Looking Forward to Moving Forward

Geoffrey Brown, CAE President and CEO, Illinois CPA Society
Insights From Your President and CEO

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a personal passion for leadership and service. From my youth through my adult years, my life has been profoundly shaped by my interest and focus on these intersecting areas. If I weren’t driven by this passion, I can safely say that I wouldn’t be an association professional today—and I certainly wouldn’t be connected with so many outstanding professional associations and communities.

I’ve been fortunate to work with and lead organizations across a variety of disciplines and sizes during my nearly 23-year career in association management. I spent my last nine years as CEO of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors—where we served professionals adjacent to but often intertwined with CPAs. These experiences have given me a broad perspective on the role and power of professional associations and their strategic initiatives.

I understand the power and importance of building and sustaining rich and authentic relationships, whether they’re with members, volunteers, partners, legislators and regulators, or the media. I lead with an abundance mindset, encourage all voices to have a platform to be heard, foster creative and inspired thinking, embrace meaningful change, and aim to deliver on articulated priorities. Importantly, I also believe in coaching, mentoring, and supporting the next generation of leaders by empowering them to find their own solutions to common and uncommon problems. Can you see why I was so attracted to the prospects of leading the Illinois CPA Society?

As I now look to the future as the society’s new president and CEO, I ensure you that we won’t lose sight of the society’s strong position as a respected thought leader and catalyst for change in the profession. The society is built on a solid foundation, with a rich history and a great team and culture, so I’m confident we’re positioned to navigate the change we’re facing internally as an organization along with the change impacting the members and profession we proudly serve.

Many of the major issues that’ll impact the society’s future require leaders that are willing and able to confront those challenges head-on. Issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion; meeting the ever-changing expectations and needs of members and their employers; nurturing the next generation of CPAs; and leveraging technology to create valuable member experiences, just to name some, demand that we embrace taking risks and being a voice for blazing a new path into the future.

Over the next few years, my outlook is that we’ll continue to focus on making the society and profession more relevant and sustainable. This focus will be anchored in developing and delivering member value through our strategic pillars of advocacy, information, education, and connections; amplifying our work to diversify the profession; and cultivating valuable relationships with our partners and stakeholders.

In my short time with the society so far, my appreciation for its focus on the profession’s relevance, talent, and diversity challenges has only grown. These are long-term issues that demand the attention and resources of everyone connected to the CPA profession—and we’ll be here to champion positive change.

It’s an honor to become part of this organization’s 120-year history, and I’m excited to continue the society’s mission of enhancing the value of the CPA profession. I’m looking forward to the prospects for our future and beginning the next era in the society’s history, and I hope you are too. So, as we look to our future, I welcome you to reach out and share your thoughts on how I—and your Illinois CPA Society—can keep moving the CPA profession forward.

Related Content:

• Looking Back on an Amazing Journey: Before I venture on, I’d like to pause to reflect on where I’ve been.
• Diversity in Accounting? Still a Long Way to Go: Minorities make up more accounting graduates and new hires than ever before, but more needs to be done to make the CPA profession truly diverse.