Hector Garcia, CPA.CITP, CGMA – 2015 40 Under 40 Honoree

 

What is the name of one book that has been a great influence to you?

Dale Carnegie, How to Win friends and Influence People. This book taught me that business and life is about people relationships; everything else is secondary. People like to do business with people the like and feel they have a connection with that is it.

In what ways have you contributed to your firm/company to make it better?

I have taught and mentored two accountants under me, helping them both have the confidence to go out there and teach what they know in order to capture more clients to the firm.

In what ways do you participate in the professional community to change/improve the accounting profession?

I teach QuickBooks typically to people just getting into the profession (bookkeepers, recent college graduates, and people transitioning from other careers…) and I teach them how to perform their jobs with the upmost accuracy and ethics, to elevate our profession by association.

In what ways do you participate in your local community to help others?

I still get invited by my college professors to come back and speak to the students, so they can see someone young, independent, and successful to motivate them to follow through to become CPA’s and start their own practices as well. In one of my alma mater’s community outreach programs, they help low income individuals formulate business plans, prepare for tax compliance, and some business law; I have been involved in helping this group in several occasions.

What changes do you foresee in the accounting profession of the near future (3-5 years)?

The disappearance of data entry is going to change how a lot of accountants that price and service their clients; forcing them to move from data-entry centric to data validation and verification centric. This means that accounting professionals need to me more keep in technologies and accounting systems integration than ever.

How do you see yourself participating in shaping the future of the accounting profession?

I tech everything I learn by writing articles in my blog, posting videos in YouTube, or discussing about these learning in the webinars for accountants that I participate in. Since learning accounting systems and app integrations come in easy for me; my task is to teach it in ways that my colleagues can absorb the information easily.

What is your career philosophy?

Be transparent with everyone you talk to, take responsibility for your actions, admit when you are at fault… and seize every possible opportunity to teach other what you know.

Describe one person who has been an important mentor to you and how that person helped change your life.

My father, the smartest person I know, he still reads every day at 63 and loves to learn new things no matter how small they may be. He will speak to ANYONE on the street no matter his or her appearance or walk of life; making new friends makes him utterly happy. He always taught me to do things right and avoid shortcuts; ethics. Lastly, his life philosophy is “everything you do will have an outcome, mind the potential consequences before you act.

Everyday I act more like my dad, I notice I become a better person.

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See all of the “40 Under 40” honorees for 2015.