Tag Archives: leadership

Fewer Clients with Higher Realization? Spend More Time with Those Better Clients?

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Some live it, some dream it, and some say it can never happen. Where do you stand on the topic of realization and the role that it plays in your practice? These insightful, very brief video clips are a useful resource that I want to share with you. If you’re trying to get a better handle on realization, you’ll jump on this like a hobo on a ham sandwich.

How does continuous monitoring help you improve realization?

How do people know where they stand against realization targets?

How does early-warning of realization issues help your firm get paid?

How has better visibility of realization improved management of the firm and morale of the staff? 

What if realization just doesn’t improve?  When is time to let a problem-client go?

How do you enforce realization goals across the firm?  Is everyone “bought in?”

Workers 7

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A Moment With Rita: The Keller Interview

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Meet one of today’s leaders in the accounting profession, Rita Keller. A nationally known CPA firm management consultant, speaker and author…Rita is a former shareholder and Chief Operating Officer of a successful, regional CPA firm. Savor the Q&A…

Q: You spent a lot of time being a public accounting firm administrator. How has that role changed over the years and where do you see it headed?
I became a CPA firm administrator when the role was in its early stages inside a CPA firm. Law firms had already successfully established the role years before but CPAs were slower to adapt. Most firms had someone inside the firm who took care of the day-to-day – it was usually a high-level administrative person, secretary to the managing partner, although we don’t use the “s” word anymore.

Once ambitious CPAs learned that they could trust someone else to take care of the operational details, freeing them up to serve clients and obtain new ones, the role expanded significantly.

There are still many levels of firm administrators today, depending on the size of the firm and delegation skill of the MP and other partners. Titles include: Office Manager, Office Administrator, Firm Administrator, Director of Administration, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. A handful of firm administrators have actually, like me, achieved shareholder status at their firms.

With all of the succession issues facing CPAs, I believe the role of the firm administrator is key into helping the departing generation make the transition as well as helping the up-and-comers expand and improve their management skills.

Q: How important is it that a firm administrator knows how CPAs work and what they encounter day-to-day?
This is extremely important. The more the firm administrator knows about the “business” of the firm, the more helpful they can be. They should strive to roll-up their sleeves and learn how the audit team puts together a financial statement and how the tax people prepare and process a tax return. This usually comes very naturally with experience.

It is also very important that the firm administrator role be considered a partner-level role in that they attend all partner meetings and retreats so they fully understand the issues first-hand.

Q: What has surprised you in terms of what public accounting firms have done (or not done)–both positively and negatively?
Over all my years working in public accounting, I have been pleased (surprised) at how CPAs have invested in technology to produce a better and more efficient work product. It has been one change that almost every CPA has embraced.

I also believe that even with the intense focus on due dates and the need to possess a great work ethic, CPA firms are wonderful places to work and create a career path. For the most part, CPAs are truly ladies and gentlemen and wonderful people to work with and for. I have found CPAs to be flexible and understanding with their team members almost to a fault. That brings me to some negative thoughts.

CPAs are often much too nice. They go to great lengths to avoid any form of confrontation and thus high performers and low performers are treated almost identically. In fact, high performers get rewarded by receiving more assignments (more work) and low performers receive less work and can almost coast along for years on end. This has to change!

CPA owners/partners need to focus on leadership development and better communication skills. As owners of the firm they should be more focused on their business and less on doing the work of the business (audits, accounting and taxes). Too many firms are under-managed, which is different from micro-management.

Q: What have been some of the key things you’ve learned throughout your career? What might you do differently if you could go back in time?
The most important thing I have learned is that nothing is ever handed to you. Especially as a woman, you have to be proactive, speak-up and work hard to achieve your goals. I like a mantra used by Sheryl Sandberg in her book, Lean In – “Done is better than perfect.” I believe CPAs could learn so much from that simple statement. When it comes to improving their firms (on the inside), I always say, “CPAs have good intentions but no implementation.” They revisit the same management topics year after year.

If I could go back in time, I would start my own business sooner!  I see so many people inside CPA firms – owners and employees – who stay put when they are not really happy.

Q: What are some of the things that you love most about the accounting profession?
I love the people. I have met thousands of wonderful people over the years and had a chance to speak to and work with so many.

I love the opportunity public accounting has provided me to learn new things, continually improve my knowledge and skills. Life-long learning is a fact of life in the CPA management world.

