IN PLAY: Jeffery Mowery, CPA, JD, LLM, CFP

If you’re joining a Zoom call with Jeffery Mowery, CPA, JD, LLM, CFP, managing partner and co-founder of Mowery & Schoenfeld LLC, there’s a good chance he’s taking the call from far beyond the Chicagoland area. As a self-declared extensive world traveler, both personally and professionally, Mowery has spent large amounts of time abroad in places like Italy, Morocco, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, just to name a few. “I’m happiest when I’m going someplace,” Mowery claims.

Not surprisingly, his approach to travel falls directly in line with his vision as a leader of one of the fastest growing firms in the country. Since 1996, Mowery and his co-founding partner, Keith Schoenfeld, CPA, have continued to move their firm forward with the overarching goal of working with clients in different and more personal ways as opposed to just providing traditional compliance services.

That approach has earned Mowery and his firm many accolades over the years, including being named one of INSIDE Public Accounting’s Top 200 Firms, one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ largest accounting firms, and one of Accounting Today’s Best Accounting Firms to Work For. More recently, Mowery himself earned a coveted spot on Forbes’ 2024 list of America’s Top 200 CPAs.

Mowery notes that a big part of this success has been in large part due to his firm’s emphasis on building and retaining talent: “We’re very proud that eight of our 16 partners started their careers with our firm. Those individuals, and others we’ve brought up at the firm, have created our sustainable success.”

The longevity of these employees is largely credited to the firm’s people-first approach. Mowery says they prioritize and nurture a learning environment that permits progression within the firm: “Several years ago, I attended a conference where a keynote speaker noted ‘your most important asset gets in their car every day.’ We took that to heart and put our primary emphasis on creating the best environment for our team members to grow and succeed.”

Mowery adds that the firm makes a strong effort to keep its people progressing and has clearly defined milestones for all promotions, which includes a “fast track” for motivated candidates and a “flexible track” for those who need time to ease in. “Whenever possible, we’re a firm of entrepreneurs—a mindset I’ve encouraged in our leaders,” he says. “Whenever anyone has come to us wanting to learn a new skill set or to request resources to launch a new service line or any initiative, we’ve supported them.”

Although Mowery takes great pride in the opportunities given to employees, he doesn’t shy away from criticism, noting there’s always room for improvement: “We’re not afraid to collect feedback from our team—when they talk, we listen.”

In 2021, Mowery admits the firm experienced a bit of turnover. When the firm dug into the issues at play, they discovered there were concerns among some of the women at the firm. “We immediately responded by developing and launching our GLOW program (Growth and Learning Opportunities for Women), to provide education and support for the women in our team. We’re now proud to welcome our first equity partner, who’s also a mom, which is a testament to our commitment to growing with our team and their families.”

Much like Mowery’s commitment to giving back to the people of his firm and creating a safe space for feedback and growth, Mowery and his firm instill those same values throughout the communities they work in. For 10 years, the firm has proudly been a participant in the Illinois CPA Society’s CPA Day of Service.

“This event has been the cornerstone of our firm’s charitable initiative known as M&S Cares, Mowery explains. “It’s generated so much enthusiasm that we’ve expanded it to other events throughout the year, ranging from our summer volunteer season to our holiday season of giving. But we return to the CPA Day of Service every year as our founding event, remembering it was this event that inspired all the work M&S Cares has done.”

Of course, inspiration will continue to be the foundation for what moves Mowery (and his firm) forward—whether it’s the CPA Day of Service event, the places he’ll travel to and visit next, or the people he’ll meet and nurture along the way. After all, Mowery stresses: “Whatever success I’ve managed to achieve over the years is the direct result of the team our firm has built.”

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