Marc Rosenberg
Email

Marc Rosenberg has served as a management consultant to CPA firms for over 20 years. What an interesting job! He spends most of his time traveling the country and helping CPA firms improve their partner compensation models, CPA firm mergers, succession planning, CPA firm retreats, and more.

He also runs a “management consultant to the CPA firm industry” mastermind group where people in his industry (which is quite a small niche) share ideas and strategies for their practices.

When I was in public accounting, so many people wanted to be a consultant or work in the advisory department of the firm. However, I had never even heard of this as a career option. While there aren’t many people doing it, what an incredible job to have.

The post Top Management Consultant to the CPA Industry [Interview] with Marc Rosenberg of the Rosenberg Associates appeared first on The Bean Counter.

Nancy Ridenour
LinkedIn
Email

Nancy is a CPA firm partner at PDR CPA’s and spoke a number of years ago when I was at the University of Tampa. She has a great attitude and is a hilarious public speaker. She’s also from the Midwest, just like myself!

Nancy has a non-traditional but awesome story: She started out as a music major and was a stay-at-home mother before she became an accountant. After being a stay-at-home mother for 13 years, she went back and got her accounting degree and CPA license.

She started out with Bisk CPA review and she knew she always wanted to be in public accounting. While driving down a large road in her town, Nancy would always see the sign for “Price & Donahue, CPAs”. She looked at that sign every day on the way to her classes. After graduating, Nancy started working for the firm and seven years later became partner (hence the firm is now PDR CPAs).

This is a great story of a woman who came into the profession off the beaten path and has done an incredible job! Thanks for joining us Nancy, we loved having you on the show!

Questions?

Email me at andrew@thebeancounter.com

The post Stay At Home Mother To CPA Firm Partner [PODCAST] with Nancy Ridenour, PDR CPA’s appeared first on The Bean Counter.

Greg Leiter
LinkedIn

Greg Leiter, CPA, serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Director at Cott Beverages Limited. Mr. Leiter has been Senior Vice President of Cott Corporation since April 2008. Mr. Leiter has been Assistant Secretary of Cott Corporation since December 5, 2007 and serves as its Chief Accounting Officer. He served as Controller of Cott Corporation since December 5, 2007.

Mr. Leiter served as Vice President at Cott Corporation from November 5, 2007 to February 7, 2008 and has served as its Principal Accounting Officer since February 2010. He joined Cott Corporation from the international software firm SAP America, where he served as its Practice Manager of Governance, Risk & Compliance since October 2006. In this role, Mr. Leiter developed the Governance, Risk & Compliance practice for SAP Consulting by serving as the central resource for information on SAP software solutions.

From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Leiter held two positions with Graham Packaging Company. Since 2006, Mr. Leiter served as Vice President – Global Business Process of Graham Packaging, where he created a project management office focused on business process improvement. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Leiter served as Graham Packaging’s Director of Internal Audit. In 2002, Mr. Leiter was with Global Business Process Solutions, a business process outsourcing start-up company, and from 1998 to 2002 he was employed by IDEXX Laboratories and served as its Director of Internal Audit. He serves as a Director of Cott Nelson (Holdings) Limited. Mr. Leiter has been a Director of Cott Beverages Limited since August 1, 2009. Mr. Leiter is a Certified Public Accountant.

Tell us about one experience in your current position that just blew you away and that you were really excited about.

What was your biggest, or one of your biggest, failure(s) in getting to where you are today?

What is a great resource you used along the way that helped you to get where you are today?

What is your advice for someone starting out in his or her career?

What is your advice for someone who has been working in the industry and wants to make a change or take his or her career to the next level?

The post Interview with a Chief Accounting Officer [PODCAST] with Greg Leiter, Chief Accounting Officer at Cott Corporation appeared first on The Bean Counter.

Geni Whitehouse
Email
Even a nerd Website
LinkedIn

Geni has a great story and she was an awesome guest on the podcast! She is a CPA, author, speaker, blogger, and partner at a CPA firm. Geni has a very interesting background and she has won a number of awards over the years including:

2013 One of 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting – CPA Practice Advisor

2013 Top 25 Thought Leaders in Public Accounting Technology – CPA Practice Advisor

She currently lives in San Francisco and serves clients exclusively in the wine industry (aren’t we all jealous). Originally from South Carolina, Geni has shared her experiences in California at her entertaining blog redneckincalifornia.com.

