Shehan Chandrasekera, CPA – 2019 40 Under 40 Honoree

• Co-founded JagArgueta CPAs (Full service boutique CPA firm in Houston)
• CFO for successfully funded 2 disruptive startups in bio-tech(Cemvita Factory) and fin-tech(SmartBotCoin) space
• Associate Director at Houston Blockchain Alliance
• Head of Tax Strategy at Cointracker. CoinTracker helps accountants and users calculate complex cryptocurrency gains & losses
• 30+ speaking engagements in 2019 related to blockchain/cryptocurrency taxation for many prestigious organizations/media including AICPA, American Bar Association, Google, Coinbase and other tech companies.
• Publications at TaxAdviser and Footnote magazine
• Won outstanding Young CPA of the Year award (by Houston CPA society)

What are you doing to make a difference in the profession, your community, the world?

• I am in the process of raising our first VC fund focused on fin-tech services in blockchain space (specifically tools related to accounting and finance). Blockchain technology is here to stay and more and more enterprises are adapting it. However, these companies are in need of better compliance tools to scale operations. The fund’s idea is to identify great entrepreneurs and help them build scalable compliance tools.
• Working with university of Houston C.T. Bauer business school in setting up an executive education courses in blockchain. This course will allow students and executives to learn about this new technology and apply it to accounting/finance world.
• Guest teacher at Contemporary Accounting class at University Of Houston. Mentoring and sharing my experiences with college students have always been a passion of mine. As a guest teacher I teach them about the impact of new technologies on accounting field and importance of soft skills in their careers.

Favorite books/websites/speakers that you find influential.

Medium.com, Chamath Palihapitiya, Jeff Bezos, Satya Nadella

What do you see yourself doing professionally in 10 years?

Running a venture capital fund and building businesses, speaking

What accounting conferences do you normally attend?

AICPA Engage, AICPA National Tax Conference and other state society conferences

What websites/magazines do you use to keep up on news of the accounting profession?

The Tax Adviser

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See all of the “40 Under 40” honorees for 2019.