Jennifer Wilson – 2015 Most Powerful Women in Accounting

What advice would you give to female college students about the opportunities for women in the accounting profession?

We are entering the era of the “she-force” as women become dominant as business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders and the low unemployment in accounting makes this the PERFECT time to be a young, female CPA! As more Baby Boomers retire and flexibility-minded Gen X and Millennial leaders take over, options for working mothers and wives will be even better than they are today. The opportunities are tremendous.

What advice would you give accounting firms on ways in which they can better retain and advance more qualified female staff?

Understand the bias of the leadership team. Open discuss things that you believe are holding your women leaders back. Provide sponsorship for high potential women and shepherd them into leadership. Make sure you have female role models that represent many different kinds of working women. Get really, really good at flexibility of time and place (anytime, anywhere work) programs.

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

I have read many and would be happy to share a recommended reading list with those reading this piece if they’d like to reach out to me. I’ll share one personal favorite that was given to me by my mother, the MOST powerful woman I know: The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale.

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

I am an avid writer and blogger, processing problems of the profession in writing for our firm’s blog, for Accounting Today and for the J of A CPA Insider. I have the privilege of speaking and teaching in the profession as well. I belong to a number of consultants’ groups where we meet and discuss issues and solutions and I also serve on various volunteer committees including the Education Committee for AAM and the Digital CPA Conference Committee.

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

I belong to a church which has active outreach in a variety of ways and I serve as a youth leader for our church’s acolyte ministry. Local outreach is an area that I wish I had more time for – but my heavy travel schedule, “big job” and busy family life with 3 active girls makes this a challenge at this stage.

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

This is a loaded question! A few that come immediately to mind:

• I believe that the shortage of qualified CPAs will drive a variety of changes including firms innovating to deliver portions of their traditional services with non-CPA labor, climbing labor costs which will drive increased fees, capacity issues which will drive increased selectivity of clients and services and ultimately firms will have to examine all areas of their business model to ensure profitability and sustainability.
• Technology and external threats will drive pressure on traditional compliance services and cause CPAs to find new and meaningful ways to be of service to clients. Remote auditing will become more the norm and consulting services will thrive.
• Firms will be forced to get better and better at people – recruiting, development, engagement, motivation, feedback, etc. Flexibility programs for both time and place will become standard, not exceptional.
  Firms will face the transition of their own Baby Boomers and the Baby Boomers within their clients. They will be forced to change marketing, sales and service approaches to engage digitally savvy Millennial buyers.

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

I will continue to work with my team to suggest the mindset changes needed for leaders to accept and drive these changes and identify and share solutions for how to remain relevant, compelling and competitive in the future. I will continue to seek to become the best leader and role model that I can be and to help develop leadership power and inspiration in others.

Describe one person who has been an important mentor to you and how that person helped shape the direction or focus of your professional life.

I have had many and it is truly hard to choose. I will choose my first: another powerful woman that I already mentioned – my mother, Della Lee. She was the first child in her family to graduate high school and college and she used education to step out of poverty and join the Air Force as a nurse. She met my dad and left work for a while, having 5 children, but when Dad went to Viet Nam, mom traded the station wagon for a VW bus, went back for her Masters in Guidance Counseling and “burned her bra,” joining NOW and fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment.

My mother raised me to put God first and to listen to His call. She and I worked together in the mid- and late-80’s as she helped me launch an accounting software distributorship and she taught me everything I known about qualifying prospects, having unconditional positive regard for others and closing business. She was my first role model for a woman with work/life integration, flexibility, and a big voice. When I finish “growing up,” I hope to be just like herJ.
 
 
 
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Click here to see the other honorees of the 2015
“Most Powerful Women in Accounting” awards.
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