THE PROFESSION

Coming Together to Advance Black CPAs

This year marks the centennial of the first Black CPAs. In celebration of that anniversary, we are publishing one of the articles from www.BlackCPACentennial.cpa.

By Anita Dennis

Three leaders of the Black CPA Centennial’s organizing partners — whose everyday missions support and promote the advancement of Black CPAs — offer insights on the main barriers Black professionals face, the roles their organizations play in helping overcome those barriers, and what the CPA profession can do collectively to progress in achieving diversity, equity and inclusion.

The organizations

Diverse Organization of Firms (DOF) consists of Black and other minority owners of licensed CPA and financial services firms. DOF offers networking and referral resources as well as professional development and mentorship opportunities.

National Association of Black Accountants (NABA)

represents Black professionals in accounting, finance and business. Built on the motto “Lifting as We Climb,” NABA provides education, resources and meaningful career connections to professional and student members.

National Society of Black CPAs (NSBCPA) aims to increase the number of Black CPAs by providing the most relevant knowledge, resources and advocacy. NSBCPA also promotes cultural competence, diversity and inclusion within the profession.

Recognizing barriers

Lack of exposure to the profession and all it has to offer, as well as to the people within it, is a significant hurdle for ambitious Black professionals, according to Guylaine Saint Juste, president and CEO of NABA. College leaders have also told her that sometimes Black students don’t see themselves being successful in the field because of the small number of Black CPAs. Darryl Matthews, NSBCPA president and CEO, agreed. “I grew up in a middle-class Black neighborhood where I saw Black doctors, pharmacists, police officers and teachers,” Matthews said. “But there were not a lot of CPAs.” Because of the small number of Black CPAs, school counselors also do not think to direct Black students into the profession, according to Odysseus Lanier, CPA, DOF chair and a partner at McConnell & Jones LLP. According to Lanier, the profession also has not made outreach to younger Black students a sufficient priority.

What the organizations can do

To promote greater awareness, Saint Juste thinks a brand campaign could continue to raise the profession’s visibility among Black students — building the same enthusiasm that’s now associated with tech careers — and highlight the many types of roles for accountants and the benefits of an accounting career. Equipping Black students and early professionals to pass the Uniform CPA Examination is a significant concern for the NSBCPA, according to Matthews. He believes the CPA credential provides Black accountants with recognized value that cannot be ignored. “Once you’ve qualified, you are among the best,” he said. “There’s no reason to doubt your capabilities.” The NSBCPA’s CPA Exam Bootcamp Program for Black accounting students offers placement assessment, weekly exam reviews led by Black CPAs, accountability sessions and

Lack of exposure to the profession and all it has to offer, as well as to the people within it, is a significant hurdle for ambitious Black professionals.

– Guylaine Saint Juste, president and CEO of NABA

help with applications and test-fee support. Participants also benefit from mentors who offer encouragement and advice. “It’s our responsibility to coach them through or remove obstacles to the process,” he said, including helping them find a career-related internship.

Driving change

Once Black students take a job, firms and organizations should ensure that they have the same chances as other new professionals. “If you never work with people of color, you may not think of them as having the technical and soft skills to be successful,” Lanier said. As a result, those staff members may not attract the mentors or sponsors they need to learn the ropes and get the best assignments. “They won’t be able to demonstrate they’re as capable as people who don’t look like them,” he said. Firms and employers aware of these hurdles can take steps to correct them. Those in charge of hiring may be looking for Black aspiring CPAs in the wrong places. The problem, according to Lanier, is that recruiters focus their efforts on schools with majority-white enrollments. Because of the low percentage of Black students in accounting programs at those schools, this approach “is a huge barrier to entry,” he said. As a result, he said recruiters should engage more with historically Black colleges and universities to find the students they are seeking. CPA firms can support the advancement of Black accounting professionals by becoming engaged in these organizations’ work through donations or other types of involvement. The DOF, for example, can connect firms with Black-owned member firms that are available to subcontract. “That exposes firms to the available talent,” Lanier said. “We would like to have more involvement with the largest firms, to have them speak to our membership and learn about our firms and their CPAs’ capabilities.” NABA is interested in helping find ways to broaden the talent pool. For example, NABA would enthusiastically help pilot an effort to expand recruiting to Black liberal arts students and develop innovative ways to offer them the accounting education they need, Saint Juste said.