When I first walked into an accounting firm I thought to myself, “This is probably going to be boring but I will give it a try.” I have not been bored for one minute in over 30 years.

Q: You travel a ton. How about sharing a funny travel story?
Sad to say, I can probably tell you more horror stories than funny stories. That being said, I usually enjoy the Southwest flights the most and use Herb Kelleher stories in my workshops. One flight we had a guy flight attendant who was quite the entertainer. From his seat in the front, as the plane took off and was climbing, he slid bags of peanuts down the aisle (that slid rather quickly because of the incline of the plane) and you could grab them as they went by.

Q: What’s in the future for Rita Keller?
A few years ago I decided on an early retirement from daily life inside a CPA firm to become a fulltime management consultant. So, some day in the not too distant future, I’ll be facing retirement again. I feel like I have a lot to contribute for a while but I will be cutting back on the travel.

I am just getting started with SurveyCPA, a people-survey tool for public accounting firms and I have a couple of other exciting projects in the works.

I have a loyal following for my daily blog and my newsletter is also very successful. I’ve been blogging daily for seven years so I have a lot of content “out there.” Maybe it’s time to write a book.

Rita Keller

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World On A String: Interview With Rebecca Ryan

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Meet one of today’s brilliant minds in the accounting profession, Rebecca Ryan. As the Founder of NEXT Generation Consulting, Inc., in Madison, Wisconsin, Rebecca walks the walk and talks the talk. I particularly love her statement “I’d love to see a list of ‘Best Firms’ that’s based on firms that really make a difference in the world.” You’ll really enjoy this Q&A.

Q: What are some of the key issues facing public accounting firms right now that managing partners need to keep on their front burners?
A: The diversity of the workforce. Currently, half of all CPA grads are women, and 13% of high potentials are nonwhites. That means that ten years from now, half of all our high potentials should be women and one in every six new partners should be nonwhite.

In addition, firms have to start innovating. They’re getting caught in a commodity/price war trap because they don’t know how to differentiate themselves. And the only way you do that in this environment is through service or a client experience.

Q: How challenging is it to run your business? How do you juggle it all?
A: So that’s two questions. Let me break those apart.

#1: Challenge?

It depends how you define “challenging?” The hardest thing I’ve ever done was steer my business through the recession. It was extremely stressful and I felt like a giant loser.

But that was nothing compared to what others face every day. For example, last week one of my clients lost his spouse unexpectedly from a massive heart attack at age 60. THAT is a challenge.

Compared to the really hard stuff we face in life, running a business is easy-cheesy.

#2: Juggling?

I can’t juggle. I’m absolutely horrendous at doing multiple things at once. Anyone who’s ever been in a car with me knows this. I cannot drive responsibly and talk to someone in the car. I run red lights, speed…it’s not good.

Because I can’t juggle, I need other strategies. Here are mine:

From “Master Your Workday Now,” I identify a few things that I want to get done each week. And then each day, I identify no more than six things I am totally committed to getting done that day. I have been blessed with the ability to really focus, so that works for me.

Oh! And recently I signed up for “IDoneThis” based on a tip from Dan Pink. You get an email at 6 each night and reply with all the things you accomplished that day. They track it…and it’s very satisfying to see what I can get done in a month or so.

Q: What’s going on with your writing and speaking engagements these days?
A: Bless you for asking! My new book, ReGeneration, is out in June. And we’re running this cool campaign: people who pre-order before April 30 will get their name in the book. http://tinyurl.com/rrb00k

Speaking is going great. I’m increasingly being used to fill the “futurist” slot at conferences. It’s not very often that meetings have a female futurist and economist…who wears tennis shoes. It’s going well.

Q: What have been some of the key things you’ve learned throughout your career? What might you do differently if you could go back in time?
A. Okay, that’s two questions again. And as you know, I can only do one thing at a time…

#1: Key Things

  • It’s as easy to sell a $5,000 project as a $50,000 project.
  • Nice people really DO get ahead in business. For example, we sold $10,000 of books in 13 days on Kickstarter. That happened because I have spent 15 years trying to be kind to every person I’ve met…and they want to return the favor.
  • You have to have a vision and values beyond the bottom line if you really want your life to count for something. That’s one of the things that always bothers me a little about CPA firms: they measure themselves on revenue and don’t make the connection to people’s hearts and values. I’d love to see a list of “Best Firms” that’s based on firms that really make a difference in the world.

