The biggest misconception is probably that accounting is boring. In my experience, I find it to be accounting is a team sport and no CPA works alone. And accounting is very people-focused, so especially right now, as technology is taking a lot of the repeatable transaction work and automating it.

What really matters for a CPA? To be successful is to be really human. 

I probably would point to 2 success factors. I think having grit and resilience is really important as a CPA. The work is not easy, it’s deadline-driven, and it’s in service of other people. And so there are times when CPA work really hard. And we’ve got to get it right. And it, you know, it requires collaboration. And all of these things. So to be successful as a CPA. I think the biggest factor, the biggest determining factor, is resilience and some grit.

But the other thing, personally for me, that has driven a lot of my success is just finding incredible mentors along the way, people that have helped grow and shape and challenge my thinking. That I certainly wouldn’t be here without those folks, and continue to rely on them probably more today as CEO than ever.

Just having that support network is incredibly important.

The only thing I would do differently is that I would tell my younger self to just take some deep breaths. It’s all going to be okay, and don’t be so stressed out. And that’s a super honest answer.

I always took my career so seriously, and I still do. I take it so seriously, because now, in this role as CEO, the work that I do is in support of other people, and that’s really important to me. But even when I was in public accounting serving clients, it was so important to me that I didn’t let my clients down or my colleagues down, so of course, what we do is important. But I will never forget one of the partners I worked for saying to me one day, “Jen, no one lives or dies by accounting. The accounting emergencies that happen are not life and death.”

So just take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay.