaden the range of services he offers to his clients, who are primarily millennials. In this second part of the interview, we continue to explore Jeff’s journey.

AICPA: We learned a great deal about what drives you in the first part of our conversation. You spoke about your passion to help people and your entrepreneurial spirit. And you’re planning to take the PFS exam this summer. What is motivating you?

Jeff Badu: As a CPA, I get to help people solve some of their most challenging financial problems. I am very passionate about helping people in general, and with their financial future in particular. I work mainly with millennials, like me, and use different strategies to help reduce their income tax liability and maximize retirement and other savings. I find that people tend to prefer working with someone they can relate to, and my clients come to me because we identify with each other.

I have been interested in taxes since I was in middle school. It seems natural to me that tax compliance and planning are key ways to help people plan for their future. It’s very important to me to increase people’s understanding of the significance of making wise financial choices, which I try to do with my radio show, website and social media presence. Being able to increase my own expertise and offer a range of services so that I can be seen as the go-to trusted adviser is what’s prompting me to take the PFS exam this summer.

How One Next-Gen CPA Dreams Big

Part I

On a mission to help people and entrepreneurially spirited, Jeff Badu represents the next generation of CPAs. At 24 years old, he runs his own firm, hosts a weekly radio show, volunteers his time, and is preparing to take the PFS exam this summer. The AICPA spoke with Jeff about his passion for the profession and his dedication to helping millennials save on their taxes and plan for their financial future.

AICPA: You’ve accomplished quite a bit for someone in their mid-twenties. Can you give us some background on yourself and how you became a CPA?

Jeff Badu: I came to the United States from Ghana when I was just 8 years old. My family settled on the north side of Chicago, where I still live. I have always been a numbers guy, but it was very early on that I discovered my love for accounting and business, and the opportunities those industries present. I was introduced to my first tax return in the eighth grade, and that was when I knew I was interested in this sort of work.

Graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with both a Bachelor’s of Science and a Master’s of Science in Accountancy, I began doing tax returns for friends my freshman year of college and really enjoyed it, and that helped me set a path for my future. I developed a business plan and mapped out my road to the CPA. I only took one class my second semester of graduate school so I could focus on it. I was the first person in the library every day, and the last to leave at night. I was ecstatic – and exhausted – when I found out I passed.

Thriving with Autism: One CPA's Story

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), one in every 68 American children is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A newer government survey boosts the prevalence of this condition to one in 45 children. Though the frequency of autism remains debatable, it’s undeniably among the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S., with diagnoses having increased 119.4% since 2000.

Now, pivot to the inevitability of Generation Z, post-millennial youths constituting 20% of the workforce by 2020. When you consider the staggering prevalence of autism in this particular age group and combine those occurrences with the even more daunting unemployment rate of people with autism, the implication for our economy’s future is alarming.

Enter: Tom Iland, who at 13 was diagnosed with autism. Affectionately called The Calculator by his junior high schoolmates, Tom discovered at a very young age that, despite certain shortcomings, he was a wiz with numbers. Among his many mathematical talents, he can – in no more than a second – provide the sum of a word by adding its letters’ corresponding numerical values:

If A=1, B=2…Z=26, then autism = 83.

Salsa, Scenery, and the CGMA

Bikram Sachdeva loves salsa and bachata dancing. You might also find him capturing landscapes, skyscapes, and nature scenes with his camera during travels to Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, Mongolia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Jordan—countries where he’s monitored over $ 1.5 billion portfolio of projects.

Sachdeva is a CPA and CGMA, to name just two of five professional designations on his business card. “I hear a lot of stereotypes when people see my business card,” said Sachdeva, director of fiscal accountability at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent U.S. Government aid agency that works to reduce global poverty through economic growth. “Some people assume that because I’m a CPA, I’m not outgoing. They’re surprised when I tell them I love to dance and take pictures, especially because these interests tend to be outside the norm of what people expect from an accountant.”

Passion for Performance: A CGMA’s Perspective

Lindsey Branston, CPA, CGMA, is director of financial operations for the 70,000-member BMW Car Club of America and director of finance for the club’s charitable foundation in Greenville, S.C.

What’s your passion?

I’ve been fortunate to join an organization where my passion for strategy and financial analysis fit hand in glove with my love for cars and driving. As a CGMA, I know many financial strategies work on paper, but success depends on a deep understanding of how the club operates and of our members’ needs and desires. Our members are BMW enthusiasts—I’m one too. I go to car events all over the world to keep my finger on the pulse of BMW owner culture. Both my husband and I drive BMWs: an X5 SUV and a 435 convertible. Like many of our members, there’s a car I dream about owning. For me it’s an E9, a coupe built from 1968 to 1975.

How did you end up in a finance job for BMW?

When I was in public accounting, I worked with the BMW Car Club doing their audits. Then I started my own accounting firm and contracted with the club to provide financial management services. Since becoming a CGMA, I’ve expanded the work that I’ve done with the club and the foundation.

Lifelong Learning and Leadership: A CFO Perspective

As CFO of Portland Public Schools in Oregon, Yousef Awwad, CPA, CGMA, manages an operating budget approaching $1.2 billion annually. He is directly responsible for the school district’s finance, budget, purchasing, risk management, publication services and records management functions, comprising a total head count of 70 directors, managers and employees. Before coming to Portland in 2014, Yousef served as finance director for the Arizona Department of Education and as CFO and deputy superintendent for the Tucson Unified School District.