#2: Do differently

  • I would’ve been a better friend to my real friends. Often, I sacrificed friend stuff (like class reunions or weddings) for work. I regret that now.
  • I would’ve fired people earlier, when I knew they weren’t a fit. It would give me fits to fire people, but it was faster and more painless than trying to make someone fit in.

Q: What’s in the future for Rebecca Ryan?
In the very immediate term, an airplane ride home.

In the longer term, we are helping a developer with a “next generation community” in the Dallas area. And I hope, someday, I will give a TED talk.

Oh! And beer. I love to sample beer.

Q: If you had to suddenly choose a completely different line of work, what might that be?

  • Shoeshine girl. There’s nothing more satisfying than shining shoes.
  • College professor. All that tweed and those cigars!

Ryan_R

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Effective Networking: Not Fade Away

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It’s Friday and it’s Networking Pet Peeve Day at my desk.

To network effectively, it can’t all be about you. Here are two real scenarios for our Networking Pet Peeve Day illustration:

1) Someone you know loses his/her job and then seeks your advice and assistance on looking for a new position. You then provide that assistance and connect him/her to other business people and float a couple of open job opportunities to this unemployed person. You continue to keep your eyes and ears open in a genuine effort to help him/her, and then one day you tell this person of a new position that you feel would be a good fit for them and are told, “Oh, I started my new job three weeks ago.”

Result: That person will never get help from me again.

2) Someone you helped find a new position, they worked it for a couple of years, then they contact you asking for your help to find another position—without having had the slightest bit of contact with you the past two years. Make no mistake, I have no problem with them trying to find a better job, but this reaching out “only when you need something” doesn’t fly. I am all for lending a hand to assist someone, but where was this person the last two years? You can’t go that long and then show up out of the blue asking for something. It’s kinda like the bratty teenager who doesn’t lift a finger to do anything to help around the house or pick up his/her room…and then have both hands out at Christmas saying “Give it to me!”

Result: That person will never get help from me again.

Networking Conclusion: A two-way street must exist.

Alas, for those of you heading into the final pre-April 15 work weekend, Godspeed!

Opinion

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Interview with Sarah Galley, Firm Administrator

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Meet one of today’s experienced public accounting firm administrators, Sarah Galley. A key part of a firm that started in the early 90’s, Sarah lives and breathes firm administration and its various issues every day in Dayton, Ohio. Enjoy the Q&A…

Q: What’s it like being a public accounting firm’s administrator?
Being the firm administrator at Pohlman & Talmage CPAs, Inc. is exciting, fun, challenging, frustrating, difficult and very rewarding. As a firm administrator of a 20-person firm I wear many different hats and have to be able to switch gears in a matter of seconds. I’m a cheerleader, process and procedure enforcer, a therapist, a teacher, an IT person, just the all around “fixer.” Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I get to come in to work every day and do a job I love and work with intelligent and extraordinary individuals. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t stressful at times, of course it is. I have three partners and 16 employees with very different personalities and expectations. We also have the external stressors like any organization that we can’t always control, such as the IRS or DOL. However, I feel that if our firm leadership creates a positive work environment, we as a team can tackle those external stressors in a more productive and efficient manner.

Q: What’s the most rewarding aspect of what you do on a daily basis?
Helping! That is why I am in this position. I enjoy and want to help the firm, my partners, our employees and our clients. When I go home at night if I can think back through the day and know that I was able to help us get to a more efficient place, solve a personnel or partner problem, or see our staff evolving and just becoming a stronger team, that is my reward!  

Q: If a young professional told you he/she wanted to get into accounting firm administration and management, what would you tell them?
I would tell them it is an excellent career choice if you like to help and lead people. You have to have the ability to talk with the partners and be honest with them even when they may not like it. You have to be able to cultivate relationships and gain trust and be willing to work hard. It isn’t always easy and fun, but if you like helping, if you like being part of something successful…then this is a career choice you should consider.

Q: If you weren’t in the accounting or business administration world, what career path might interest you?
I think I would have taken the route of counseling or teaching. I enjoy helping others and working towards a common goal; I like to figure out what works and what doesn’t work…and be able to be a little creative along the way.

Q: If you had to jump on a time machine and go forward 20 years, what would you tell CPAs? What would you tell firm administrators?
I would tell CPAs that it isn’t all technical. Yes, you must have the technical skills, but you also need the soft skills and be willing to change. As a CPA you are not just required to crunch numbers–you need to learn how to build relationships and talk with your clients and your employees–you have to be able to be evolving constantly. People want to know you care…that you are invested in their future. That is the key to retaining lifelong clients and employees. I would tell administrators almost exactly the same thing. As an administrator you do need to have those technical skills but you must be able to change and cultivate relationships.

