CPAs Are the Superheroes of Business!
The way forward for CPAs all comes down to strategy.
By DORRI C. MCWHORTER, CPA, CGMA, CITP, MBA | Spring 2020
Dear Santa,
How are you? You will never believe what I want for X-mas. Just 3 simple things: 1) To make
everyone alive today be ok. 2) To give me a little something, like a picture of you, to show
people you are real. (If you have a picture with you now, please give me one if possible.)
3) This is a big one! What I want is for you to ask my parents if I could be their accountant
for 1 month. It will not cost them a thing! (Well maybe a few $100s! Ha-Ha). I just know I
could do it. They can trust me. I just know I can do it! Please ask them for me! If they say
no, please ask them to give me an explanation why or why not. I could start Jan. 1st, 1985.
Please have them see me for more info. Thank you, Santa. Love, your friend, Dorri McGee.
P.S. I left you a sucker! Write back please.
As I look at my 11-year-old writing style, I haven’t changed
much! And maybe that’s what I want you to know about me. I have
wanted to be an accountant for what feels like my entire life. Don’t
believe me? I have photos of my childhood letter to Santa to prove
it! My point in sharing this is that I want you to see that I care deeply
about our profession. So deeply that I literally wrote a non-fiction
book report about accountants in middle school and watched the
Academy Awards to see the PwC (Pricewaterhouse at the time)
folks present the Oscar envelopes. But in all seriousness, we play
such an important role in society, from clearly supporting the
business world to helping families make good financial decisions.
I consider myself fortunate because my requests of Santa all those
years ago have mostly been filled—I am still waiting on that picture!
Today, I am a leader in the nonprofit world, working to make sure
“everyone alive today” is okay. And while I didn’t officially become
my parents’ accountant, I rose to leadership levels at various
accounting and management consulting firms and businesses of all
sizes. Now, I have been appointed to lead the Illinois CPA Society
Board of Directors and it is truly a little girl’s dream come true!
What can I dream of next? More importantly, what can we dream of
next? Our profession is at a crossroads. Our challenge is making sure
that we stay relevant and evolve with the speed of change that is
happening in business. The roles that we play as CPAs are changing,
but we are uniquely positioned to redefine what those roles are.
As CPAs, we understand how businesses work. We know what the
growth drivers are. We know where to push, pull, and play it safe.
We need to express this and share our insights. We need to
become strategic partners to our clients and companies and grow
into new markets. That, I believe, is how we move forward.
And so, having been in just about everybody’s shoes throughout
my career, I hope to actively develop meaningful content and
education for all CPAs as we embark on moving us from being not
only the most trusted business advisors but also the most strategic
advisors. Dare I say that CPAs are well positioned to be the
“superheroes of business” as we continue to hone our craft to save
the day and help companies and clients avoid pitfalls!
I admit that I’m still a little girl at heart and still love the idea of Santa
and superheroes! I am excited to be on this journey with you as
your chairperson, and I look forward to engaging with you
throughout the year ahead, gaining your insights, sharing mine, and
working together to show the world all that CPAs are!
BOARD CHAIR DORRI C. MCWHORTER, CPA, CGMA, CITP, MBA
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, YWCA METROPOLITAN CHICAGO