The CGMA Program: Adding the Right Tools to Your Career Basket

Lucky for me, my career has taken me through several different jobs in manufacturing, and one thing I’ve noticed across the board is that companies are increasingly looking for more diverse skillsets in their management accountants. For CPAs to meet the demand, we have to take a critical look at our own professional development to make sure we foster key talents like strategic thinking, communications, leadership and business partnering. A manager once told me that you have a “career basket,” and you need to fill the basket with the skills that will get you ahead. It’s not always easy to find the resources to develop and hone these skills, but it’s very necessary to getting—and staying—ahead.

Management Accounting for a Healthy Bottom Line

Natural Food is a Natural Fit for Shan Staka

Shan was brought up with respect for healthy food and living that influences him in his role as CFO of Western Foods, a gluten-free facility in Woodland, Calif. The company makes flour from rice and ancient grains like millet, sorghum and amaranth.  In this AICPA Insights profile, we look at what prepared Shan to guide the operations of a growing natural foods enterprise.

Tell me about Western Foods and your role there.
The enterprise started five years ago and grew so fast that we were maximizing our capacity by year three. So we put forth additional resources and equipment to increase the production level, which has led to incredible growth. I am planning, forecasting and implementing financials to get the best use of those investments in Western Foods.

Scuba Diving and Risk Mitigation: One CFO’s Perspective

What do swimming with sharks and being a CFO in digital technology have in common? According to Rob Leff, CPA, CGMA, CFO of Fandango, both require risk management techniques. In this AICPA Insights Member Spotlight, we find out how Rob is using his management accounting skills to excel in a field that is changing everything.

Tell me about your day-to-day responsibilities.

My role is multi-faceted: It includes the traditional finance and accounting that most CFOs have and also responsibilities that wouldn’t necessarily fall under the official CFO role, such as mergers and acquisitions and business intelligence. Business intelligence includes business analytics and business intelligence reporting, which is data warehousing, database management and more. Fandango is a digital business and the digital space is constantly evolving and changing with new technologies and partners. Strategically, I partner with our president and executive team on the decisions of the organization. We work together on deciding where we’re going to take the company.

How is your role different from the typical CFO?

One of my goals has been to go beyond the job description and add value to the organization. I’m always evaluating the buy, rent, or build scenarios. If there’s an area of business that we want to expand into, I’ll conduct an analysis with the executive team: What would it take to build it ourselves? Or, are there companies we can acquire to accelerate the time to market? Or, could we “rent” [by building] a commercial relationship instead of buying it? I’m constantly evaluating opportunities to grow Fandango. With all of those functions, I'm able to leverage my experience and partner with the executive management team to drive the business forward.

Member Profile: Rebecca McNeil, CPA, CGMA

Rebecca McNeil, CPA, CGMA is the chief financial officer of The Arts Finance Cohort, a collaboration between five Pittsburgh-based arts organizations including a theater company, a performing arts venue, a community arts space and ceramic studio, a glass studio and a crafts center. As a shared CFO, she provides strategic and operational financial expertise the groups could not afford individually. Her task is to move the organizations beyond year-to-year, break-even operations to long-term sustainability, as she helps each create a capitalization plan. McNeil is also a classically trained clarinet player. In this AICPA Insights Member Spotlight, we find out how Rebecca is using her management accounting skills to help an industry that she is passionate about: the arts.

1. Tell me about your day-to-day responsibilities.

There’s a wide variety of work. I might review one group’s [IRS] 990 and make corrections to the form, perform current-year projections for another group and work on policies and procedures for another. For some organizations, I'm providing higher-level oversight and strategic planning advice and for others I'm offering more upper-level staff support by updating their record-keeping. I have to evaluate with each organization based on the staff they have in place.

2. What are your direct areas of responsibility?

My job is to not just show the numbers, but to tell the story of the organization through the numbers. I’ve redrafted nearly every organization’s financial statements at this point. I’m trying to get more clarity on the numbers and present them in a way that makes sense.

There’s also been some education for the organizations on their financial statements so they can understand where their focus should be. I’m trying to help them manage their cash flow while understanding how much fundraising they need to do. We’re trying to get realistic, achievable budgets, and in some cases that requires resetting the budget process.

AICPA Member Spotlight: Sarah Hughes

The AICPA has many talented members with unique stories. This new Member Spotlight series will showcase the stories of members throughout the organization. We sat down with Sarah Hughes, CPA/PFS, executive director of EY’s Private Client Services in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For more than 15 years, Sarah has worked on her clients’ holistic personal financial and business planning needs. Below she shares some of her knowledge and experience

AICPA: In 2001, you were a tax accountant for a local firm; what motivated you to move to EY?

Sarah Hughes: The regional firm that I worked for was where I really learned the fundamentals of taxation on partnerships, S corporations, individuals, tax-exempt organizations, estates, and other areas. I found myself gravitating toward the individual trust and estate planning area, and relatively speaking, that was a small area of focus at the regional firm. EY had, and still has, a large group solely dedicated to these areas, so I have the support and am able to focus on a part of the accounting profession I find really interesting. Many of my clients are also connected to family-owned and private businesses; the background I brought with me to EY has helped in these areas as well.