Q: What’s in the future for Sarah Galley?
Besides continuing to enjoy my three wonderful children and husband, I plan to continue at Pohlman & Talmage CPAs and help the firm grow, develop and be successful. I would like to go back to school for my Master’s degree in Leadership Development or Organizational Behavior and apply that knowledge to not only Pohlman & Talmage but also to our clients’ organizations. I am fascinated by human beings and their interactions and am truly interested in all the inter-workings of a successful organization.

Sarah Galley 1

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The Thrill of It All: A Conversation with Gale Crosley

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Q: What are some of the things that you love most about the accounting profession?
The people are smart, have a strong work ethic and have a commitment to high moral ethics. I know many CPAs who will work until they drop. That’s probably not a good thing. However, I admire a strong work ethic. In addition, a commitment to high ethical standards sets the tone in our profession for quality work and treating others with dignity.

Q: What are some of the key issues facing public accounting firms right now that managing partners need to keep on their front burners?
Nothing new here. Lack of investment in leadership. The impact often creates a short-term attitude and long-term problems, such as poor leadership running the firm, and sustainability and succession issues.

Q: How challenging is it to run your business? How do you juggle it all?
Thank God I have been blessed with a sufficient quantity of energy. It’s in the genes. My mother is 84 and has the energy of someone much younger. She never sits still. I’m wired the same way. The biggest challenge is admitting my energy limits and pacing myself.

Q: What’s the most rewarding aspect of what you do on a daily basis?
Seeing firms transformed into high growth machines. It’s especially thrilling to talk to clients who graduated the program years ago. The growth of their partners and firm makes it all worthwhile.

Q: What have been some of the key things you’ve learned throughout your career? What might you do differently if you could go back in time?
The biggest mistake was to try so hard to be successful at what I (emphasis) wanted to be, rather than finding my calling with my God-given gifts. I finally am there, but it took forever. I would have gone more with the flow, rather than fighting so hard to accomplish things that didn’t play to my strengths.

Q: You travel a lot. How about sharing an interesting travel story?
I’ll never forget sitting in the Las Vegas airport years ago, and over the loudspeaker the announcer said, “Would the gentleman who left his hearing aid in the restroom please report to the lost and found.” How hilarious! Because travel is so stressful and demanding, you have to look for the reasons to smile and laugh. I run into all kinds of cranky people daily and I have to remind myself that they’re all stressed as well.

Q: What’s in the future for Gale Crosley?
International. Helping CPA firms with their international niche strategy is so exciting, because there is virtually no competition, excellent market conditions, and almost unlimited growth potential. In addition, in the future I hope to help even more forward-thinking accounting firms around the world. I already know my growth model works on different continents, because a few firms have implemented it. The world is so huge, and I could work for years and never run out of firms I could help.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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Freedom of Choice: It’s What You Want

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Does excessive executive pay make your blood boil? Should a CEO of a big public company make $30 million a year? In Switzerland, there’s a new law that requires shareholder approval of executive compensation at all publicly traded companies. Good idea?

In the U.S., we regularly read about huge bonuses paid to top executives of large public companies—with the chief criteria for these bonus amounts being tied to stock price performance. With such incentives based on that primary goal, how can a company’s foundation be built soundly and without shortcuts and cracks?

As with most everything else in our free market society, the power lies with the people. Fortunately, we not only can vote at the polls, but we can also vote with our wallets and purses every day. Freedom of choice—it’s a wonderful privilege. If you don’t like what’s going on at a certain company, well, then don’t buy their stock, their products or their services. That’s the most powerful message that anyone can send.

Freedom

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What’s On Your Highlight Reel?

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As always, Accounting Today’s Top 100 Firms edition is so full of substance it’s like going to a meat ‘n cheese buffet. Strap on the feed bag. The section that grabs my interest first every year is the “Firm Highlights” summary. Each Top 100 firm has but a few lines to put their best foot forward touting their crowning achievements of the previous twelve months. Most of these firms display their broad strokes in this section with mentions of mergers, acquisitions and new service lines. For those firms declaring “had revenue growth of x-percent,” it leaves me thinking that nothing special happened with their firm and that they merely grabbed a few new clients and it was all business-as-usual. I suppose some years are like that, but I do wonder what’s below the surface of that “ten-percent growth” statement.

