Shaping Business Futures: The Impact of CPA Expertise

There is some pretty interesting stuff that our tax team does that not too many tax teams, even those CPA teams across the country, across the world are doing. CPAs are problem solvers. They teach us how to be problem solvers. They teach us how to face challenges and adversity and create resilience. I'm pretty proud to be a cpa. I know the value that I bring, that my team brings with the knowledge and the experience that we have. Foreign. Welcome to the Wealthy Entrepreneur Podcast. My name is Bob Govreau. I will be your host for the day. This is the place in the Wealthy Entrepreneur Podcast where we dissect the elements that contribute to entrepreneurial success, from mindset and leadership to profits and revenue. This episode is going to be a little bit different about, but we're going to talk about what a CPA is, why you would want to become one, or why you would want to work with one. And this one is a little bit personal to me. I just had the opportunity to head to CPA Ontario where they wanted to interview me to talk about how to inspire the next generation. And it was interesting because some of the discussions that came out of that were, you know, that people who are coming out of the education system are concerned about what the future of cpa, of, of a CPA career holds. And it was very interesting to me because, you know, as much as we continue to innovate, and I've been doing this since 2006 is when I passed my exam. So it's been a few years to say the least. But the conversations about, you know, what the future holds is nothing new. I remember in, back in 2006 when I was writing, we were also thinking, what does the future hold? Technology is coming in, efficiency is coming in, what does that mean for the profession? And I want to, I want to talk a little bit about why that conversation is going to continue to be there, but why pursuing a CPA or working with one is a different world class approach to either a career or to working with a professional. So I remember back when I went through the program, the reason I decided to be a CPA to begin with was the fact that I wanted to differentiate myself with all the other graduating students. So back In, I think 2005 was the year I graduated from university and I wanted to say, you know, there's tens of thousands of people who are graduating business school. How am I any different? The university that you go to isn't as big a deal as people make it out to be. The fact that everybody has A Bachelor of Business Administration or a Bachelor of Commerce. That's what people are looking at to know that you've got the foundation because those programs are really set based on some guidelines, right? So we essentially know as an employer what that looks like. And I know for me, I was thinking, well, these tens of thousands of business graduates, how do I be any different than them? So I looked at specialization actually initially went through and did a specialization in human resource management, which has proven to be invaluable as an entrepreneur and building a team. But I, at that time I said, well, I want to look at differentiating myself with a specialization that maybe a lot of people wouldn't get. And that's where I decided to pursue CPA designation. So for those of you, there's going to be essentially two audiences here that I want to speak to. One, the value of, of working with a CPA and what they bring to the table versus a non cpa. But second is as any sort of student or professional or, or individual who's looking to pursue a level of excellence, why you would want to pursue the CPA designation. I want to start with the first, which is, you know, why would you want to work with a CPA? Now, it doesn't mean that all CPAs are perfect, right? I can tell you my experience of getting it. I had, you know, undergraduate degree of four years that required me to have 51 credit hours, which was over half of my four year degree was specialized in specific accounting courses. You know, whether it was financial reporting, whether it was tax, whether it was management accounting, consolidations, understanding the handbook requirements, which is really the guidelines that help direct people, how financial statements are created. Now the Income Tax act, how income tax rules apply, how we can help people save money, how to understand how those rules apply. You know, that was four years. I also pursued a postgraduate degree in a master's in management and professional accounting, which was another year and a half where there was more opportunity to develop that. That's not a typical process. But then four years of undergraduate education and then you enter into a CPA professional program. And as part of that you essentially got three years of training and courses that are required through CPA for you to pursue the designation. At the end of the three years after you get through all of those elements of criteria, there's a final exam, which is a three day exam which I can tell you a lot of our team, we just had seven individuals go through that process in this past year. Results are coming out eminently. It's a very exciting Time for a lot of those people because they've gone through seven years of education, three years of post education training. Plus while they're getting that education training, they're also working full time. So they've got three years of experience. So for anybody who is successful in completing their CPA designation, they've had four years of education, three years of education and work experience. We're now seven years into being focused on understanding the accounting rules, the tax rules, and being mentored by senior advisors who can help support them in becoming a really good accountant. Now compare or contrast that with somebody who just decides to open up a business and say they do tax filing, you know, there's seven years versus maybe no experience at all. And as part of being a cpa we also have requirements to stay up to date. So there's requirements for the number of hours that we stay in professional development where there aren't rules and regulations for anyone else who isn't a cpa. So it's very interesting. The standards of which a CPA adheres to are really in depth and sophisticated. And they do that because the idea of CPA Ontario or being a CPA is that we're in here for the best interest of the public and making sure that reporting is transparent and that taxes are being filed according to the legislative requirements. I can tell you there is some pretty interesting stuff that our tax team does that not too many tax teams, even those CPA teams across the country, across the world are doing. And it's something we're really proud of because we are part of continuous learning. And I think that's an element of being a CPA and working with a CPA, you know what you're getting. Again, not all CPAs are perfect. Some CPAs don't take it as seriously. But people like us and our firm at Govro take being a CPA with great pride, integrity and passion to help people. And I think, you know, that's the foundation of a cpa. But thinking of all the experience, education wise, the challenge to think in different ways as going through this educational experience, it really does make us innovative business leaders. Whether we pursue that as an interest and to be an innovative leader or we focus on doing, you know, the specific accountant related roles like financial reporting and, and tax. You know, we have all the training and experience and, and I worked with thousands of business owners like I understand how thousands of businesses have been successful or have not been successful. You know, we have the experience to share wisdom that really no one else in the world has in Working with thousands of businesses. If you're an individual business owner, you maybe work with