Patrick Benjamin Lee, CPA, MSA – 2017 40 Under 40 Honoree

Title: Assistant Professor of Accounting

City/State: Winfield, Kansas

Website: www.patrickleecpa.com (personal); www.sckans.edu (employer)

Twitter: @patrickleecpa

Professional Associations/Memberships: Kansas Society of CPAs (Board of Directors and Learn Taskforce Champion)

Some of my highlights include receiving the Charles H. and Verda R. Kopke Award for Distinguished Teaching, named to the CPA Practice Advisor’s 40 under 40, and being named to the Kansas Independent College Association’s Faculty of Distinction List. Many of these highlights confirm my work in the educational world as an educator. In addition, having an explosive YouTube channel with over 80,000 views and 900 subscribers in what was supposed to be just a channel to help my students understand accounting better has been a huge career milestone and highlight. I also think one of the biggest professional highlights so far is sitting on the Board of Directors for the Kansas Society of CPAs and helping to make a difference in our profession regionally. 

Being an educator is part of what I am doing to make a difference in the profession, our community, and our world. The leaders of tomorrow are the ones in the classroom right now. They grew up in a society where technology has ruled the world and they are the ones that will propel the world into the future. As an educator, I have a front row seat and a front row impact on the future. Each day, I try to impact society by helping our students navigate the future of the profession, their community, and the world. 

Favorite influencer(s) (authors, bloggers, mentors, speakers, etc.)

One of my favorite influencer is not an accounting person, but a business entrepreneur. Gary Vaynerchuk is very unique in how he gets his message out and for the past year has done a daily vlog of his day as an entrepreneur. He inflences the way I look into being innovative in my accounting space and he motivates me to think outside the box because that’s how we stay ahead of the curve in a dynamic world like the accounting profession and accounting education. https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/blog/

———-

Read about the other 40 Under 40 Honorees for 2017.