The following are some of the “firm highlights” that struck me:

*Moving to managing by service line
*Formed two new service areas: a specialty tax services group and a transaction advisory services group
*Expanded strategic planning task force to include “up and comers”
*Deepened industry expertise through hiring experienced staff
*Fastest growing client category – real estate
*Launched an online risk management tool
*Formalized wealth management practice

What is your firm or company doing in 2013 that will be worthy of the highlight reel this time next year? It had better be something more dynamic than:

*Moved to a new office building
*Had a hip deejay at the post-April 15 party
*Got a new coffee machine in the company kitchen

Coffee Pot_Old

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The Backbone of the Firm

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Where do you get the real pulse of a public accounting firm? The lifeblood of every accounting firm can’t be someone who has their time and attention focused on clients, so who really knows how the firm operates day-to-day (and the nuances behind the curtain)? Answer: The Firm Administrator

I was in Dublin last week. No, I wasn’t drinking pints of Guinness, eating Lucky Charms or searching for Irish Spring soap; I was in the fine Columbus, Ohio suburb of Dublin at a AAA meeting. Cars? No, not that AAA. This stellar group had me in as the featured speaker (“The Power and Practical Uses of Thought Leadership for Your Firm”) for its February chapter event at the Ohio Chapter of the Association for Accounting Administration (AAA). I’ve been to a few of these meetings in the past, which are always worth the time and effort (you probably read a piece or two that I wrote after Jim Metzler of the AICPA spoke at a recent meeting). Hard act to follow, for sure. And value-pricing master Ron Baker is their next speaker!

Is your firm involved in AAA? This organization allows accounting firm administrators to interact with and learn from one another. The organization regularly holds local meetings and seminars, as well as national conferences.

When you have a flat tire or a dead battery, don’t call a firm administrator. However, if you want to understand how accounting firms really work, what the operations are like and what makes them tick, then a firm administrator is the route to take.

AAA

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Interview with Karen Love, PKF Texas

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Q: Being a strategic advisor to PKF Texas President, Kenneth Guidry on marketplace initiatives must be interesting, challenging and entertaining all in one. What are some of the key initiatives over the years that have surfaced as a result?

Kenneth Guidry as a leader has traditionally surrounded himself with people who are specialized in their thinking. This allows us to use our PKF Texas mantra of allowing people to “use their skills where they lie.” I find that I lead my team in an imitation of how Kenneth has led me and my fellow directors. I rely on my team to use their skills to keep me informed of the things they are smarter about than I am.  I believe Kenneth counts on the directors for the same thing. Together we have created a firm culture that still allows us to have a competitive advantage since people are the key to our future.  Because we have infrastructure in place for our talent to excel, it helps us to be an innovative firm in serving our clients and the marketplace. Everything from the award-winning PKF University in the early 2000s to the first accounting technology blog to our current Doing Business Over Coffee events, these have all worked well in stimulating buzz about our firm.

Q: Living and breathing accounting services marketing like you do, what frustrates you about where the public accounting profession is with marketing at this point in time? Where is professional services marketing lacking, falling short or just being too darned stale and boring?
I think “frustrated” is kind of strong, but I do see growth in our industry. Keeping pace just ahead of where the market is going is a challenge due to blend of virtual “no limits” and the traditional “confines” of the industry thinking. There are a few key players that have managed to do this, but the industry as a whole is trying to get their minds around the fast pace tracking we must do. Now, the international effect from world events is a “trickle response required” ingredient, particularly in geographic regions like Houston (4th largest city in nation). We have 92 consular corps offices here (next after New York and Los Angeles) http://www.houston.org/pdf/research/18AW001.pdf, along with housing one of three offices of the World Bank. A more cohesive joining together of our networks and alliances to figure out how to market to the needs of our clients, based on this international and cross-state line resource is needed. It is essential in overcoming the mindset of lack of physical presence needed to serve effectively, in an industry that has always placed prime value on personal, face to face relationships.

Q: PKF Texas has made a point to practice corporate social responsibility. What does this really mean and how has it impacted the firm, your clients and the places where PKF does business?
Our commitment to the community, not the transaction, is our recipe for success. When we lose sight of this we lose our bearing. We are proud of our Houston community and want people to know it as a center for entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. Each year we choose three charities to support with various fundraising and on-site volunteer activities. This year we are supporting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Camp for All and the Houston Area Women’s Center. Additionally, each employee is given eight hours of paid time off a year to devote time to the non-profit of their choice.

