August 2001
By Gerry L. Golub
Over the course of my 40 years in the profession of public accounting, I have never seen the profession offer more opportunity to its entrants, enjoy higher public acceptance, or command greater respect from its clients and other professionals. The current period of consolidation in the profession and innovation in the structure of accounting firms may make some uncomfortable, but it creates great opportunity for others. It also reflects a profession that is coming to terms with change. This is good for the profession, and I am proud that my firm and I continue to play a role in advancing the practice and the business of public accounting.
When I think back to when I entered college in 1957, I can recall easily what my motivation was: I needed to earn a living.
My needs were the same as many at the time (perhaps that's why there are so many CPAs my age): I needed a four-year program, so law and medicine were eliminated; I needed a profession where I could start earning money to support a family; and I needed a profession where my comfort with numbers would serve me well. When I decided that engineering was not my life-long dedication, my fraternity brothers encouraged me to try accounting. I enjoyed the initial accounting courses with their "practice sets," and the rest is history.
I enjoyed the profession from the beginning. Because I came from a lower-middle-class background, the opportunity to talk to people that had a lot more money than me was enlightening. I enjoyed and respected the people I met as colleagues, and I especially liked the intellectual side of the profession: the interrelationship of accounting, finance, and bus iness strategy. I discovered I had a real aptitude for helping business owners understand this interplay, and I soon came to realize that I could apply this knowledge to my own business. I started my own firm in 1969. I have looked back many times and always been pleased with the path I followed.
Public accounting has meant much more to me than a path out of the poor life. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of building a small local firm into a leading regional firm. My association with Stanley Goldstein, Stuart Kessler, and many other top-flight professionals has been deeply satisfying. The 1998 merger of Goldstein Golub Kessler & Company, PC, with American Express Tax and Business Services, Inc., propelled me onto a larger stage, and with that transition came the chance to challenge my partners and myself with a new range of opportunities. We have all had to improve our managerial and communication skills as we deal with corporate personnel, the "new economy" labor force, and being part of a $24 billion global organization. This is not something I envisioned in 1957, but I am learning to love it.
The profession continues to evolve and, as I see it, the opportunities for a graduating accountant are even better than they were for me. The CPA credential is highly respected. Today and in the future, there will be an ever-growing diversity of skills to master and departments to work in, and accountants will be associated with an even broader range of sophisticated services. Accountants must be extremely computer literate and Internet-enabled, and they must be highly motivated to serve clients in new, better, and faster ways. In every sense, they need to be smarter.
Some other points: The economics are better for those entering the profession today, the training is more comprehensive and focused, and the opportunities to advance are far greater. I mentioned that a great many CPAs are my age; meaning that, in 10 years, there will be a lot of room for the gifted to move up. My cohorts and I will have moved on to other pursuits, like golfing in Myrtle Beach--or motorcycling through the Painted Desert.
My generation upheld the public's trust in the CPA credential and may have even expanded it. I view my career with a sense of accomplishment and pride. If I had it to do over, to select a lifetime career where the opportunity for challenge and advancement existed, I would still choose public accounting and the CPA profession. I have enjoyed my run.
When CPAs are writing essays like this one in another 40 years, I hope that I will have had some influence on their decision to join the profession. If I have also instilled in them a desire to succeed, and through my efforts had some influence on the opportunities available to them--now, that would be truly satisfying. *
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