The path forward

On June 19, 1865, word finally reached Texas that enslaved people in the United States had been emancipated (which took effect more than two years earlier). Since then, the date that has come to be known as “Juneteenth” has been celebrated as the time when emancipation became known throughout the country. On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth was signed into law as a federal holiday. Throughout the year of the Black CPA Centennial, and especially during the month when Juneteenth falls, it’s important to honor those who came before. “John W. Cromwell Jr., Mary T. Washington Wylie, Elmer J. Whiting Jr., William Louis Campfield and Larzette Hale paved the way for Black CPAs — they were heroes,” Matthews said. “They were ordinary people with an extraordinary goal, that being to be the first Black person to achieve a distinction that others before them were not allowed to achieve.” “We have a long, winding road to go down,” Lanier said. “We have to go forward with the same degree of grit and fortitude.” The result will be positive for the profession and for the Black professionals who seek to join or advance in it. The organizations in this article are continuing to support Black CPAs and accountants as they take the next steps. “In the future, we want to keep moving forward and have strong programs with clear outcomes to address the various pipeline, retention and advancement issues,” Saint Juste said. “We want to build excitement among young Black students for the field of accounting and evolve the profession to where they, too, can see themselves excelling and having a place in leadership.” The Black CPA Centennial is a yearlong effort to honor, celebrate and build upon the progress Black CPAs have made in shaping the accounting profession. The celebration is a collaborative effort of the AICPA, Diverse Organization of Firms, Illinois CPA Society, National Association of Black Accountants and National Society of Black CPAs.

Anita Dennis is a freelance writer based in New Jersey. To read more stories from and about Black CPAs, visit www.blackcpacentennial.cpa.

Joshua J. Boyle Dan Fabich Kristen Glatzel Robert Grey

Larry Alsum, CPA, president and CEO of Alsum Farms & Produce Inc., was named Grower of the Month and featured in the August 2021 issue of Potato Growers magazine.

Thuy Barron, CPA, managing director of Deloitte Tax LLP, was appointed by Gov. Tony Earl to the Wisconsin Accounting Examining Board. Her term will run from July 13, 2021, to July 1, 2025. She succeeds Gerald E. Denor, CPA.

Christy Berger, CPA, general manager and executive vice president of Nelson Communications Cooperative, Durand, was inducted into the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Hall of Fame at the organization’s annual convention in May.

Joshua J. Boyle, CPA, has been promoted to partner at Wipfli LLP, Wausau. He specializes in providing audit, accounting and consulting services to clients in the health care industry.

Shawn Carney, CPA, was named the new CEO of Catholic Charities of Madison.

Curtis Day, CPA, president and owner of Wausau Tax & Accounting, and Doug Gross, CPA, MBA, CGMA, partner at MBE CPAs, were interviewed by WKOW 27–Wausau for a feature about the child tax credit.

Kathy Drengler, CPA, has joined the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin’s board of directors. She recently retired as VP of Greenheck Fan Corp.

Dan Fabich, CPA, has been promoted to partner in the audit and accounting practice at Wipfli LLP, Green Bay. He focuses on the manufacturing and distribution and service industries.

Kristen Glatzel, CPA, a member of RitzHolman CPAs’ nonprofit team, has been promoted to supervisor.

Brenda Graat, CPA, MBA, has been admitted as a new partner at Baker Tilly US LLP. She specializes in real estate and construction in the Milwaukee office. Robert Grey, AM, an accredited member of the American Society of Appraisers, has been promoted to senior valuation analyst with Vrakas Business Valuations Inc., Brookfield.

Adam Guernsey Adam Henning Matt Langer Matt Lorenz

Adam Guernsey, CPA, a member of RitzHolman CPAs’ tax team, has been promoted to supervisor.

