Rise and Stride

Whether you're a seasoned CPA or a budding accountant aiming to make a mark in the profession, we go beyond the numbers with Katie Thomas, CPA and owner of Leaders Online, in this podcast with advice and tips to unlock and grow success through leadership and branding.

We all know the importance and value of skills and knowledge when it comes to success, but even more important is mindset. In this episode, leadership trainer and coach George Griffin explains how the ability to believe in yourself, embrace challenges as opportunities and persist in the face of setbacks are keys to developing peak performance. And he should know. After failing out of college and being told he wasn’t college material, Griffin returned to school and earned multiple degrees, has managed more than $1 billion of real estate assets, is a best-selling author and is working with organizations to raise the bar on their leadership and organization culture. 

The challenge with looking for fraudsters, says CPA, author, professor and filmmaker Kelly Richmond Pope, is that anyone can be one. You can even see what type of fraudster you’d be by taking Pope’s online quiz.

In this episode, Pope explains the key role CPAs play in detecting fraud, how the profession can better explain its “why” to attract the next generation and the responsibility leaders have of pouring into others.

Additional resources:

·      Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry: A look at the perpetrators, victims and whistleblowers behind financial crimes.

·      All the Queen’s Horses: The story of Rita Crundwell, the perpetrator of the largest case of municipal fraud in American history.

·      TEDTalk: How Whistle-blowers Shape Industry: Lessons from some of the most high-profile whistle-blowers of the past, explaining how they've shared information that has shaped society—and why they need our trust and protection.

·      CalCPA Forensic Services Section 

On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be much of a connection between improvisation and the business world. Yet aspects of improv like collaboration, being unscripted and learning to be tolerant, even comfortable, around ambiguity can easily be laid upon our daily lives. Colleen Murray Peyton,  founder of Overjoy Creative and improv performer, dives deeper into her work facilitating workshops for corporations on leadership development, corporate culture and communication—and explains how laughter and lightness can help make the hard things manageable.

In this wide-ranging interview, CalCPA member Okorie Ramsey, vice president of Sarbanes/Oxley for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, discusses his role as chair of the AICPA and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, and brings his insights from public accounting, industry and nonprofit accounting, as well as adjunct educator, on trending topics in the accounting profession, including diversity, equity and inclusion, innovation and recruitment and retention.

Additional resources:

• Accounting Career Awareness Program: Designed to increase the number of underrepresented minorities pursuing careers in accounting and related business areas. http://www.acapsf.org
• Leading With DE&I: Forbes Q&A with Okorie Ramsey about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in his organization as well as in the finance function more broadly. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffthomson/2021/04/19/leading-with-dei-in-the-finance-function/?sh=10dbe3bb5738

With all the beeps, pings and other notifications—not to mention meetings—battling for our attention, it’s challenging to stay focused and productive. But with the use of the right tools, knowing the difference between interruptions and disruptions, and other tips, productivity expert Sarah Tetlow, founder and CEO of Firm Focus, explains how you can stay organized, focused and accomplish what needs to be done. 

As technology advancements like ChatGPT and business imperatives like ESG gain footing, there are lots of opportunities for the CPA profession to step in and add value to their clients or companies in terms of strategy and story. Listen as Todd Rahn, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, explains more. 

Innovation may sound daunting to most people, but Simone Ahuja, CEO of Blood Orange, an innovation and strategy consulting group, explains how innovation is not always about bright, shiny objects. It’s about adding value in new ways and is connected to the things we do every day. 

Beyond the debits, credits and tasks CPAs perform, there’s a calling to protect the public—a purpose and a meaning that people can rally around and aspire to make an impact. Listen as Christina Ho, CPA and board member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, discusses the value of accounting, how CPAs are context experts and the importance of lifelong learning.

With the face of the workplace changing—literally and figuratively—how can leaders and organizations ensure everyone is engaged and pulling in the same direction? Listen as Sarah Sladek, CEO and chief strategist of XYZ University, offers insights and strategies about talent recruitment and retention, leadership development and what each generation can learn from each other.