Jay Montalbano, CPA, CVA — 33

Professional Associations/Memberships: AICPA; LCPA (served on numerous committees, including the New CPA Committee and the Public Relations Committee); Board of the Baton Rouge Chapter of LCPA (current Treasurer & previous Member at Large responsible for coordinating the logistics of CPE courses and instrumental in developing social activities for the membership); Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA); NACVA; and Alpha Strategic Partners (business networking group of young professionals)

Civic Involvement: Graduate of the Baton Rouge Chamber Leadership Class of 2010. Selected by Forum 35 (organization dedicated to improving the Baton Rouge community and cultivating the young leaders of the future) to participate in the John W. Barton, Sr. Community Leadership Program and completed six-month training process in the Louisiana Standards of Excellence for Nonprofit Management. Served on the Golf Tournament Committee for Forum 35’s golfing fund raiser where he recruited sponsors, and helped with advertising, venue selection, and food and beverage coordination. Volunteer with Junior Achievement where he instructs classes of 6th and 7th graders on various aspects of entrepreneurship and global economics. On a semester basis, he teaches six one-hour classes at St. Aloysius Catholic School and annually teaches six classes at a local public school. Serves as the Alumni Advisor to Kappa Alpha Order at LSU. Serves as co-chairman of the Alumni Advisory Council. Volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul Shelter and Mary Byrd Perkins Cancer Center and is an active member of St. Aloysius Church where he serves as a member of the St. Matthew’s Guild, Stewardship of Prayer Committee and as treasurer of the Men’s Club.

Hobbies: Any form of exercise (working out, walking, running, biking), spending time with family and friends, and watching LSU sports

Cell phone: Blackberry 8310

Favorite app: I like the convenience of BlackBerry Messenger. I also like BerryWeather, probably because I am a weather nut.

 

What are some ways your firm/business has gone “paperless” and/or “green” in the last two years? Our firm went “paperless” in 2008. Our Audit department uses ProSystem fx Engagement on all of its attest engagements. Our Tax department also uses Engagement, as well as ProSystem fx Document for document retention and XCM for workflow.

How many hours of the day are you plugged in and responsive to client needs? And what tools/products make it possible for you to have flexibility? Having started my professional career in the late ’90s, I have witnessed the impact that wireless Internet and handheld devices have had on my profession and how we conduct business. I would say that I am “plugged in” and responsive to my clients’ needs up to 12 hours a day. Having a BlackBerry and laptop allows me to stay “plugged in” and responsive outside of office hours.

Are you using social networking (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook) as a marketing tool for your practice/business … or do you use such sites for personal use only? Have you gained any clients or seen other demonstrable benefits from the use of social networking? Our firm has a page on LinkedIn that we use primarily for marketing. We have also found it to be a useful tool in recruitment of new staff, and we encourage our staff members to create their own pages. I personally have a LinkedIn account and use it frequently. While I cannot say with certainty that I have gained any clients from the use of social media, I am an advocate of networking in general, whether that be through traditional means or through social media.

What pitfalls or what unwritten rules of social networking etiquette exist, which are frequently missed by others in the profession? I think people need to be more conscious of the medium in which they choose to communicate both personal and professional information.

Do you embrace cloud computing? My firm embraces the concept of cloud computing, and we are currently in the preliminary stages of moving in that direction.

How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how concerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? Many firms are using cloud computing to save money on hardware, network/server maintenance and other operating costs of their IT departments. Security related to cloud computing depends on the vendor. If the vendor has all of its security certifications, it is as secure as any best effort.

Do you foresee the majority of firms still implementing servers for the majority of their computing in their offices five years from now or do you think they will be outsourcing this component to vendors who specialize in this area? I believe the firms that do not move to a cloud computing environment will more likely start using virtual servers — using one robust server to act as multiple servers, but in a virtual environment. They can be backed up and restored more easily, and keep cost down on your hardware end.

Do you subscribe to a magazine and/or local newspaper? I subscribe to our local newspaper The Advocate and the Baton Rouge Business Report. The majority of my clients are in the Baton Rouge metro area, and therefore I need to be informed and have an awareness of the major political, business and social issues facing our community, and be able to speak intelligently about those issues with clients. I also subscribe to various other daily email news publications that help me stay current on issues that are affecting my profession and/or my clients’ industries.

What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? My BlackBerry is the most important piece of technology that I own. It not only allows me to be accessible to my clients outside of office hours, but I am also accessible to my staff and partners whenever the need arises.

NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? I admire Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. In addition to providing high-quality food, Raising Cane’s has given back much to the Baton Rouge community, which is where it opened its first location in 1996. Their name can be found as sponsors on numerous philanthropic events throughout the Baton Rouge area. The Company’s CEO takes pride in the fact that he is not only the “Founder, Chairman and CEO” but also a “Fry Cook and Cashier.” The company now has 80 locations in 13 states and has recently moved its executive offices to Dallas. However, Raising Cane’s has remained loyal to its home and continues to invest in the community from where it began. The Company built a Dog Park (its mascot is a yellow lab) in Baton Rouge’s City Park in May 2008. Employees are referred to as “Crew Members,” and you rarely see a location open for business on a major holiday, instead there will be a sign reading “Closed for Our Crew.”

Do you use online resources like webcasts for CPE training? Yes, frequently, but only for the sake of convenience. I always prefer live training.

Do you listen to podcasts? I don’t typically listen to podcasts.

What is an “old school” business practice or process you’d like to see changed in the next five years and why? Although my firm’s audit and tax departments have been paperless since 2008, we still need to improve on internal processes that continue to needlessly generate paper. I also would personally like to see an end to faxing.

What sports team/championship event do you absolutely refuse to miss? I am a football fan in general and enjoy watching both NFL and college games. I am a life-long fan of LSU, having graduated there in 1999. I live less than a couple of miles from Tiger Stadium, so it’s convenient to tailgate on Saturdays during the fall. I was born and raised in New Orleans, so I am also a Saints fan, but I don’t get a chance to see the team play too often.

What are some of your favorite books, movies, music, websites and TV shows? I prefer non-fiction books. Recently, I have been fascinated by the scandals occurring in corporate America. Some of my favorites are “The Smartest Guys in the Room”, “A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers” and “Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower.” Being a native of New Orleans and currently living in Baton Rouge, I am also captivated by our state’s unique, if not scandalous, political history. I read “Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards” and enjoyed it so much that I am currently reading Governor Edwards’ biography, “Edwin Edwards Governor of Louisiana.” I only get to watch television in the evenings after the kids are in bed. It’s on in the background, but my wife and I are usually preoccupied with email, newspaper or other things. I will pretty much watch anything on the Food Network. I also enjoy “The Office” and “Seinfeld.” I am not current on movies; in fact I have not been to a theatre to see a new release in over five years. Movies are too much of a time commitment; I can’t watch anything longer than one hour.

How many monitors do you have on your desk? I have a laptop and a portable monitor that connects to my laptop.

What operating system and version of Microsoft Office is installed on your work computer? My laptop is running Windows XP Professional (SP 3) and Microsoft Office 2007 Professional.

Do you have children? Sophia (3) and Anne Marie (3 months)