Adam Henning, CPA, MPA, formerly a manager with Vrakas S.C., Brookfield, has been promoted to principal in the firm’s small business accounting department. He has been with Vrakas since 2017.

Paul Hoesly, CPA, CFO of Potawatomi Business Development Corp., was promoted to the additional role of chief strategic officer.

Matt Langer, a member of RitzHolman CPAs’ nonprofit team, has been promoted to senior accountant.

Arthur Lee, CPA, owner of Alliance Tax & Accounting, has joined the Waukesha County Business Alliance board of directors.

Joe Liethen, CPA, was promoted to senior vice president of finance and accounting for Marine Credit Union. He joined the credit union in June 2020 as VP of accounting and had previously been VP of store finance at Kohl’s Department Stores.

Matt Lorenz, CPA, a member of RitzHolman CPAs’ tax team, has been promoted to supervisor.

Katelynn Lorenzi, CPA, formerly an associate with Vrakas S.C., Brookfield, has been promoted to manager in the firm’s tax department. She interned at the firm in 2016 and joined the professional staff after graduating from UW–Whitewater in 2017.

Tom Mahoney, CPA, has joined Wintrust Commercial Banking as Kenosha market president at its State Bank of The Lakes locations in Kenosha.

Jay McKenna, CPA, president of North Shore Bank, was appointed to the Office of Comptroller of the Currency Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee. McKenna joins only nine other finance leaders from across the nation as a member of this industry-crucial committee.

Katelynn Lorenzi Randall Miller Sara Paull Mike Schafer

Mike Meckstroth, CPA, CGMA, has been appointed to assurance partner at Cohen & Co., Milwaukee.

Randall Miller, CPA, a partner at Hawkins Ash CPAs, has accepted a two-year appointment as chairperson for the Peer Review Alliance, the administering entity for the AICPA peer review program.

David Minch, CPA, has joined KerberRose’s audit team as a senior manager and is based in the firm’s Appleton office.

Kelly Mischler, CPA, has joined Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction Inc. as director of accounting.

Sara Paull, CPA, a member of RitzHolman CPAs’ nonprofit team, has been promoted to supervisor.

Daniel Pichler, CPA, a retired Wipfli partner who in May 2020 left the firm after nearly 40 years, in June received the 2021 Distinguished Achievement Award in Business from St. Norbert College. He is a 1983 graduate of St. Norbert.

Mike Schafer, CPA, a member of RitzHolman CPAs’ tax team, has been promoted to supervisor.

Craig S. Schessler, CPA, has been promoted to partner in the tax practice at Wipfli LLP, Wausau, where he focuses on manufacturing and distribution clients.

Allison Schultz, a member of RitzHolman CPAs’ tax team, has been promoted to senior accountant.

Abijeet Singh, a member of RitzHolman CPAs’ tax team, has been promoted to senior accountant.

Mark Umhoeffer, CPA, has been promoted to CFO at Bradley Corp., Menomonee Falls. He had been vice president of finance since 2009.

Craig S. Schessler Allison Schultz Abijeet Singh Denise VandenbushKohlmann

Denise Vandenbush-Kohlmann, CPA, MST, financial projects manager for the City of Waukesha, published an article in the July issue of The Municipality, the official publication of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.

ORGANIZATION NEWS

Deloitte has established Making Accounting Diverse and Equitable (MADE), a commitment to generate more advisory, auditing and tax career opportunities and leadership pathways for the next generation of CPAs. The initiative represents a bold vision for the accounting profession, in terms of increasing racial and ethnic diversity as well as helping students of color see and realize their future in business through the prism and possibilities of accounting. MADE combines both financial support and deep resources to attract diverse individuals into the accounting field and support them as they chart their pathway from high school to business professional to leadership in the profession.

Sikich LLP announced in mid-2020 that employees could work remotely indefinitely, and to support the company’s new flexible work model, the firm will move into a new, modern, high-tech office at The Corridor in Brookfield. The new space is slated to open by the third quarter of 2022.

Vrakas CPAs + Advisors, Brookfield, has been named a Top Workplace of Southeastern Wisconsin by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the second consecutive year.

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