Geni has also been a TEDx speaker and has written a book which you can check out to the right. My favorite part of having her on the show was when she mentioned a resource that would be helpful for people out there–comedy classes! Geni said that it’s a great resource, even for accountants, and she enjoyed it when she went through the process a number of years ago.

Thanks for coming on the show Geni!

Questions asked on the show:

Tell us about one experience in your current position that just blew you away and that you were really excited about.

What was your biggest, or one of your biggest, failure(s) in getting to where you are today?

What is a great resource you used along the way that helped you to get where you are today?

What is your advice for someone starting out in his or her career?

What is your advice for someone who has been working in the industry and wants to make a change or take his or her career to the next level?

What’s a great book that you’ve read?

And lastly, tell us a quote that you love and how it’s helped you reach your goals.

Questions?

Email me at andrew@thebeancounter.org

The post One Of The Most Powerful Women In Accounting [PODCAST] with Geni Whitehouse, Author, Speaker, Trainer at EvenaNerd.com appeared first on The Bean Counter.

Richard Levychin

Tell us a little bit about your background.

> Managing Partner of KBL, LLP CPAs and Advisors

> Graduated from Baruch College and started his  career with a Big Four CPA firm

> Started his own firm at the age of 28

Tell us about one experience in your current position that just blew you away and that you were really excited about.

During Richard’s first job in a small CPA firm, he had the ability to be involved in various parts of the firm rather than just the accounting department. He learned how to acquire clients, manage people, market the firm, and conduct client relations.

What was your biggest, or one of your biggest, failure(s) in getting to where you are today?

Richard’s philosophy about failure is to “Fail Fast Forward.” Fail and do it quickly then move forward as quickly as possible. At one point he had a practice office in Florida and one in New Jersey. The partners who worked there were great technicians, but they were not business people. They ended up terminating the relationship and moving forward.

“While growth is sexy, if you don’t find the right people to run the firm, sometimes it won’t work out.”

Tell us a challenge you met and how you overcame it.

Learning marketing. The great thing is that his wife has a marketing degree and worked for a large Ad agency. Nonetheless, learning how to package and brand himself and the firm was one of his biggest challenges. Richard’s philosophy about marketing: Number one, you must have quality work and provide great service to clients. Then you must identify who you are and who you want to be. He thinks about Wayne Gretzky, who never skated to where the puck was, but skated to where the puck would be.

His new marketing program is called “#Diversity = Revenue.” The demographics of the country are becoming more multicultural.  His company services many companies who have multicultural owners and female CEOs. He determined the firm’s biggest strength is going after emerging companies that are going through growth periods such as IPOs, private offerings, etc.

What is a great resource you used along the way that helped you to get where you are today?

Richard belongs to the Entrepreneurs Organization which has over 10,000 members in more than 40 countries. The goal of Entrepreneurs Organization is to give new CEOs and business owners intellectual capital that focuses on the following four areas:

1. Strategy

2. HR and People

3. Sales/Marketing

4. Finance

What is you advice for someone starting out in his or her career?

First, get an internship. Second, find a mentor.

The E-Myth Revisited

By Michael E. Gerber

The post “Sometimes I would rather have to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.” [PODCAST] with Richard Levychin, Managing Partner of KBL LLP appeared first on The Bean Counter.

Maria Morales
Email

Maria is an Audit Partner at Clifton Larson Allen and has been in public accounting for twelve years, serving public and private companies in industries such as manufacturing, third-party administrative services, software, health care, biotechnologies, and employee benefits. Previously, Morales worked in private accounting in the aeronautical industry. She is one of the founding board members of Tampa’s Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) chapter and currently co-chairs the women of ALPFA committee.

Morales also serves on the board of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF) and is passionate about initiatives that focus on the advancement, retention, and empowerment of female professionals. She heads the recruiting efforts for LarsonAllen’s Tampa, Florida location and received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of South Florida. Morales is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA).

