TheLeadershipNotebook: Collaborating to Make a Difference

Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress,

and working together is success.

~Henry Ford

Yesterday, The CPA Consultants’ Alliance (CPACA), an alliance I helped cofound earlier this year, published our first white paper: CPA Firm Leadership: Communication Drives New Possibilities. This white paper is the outcome of a research study we undertook that focused on the CPA profession's current and future leadership opportunities and challenges in the accounting profession.

The white paper took an incredible amount of time and effort, but in the end, the document and all it represents, is a source of tremendous pride.

When we formed the CPACA, each of us members understood the power of collaboration. We knew that in theory, “the sum of the parts was definitely greater than the whole.” And over the last six months, we practiced what we preached, working together each step of the way for the ultimate purpose of making a difference in the accounting profession.

It wasn’t always easy. Each of us has incredibly busy schedules and businesses that need our full attention. Each of us has our particular personality, background and experience that add perspective and opinions on how things should work. But we made time. We debated the issues. We dealt with challenges head on, with honesty and openness and a willingness to listen to and support each other.

As I embark on the next leg of my career journey and say farewell to the members of the CPACA, I know I will miss this group, their passion for CPAs, and all that I learned from them through our collaboration.

The CPACA’s mission is “to explore leadership issues facing the profession and develop and share solutions that benefit practitioners. CPA Consultants' Alliance members support each member’s growth and collaborate to make a difference in the communities we serve.”

We did just that.

I’m proud of our work and I know that the CPACA, through all of our amazing members, will be an example of outstanding thought leadership in the accounting profession for years to come.