Accounting was never the career Niki Neilon envisioned when she was younger. She wanted to be an attorney, then a teacher, and only found the profession by accident during a required class in college. On Episode 18 of Common Threads, she tells Heath Alloway that accident turned into a career built on mentorship, co-founding a firm in 2006, and eventually landing her the chair position of the NASBA board of directors. Along the way she helped extend CPA candidates' credit window from 18 to 30 months and opened a second pathway to licensure. She talks candidly about the parts of leadership she'd have done differently, the myth that AI is scaring people away from accounting rather than drawing them in, and what it actually takes for a self-described introvert to build client relationships. Her closing advice, borrowed from Richard Branson, is simple: say yes to the opportunity first, and figure out how to do the job later.

Get the full show notes and more resources at CommonThreads.Sorren.com