Committed to Success

I believe in, and am committed to, the continued success of our profession.

It’s an honor to be able to write this letter. It’s tradition for the new Illinois CPA Society Board Chair to share their story of how they got here, but I can’t share mine without sharing my parents’ story. I’m a born and bred Chicagoan, and like many, I’m the child of immigrants. My parents each traveled their own journey to the U.S. as young adults before meeting, marrying, and working together to support a growing family. My mom worked six days a week as a seamstress for decades until the day she finally owned that business. My dad worked factory and other labor jobs while taking computer and engineering classes at night, graduating with his bachelor’s degree several years after I did. We sometimes struggled financially, but because of their determination and ingenuity, we never wanted for anything important.

My dad instilled in me a love of numbers, process, and technology. My mom taught me to be resourceful in solving problems, and to consider the details and the bigger picture in any situation. They both taught me the importance of planning and commitment, while our circumstances gave me an early appreciation for the importance of financial literacy and stability. Given that, it’s not a surprise that I declared my major as accounting in a fifth-grade essay about what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Except for five years in public accounting, I’ve spent my entire career in corporate finance. My CPA credential has served as an invaluable foundation for a broad range of responsibilities. I’ve been able to leverage my CPA background to gain roles and experiences in financial reporting, operations, systems, and process engineering, eventually taking on a leadership role that let me do all those things at once. I never could turn down a challenge.

Challenge has always invigorated me, and I hope it invigorates you, because these are exciting times for our profession. We’re in the midst of a technological revolution that is reinventing the way we work, the skills we need, and the risks we manage. Working for a technology company, I see this transformation gaining speed and scope every day. We’re also experiencing a rapidly changing workforce as a large generation of experienced professionals retires.

These disruptive forces are creating opportunities we couldn’t have imagined a decade ago. To capitalize on these opportunities, our profession needs to continue to attract and retain new and diverse talent. We need to encourage innovation and embrace new ideas about how we work and what we do. We also need to continue to enhance the competencies that define us as CPAs — and the CPA credential — to include technology-based skills, like data analytics, so we can respond to new demands in our business world.

As I learned early on, success requires commitment. I believe in, and am committed to, the continued success of our profession. As your chair, I’m committed to the continued success of you.