4 minute read
Meet the 2023-2024 Board Chair: Jennifer Lehman, CPA
Jennifer Lehman’s mantra sits on a sign beside her desk: “Don’t be afraid of change, be afraid of not changing.”
Jennifer has embraced this affirmation throughout her professional life, first using it as a first-generation student at James Madison University. Originally a nursing major, she quickly found she wasn’t interested in drawing blood and poking people with needles, she said. Jennifer took an accounting class in high school and did very well, so she decided instead to poke at the idea of being an accounting student.
After switching to the business school, she found herself working her way through college in the accounting departments at a few different businesses in Harrisonburg. She said it was a great way to “sink her teeth” into the profession.
Approaching her final semester, she felt like she should pursue her CPA designation. She “stuck a pin” in Harrisonburg and set a 60-mile radius limit for CPA firms, finding herself interviewing at Hantzmon and Weibel in Charlottesville in 1997. Jennifer served as the firm’s chief operating officer for 10 years, and in 2017 she became the firm’s first-ever female CEO.
Jennifer enjoys being in the profession because she’s able to make an impact, a difference, and a positive change, which is what she hopes to do in her role as chair of the VSCPA Board of Directors.
During her term, Jennifer will focus on the Society’s future-forward strategic plan, VSCPA 2030. Her question: What do we look like today compared to what we thought we were going to look like? We need to address the CPA pipeline and have a clear vision of what the VSCPA is working toward, she believes.
“It’s time for a pace of change,” she said, referring to the mantra that sits on her desk.
At the VSCPA Leader’s Summit in May, 2022–2023 Chair George Forsythe, CPA, sent Jennifer off on her VSCPA journey.
“Over this next year, we will embark on VSCPA 2030 — a process to ensure transformational change throughout the vision for the future of the profession in Virginia and the VSCPA and how we can continue to thrive in a fast-paced, constantly-changing world,” she said.
Jennifer plans to examine feedback and information from roundtables, retreats and events to officially formalize a plan with the VSCPA team toward the VSCPA 2030 initiative.
“Sometimes, it’s about what people believe in themselves,” Jennifer said. “What is it that we’re encouraging our young people? How can we succeed? There’s so much opportunity in this profession, and we need to make sure we’re encouraging the right people.”
When she isn’t assisting clients or examining the plan for VSCPA 2030, she’s working on completing her bucket list. She has skydived, taken a trip to Australia, given a 100% tip, contributed to a different charity every month for a year, and has a hot air balloon ride scheduled. But her favorite trip (so far) has been Costa Rica. n
VSCPA Services & Products to Drive Your Business’s Success
The VSCPA team you already know and trust is also your partner to grow and evolve your business. We’re excited to introduce our newly launched business services and expanded in-house learning programming.
As a benefit of your membership, take advantage of discounts on these services:
Strategic planning
Through facilitation and a unique ability to really listen, we provide everything from firm strategy workshops to complex data collection. We help firms innovate and evolve by providing clarity and focus.
Event execution and hosting EventBlast is a full-service event consulting and delivery solution equipped to assist you with virtual, in-person or hybrid events. No matter how large or small your event is, we have a solution for you
Learning management and planning Simplify CPE management with LCvista an automated learning system that plans, tracks and personalizes courses for organizations of all sizes.
In-house education Save time and energy and let us bring learning to you live or virtually You tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll do the rest.
Ethics training Choose our Essential Ethics courses for group learning! Recognized as a national leader in producing ethics, we offer innovative content aligned with accounting and business trends.
Explore these offerings and learn more at vscpa.com/Services.