Our commitment to Houston is why we also co-founded the Fast Tech 50 Awards, sponsor university business plan competitions and sponsor events and organizations such as Coffee with the Consuls, the Greater Houston Partnership’s Houston Young Professionals Endeavour (HYPE), and the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC). I am the 2013 Chair of the GHWCC and our Manager of Practice Growth, Jen Lemanski, will chair HYPE in 2014.

Q: Along with many other honors, you’ve been named one of Houston’s 50 most influential women. What has this meant to you professionally? What has it meant to the firm?
It was a great honor for me! As my LinkedIn headline states, I am a marketplace strategist and connector. Within the firm and the marketplace, I develop strong trust and ties with people. By making the right connections and building the right teams, the firm or organization is set for success. Being honored as one of the 50 Most Influential Women is an extension of these efforts for the firm. The diversity of the list allowed for connections to women PKF Texas might not have met otherwise. It provided nice PR and an extra dash of credibility. I’m appreciative of Houston Women’s Magazine for recognizing women in this manner, and now the owner of the magazine has agreed to be a part of the Marketing/Communication Strategy team for the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce. Our experience has been that ultimately these relationships have led to business for the firm.

Q: What advice might you bestow upon today’s university accounting student or those accountants who are new to public accounting?
I started in accounting marketing 18 years ago. Having experience in a range of industries prior to joining an accounting firm, I had clear goals in mind of the milestones I wanted to reach in the industry and my career. I knew I needed to find a firm which would support these goals. Both the firm I worked at in Dallas and PKF Texas in Houston have allowed me to use my skills to grow the firm and have positioned me for success. I have talked to many marketers over the years who have to fight for the tools, voice and appreciation they need in order to be successful. In each firm, I had (and still do have) a sponsor who “spoke” the CPA language. Having that sponsor is key to being positioned where you have a voice at the table and can accomplish the goals set for the firm and yourself.

Q: How does your firm recruit talent? What are the common characteristics in people who have been successful employees?
The Human Capital team handles this for the firm. We serve the HC team as an internal client and assist them in their communications efforts with recruits. We believe a well-branded firm can not only attract but retain excellent team members. We look for certain character attributes in our potential employees: positive spirit, confidence, ambition, pride, adaptive capacity and excellence. These characteristics are trademarks at PKF Texas. In 2001, we implemented a very successful internship program with major universities in the Houston area. Today, many of the managers in our firm started in this internship program.

Q: What have been some of your fondest memories of your time at PKF Texas?
In 2005, I became one of the first non-CPA owners in the industry. I had worked many years to achieve this and did so with the help of many people along the way. When I moved to Houston in 2000, ownership was a goal I had set for myself. I was clear about this when I met with various firms in Houston. PKF Texas had the culture, the resources and the willingness to recognize the value of having a marketer with a seat at the table. With my interest in women’s initiatives and positioning success, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my sponsor Kenneth Guidry, for assisting to pave the way for me and many others within the firm.

One of the favorite parts of my job is seeing my team develop and grow within their own careers in an industry that I love. Accounting marketing as an industry has not been known for people’s longevity and consistency. Raissa Evans, Executive Manager and Jen Lemanski, Manager, are the exception to the rule. They have been on my team for 10 years and 7 years respectively. They have each had great success as marketers. Raissa was named the 2011 Marketer of the Year, the first to come from a firm with a previous Marketer of the Year winner. She is also on the national AAM Board of Directors and on the board of the Houston Interactive Marketing Association. Jen was the inaugural Steering Group Chair for the Leading Edge Alliance Young Professionals Special Interest Group. She also is the current Vice-Chair for the Houston Young Professionals Endeavor (HYPE).

Q: If you had to hop on a time machine and go backwards to a time before you entered the accounting world–and then had to pick a different career path–what might you have chosen?
Ironically, I had many different career paths that got me here. I was a fashion buyer for Allied stores, worked for a U.S. Congressman and Texas State Senator and was in the staffing industry before the accounting world found me. At the time, we don’t necessarily understand the path to where we will end up, but it’s clear how all of the experiences I have had, have helped to build me for today’s wonderful challenges.

Q: What’s in the future for Karen Love?
Well, just having had my 60th birthday, I hope having a 61st is in my future. Grin!

Karen Love

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