• Tell us about one experience in your current position that just blew you away and that you were really excited about.
• What was your biggest, or one of your biggest, failure(s) in getting to where you are today?
• What is a great resource you used along the way that helped you to get where you are today?
• What is your advice for someone starting out in his or her career?
• What is your advice for someone who has been working in the industry and wants to make a change or take his or her career to the next level?
• What’s a great book that you’ve read?
• And lastly, tell us a quote that you love and how it’s helped you reach your goals.

Questions?

Email me at andrew@thebeancounter.com

The post How Losing Your Job Can Be A Step Forward [PODCAST] with Maria Morales, Partner at Clifton Larson Allen appeared first on The Bean Counter.

Jody Pradar
LinkedIn
Twitter

Jody Padar joined her father’s firm four years ago, bringing her expertise in the areas of taxation, QuickBooks, and small business accounting. As one of the profession’s emerging thought leaders, Jody has transitioned New Vision to next-generation status by adopting advanced technologies and best practices that support web-based client services and allow the firm to run at peak efficiency.

She is also an expert in the area of GREEN, vigilantly staying apprised of green-related government incentives and tax credits to ensure clients receive the proper deductions.

Jody earned her BBA from Saint Mary’s College and MST from Northern Illinois University. She is also an adjunct professor at Oakton Community College and a contributing member of the Intuit Trainer Writer Network.

Jody has also been featured in a number of publications and has received many awards!

10 Worth Watching, Women Who Inspire a Profession

40 under 40  2010, 2009

Forbes Interview

Accounting Today Top 100  2012, 2011

Illinois CPA Society 2011 “Women to Watch”

On the show we shared a few comments about Christmas trees, YouTube videos, and LinkedIn articles. Check out the links and the Christmas tree to the right!

LinkedIn Article

YouTube Video – Find your Passion

Questions asked on the show!

Tell us about one experience in your current position that just blew you away and that you were really excited about.

What was your biggest, or one of your biggest, failure(s) in getting to where you are today?

What is a great resource you used along the way that helped you to get where you are today?

What is your advice for someone starting out in his or her career?

What is your advice for someone who has been working in the industry and wants to make a change or take his or her career to the next level?

What’s a great book that you’ve read?

And lastly, tell us a quote that you love and how it’s helped you reach your goals.

Questions?

Email me at andrew@thebeancounter.org

The post “The dream begins most of the time with the teacher who believes in you” [PODCAST] with Jody Padar appeared first on The Bean Counter.

That’s what I think about when I finished recording this podcast with Michael. It’s an incredible story of someone who knew he wanted something different from his job, and made it happen.

Incredibly, in building Deep Sky and only two years after working in public accounting, he went three years without a paycheck. But now check out his site, he is crushing it. He has multiple employees, numerous clients, and an awesome philosophy of how he runs his firm:

The thing I admire most about Michael is his view on accounting. He talks about how it’s become such a numbers and compliance game without focusing on the stories that the numbers tell when the proper metrics are recorded and analyzed.

Here is a great quote that Michael shared on the show.

People make the mistake of thinking they are their history of their biography. The reality is that they are their decisions.

I hope you enjoy the podcast, it’s one of my favorites to date. If you want to get in touch with Michael, you can find him on LinkedIn and twitter.

The post Started his own accounting firm from scratch, with only two years of experience [PODCAST] with W. Michael Hsu appeared first on The Bean Counter.

After 9 months of working in public accounting, he switched from financial audit to what is now largely called “IT Audit”. He remained there until 2002 (when Arthur Andersen , and focused on what used to be called SAS70 (now known as SSAE16).

When Arthur Anderson went down, rather than start up as an employee at another firm, he went out and started his own business. Scott was a great guy to have on the podcast and my favorite part was when he told us one thing that got him really excited about choosing accounting as a career. He responded:

“When you start your own business… the first people that hire you are hiring you, not a name… When you get your first check from a client, that’s a big deal.”.

If you’d like to reach Scott, you can email him here, or find him on LinkedIn & Twitter.

Questions?

Email me at andrew@thebeancounter.com.

The post “When you get your first check from a client, that’s a big deal” Podcast with A-lign’s Scott Price on starting his own firm, TWICE! appeared first on The Bean Counter.