yours and maybe a few others, maybe help a few other people. But as a, as a public accountant in my firm and a business advisor, which is my role, to be able to work with thousands of businesses a year, that experience and knowledge is hard to come by. Not to mention that there's not too many CPA firms that work with thousands of businesses every year. But that is the experience that we get at whatever scale it looks like. So that's what you get when you work with a cpa. You get formalized education, training, certification, testing, mentorship, and years of experience and guidance that come to that. So that's why working with a cpa, one, it comes with a little bit of extra cost because of the level of integrity, professionalism, knowledge, experience, mentorship, wisdom that we bring to the table. But it also gives you more certainty that those people that you're working with are working within your best interest. One, because it's a requirement as part of our code of conduct. But two, because of our experience and wealth of knowledge in the industry and our requirement to continue to stay up to date with all of the requirements that are existing for us. So that's why you would want to work with a cpa, specifically with us and our firm. As a small business owner, we're working with thousands of business owners who were helping those business owners change the world. It's really exciting and, and to be part of that is. Is thrilling. And it's an honor and a privilege to support those businesses. But I want to get it back into, you know, the second component, which is, you know, as an individual pursuing any sort of future in business, why would you pursue a CPA designation? And for those of you CPA students who are listening to this right now, I want you to listen hard. Because my interview, CPA Ontario yesterday, the question really came up around, you know, maybe the potential of what future CPAs look like is unknown and it's a little bit scary. And back in 2006, it was the exact same conversation. The idea of technology coming in and wiping us all out. There is going to be new technology, there's going to be changes. I think one of the elements of going through business school, one, but two, going through a CPA, CPAs are problem solvers. You know, they teach us how to be problem solvers. They teach us how to face challenges and adversity and create resilience. Because going through this entire process, you. It creates a strong person with good time. Management, good problem solving skills, good resilience, and it really is a pursuit of excellence that only a few people are capable of. Even if you don't do a financial reporting or tax, going through that training is invaluable to your acceleration through a professional career in anything. Being a CEO, being a director of marketing, to understand know the financial implications of those investments. It's really quite astonishing the power of going through this program and the experience and wisdom that you gain through it. It also differentiates you from everybody else. But here's what I do know. Since this conversation has been happening for years. The idea that what does the future of the profession hold? And you know, will AI essentially be able to allocate all expenses and functions from an accounting standpoint, Will it be able to create a solution that helps financial reporting adhere to all of the accounting standards that have been created? Possibly. Will I be able to give all the business advice? Possibly. But we're relying on a system that maybe isn't tailored to you. And I think from a business standpoint, from a business owner standpoint, and from a, you know, potential future CPA standpoint, we're in this unique position where our value comes from the advice and the experience that we have. Yes, AI can create that, but when we have the opportunity to interact with an individual, we understand about their family, we understand about their business, the emotion that comes into the business, the employees, the challenges that people are having, you can't throw that into AI and have that advice spit out. It's just not going to work that way and it be reliable. Our opportunity as CPAs is to be the business advisor of the future that everyone needs to rely on. We might be the only advisor that can't be automated and can't have AI completely eliminate us. We are going to be the business advisor that guides the future of entrepreneurship. And regardless, even if you don't want to be a business advisor, the analytical skills that you would have as an entrepreneur to be able to utilize that new technology and learn it faster, problem solve it, be resourceful, be resilient, and understand how that information and that technology is coming into play, it's going to be so powerful. As a cpa, you are primed to be able to learn faster, adapt quicker and be more resilient based on the process, the education and the mentorship and the growth that's happened throughout the program. So if you can't tell, I'm pretty proud to be a cpa. I know the value that I bring, that my team brings with the knowledge and the experience that we have. I would encourage those of you that want to pursue Profession of Excellence to go through that program and to continue to aspire to be a cpa. Because truthfully, if anyone is going to be leading the future, it's going to be the CPAs. I feel very strongly about that because I know I'm going to be part of that Leading the Future initiative as well. So join me, won't you, in the pursuit of an excellent career choice. For those of you who aren't working with a cpa, you need to understand the value of what a CPA brings to the table. Years of experience, knowledge, formalized education, problem solving, resourcefulness, resilience. And you know, in a situation where you work with a public accounting firm, their experience with thousands, hundreds if not thousands like us, of other businesses that we've seen what's successful and not successful from a tax standpoint, from a business success standpoint, however you want to look at it. So guys, hopefully you understand at this point being a CPA or working with a CPA is very important to the future success of your business or of your career. So I would strongly recommend that you work with a CPA or that you continue the pursuit of excellence that a CPA is. So I'm going to wrap this one up here. If you want to reach out to us in any way, understand what our CPAs, who they are, what they look like, check us out on LinkedIn, check us out on, on Facebook or Instagram. We're all@goverove CPA. That's where you can find us on our social. You can reach out to me on LinkedIn as well. Robert Gover on LinkedIn, you'll be able to see all of our team members, see what we are up to as a firm, what we bring to the table as CPAs. And and if you're pursuing a CPA designation or a pursuit of educational excellence and you want to connect with us, we're always welcoming new talent that are a plus in skill set and, and desire. So reach out to us there. I'm going to leave it there. This has been the Wealthy Entrepreneur podcast. I'm Bob Govreau. We've been chatting about the importance of a CPA or pursuing a CPA designation as a differentiating factor and pursuing a career of excellence. Hope you guys enjoyed this. If you have any comments, please leave them in below. If you feel like there's somebody who could benefit from hearing this information today about maybe working with a cpa, maybe they're not getting guidance that they need, or if there's someone who is, you know, considering becoming a cpa, but they're not quite sure what the future holds. Share this with them. Make sure you like this Follow our podcast we release every single Wednesday. I hope you guys have a fantastic day again. I'm Bob Goverow. Thanks for coming, and I look forward to catching up with you again next week.