S4 E1. Center for Accounting Diversity with Dr. Kecia Williams Smith
Release Date: 01/24/2022
S5 E7. Your Favorite Mentor series with Tom Golden: Advice on life, relationship, career, writing books etc
Dear Accountant
*Earn free CPE credit for listening to this episode! Visit to sign up for free! Tom Golden has a national reputation in forensic accounting and fraud investigation. He has been quoted in major world-wide publications including Journal of Accountancy, USA Today, The Financial Times, Business Week, Chicago Tribune, and The Age (Melbourne, Australia). He has extensive testifying experience and is a frequent presenter having conducted numerous fraud investigation training seminars for both U.S. and foreign corporations, and the Federal Government including the FBI and IRS. Tom was the lead...
info_outline
S5 E6. Your Favorite Mentor series with Catherine Flax: Updates + *Rebroadcast* The secrets to successful mentorships
Dear Accountant
*Earn free CPE credit for listening to this episode! Visit EarmarkCPE.com to sign up for free! Mentorship has been our core theme of this podcast, and ever since the pilot episodes, we kept getting endless questions about this topic. I’m excited to invite my mentor, Catherine Flax, to come back to have this coffee chat, while we rebroadcast the original episode so you can earn your CPE credit! As most of you know, Catherine is a strong champion for diversity and mentorship. You already know her story from my book, and even after knowing for over a decade, I continue to learn so much...
info_outline
S5 E5. Serendipity in Accounting, Technology and Asian Stereotypes with Donny Shimamoto
Dear Accountant
*Earn free CPE credit for listening to this episode! Visit to sign up for free! I am so excited to invite my friend, one of the few Asian thought leaders, educators and influencers in accounting, Donny Shimamoto, to talk about all things accounting, technology, small businesses and… Asian Representation!!! Well, you are probably very familiar with him because he’s everywhere, speaking and consulting about all things IT risk mgmt, business transformation, organizational development and AI! And as you know, I am always curious and have a million questions, I love talking to brilliant minds...
info_outline
S5 E4. Your Favorite Mentor series with Chuck Burch: Updates + *Rebroadcast* How to embrace masculinity and vulnerability
Dear Accountant
*Earn free CPE credit for listening to this episode! Visit to sign up for free! S5 E4. Your Favorite Mentor series with Chuck Burch: Updates + *Rebroadcast* How to embrace masculinity and vulnerability One of the most downloaded episodes has been season 3, episode 6 with Chuck where we talked about masculinity, vulnerability and insecurity of men. I decided to bring back your favorite mentor for a short coffee chat while we rebroadcast his episode because he always has interesting perspectives to share and I always learn so much from talking to him. As most of you know from reading his...
info_outline
S5 E3. How to Build an Impactful Business Empire with WFG Executive Chairwoman, Penney Ooi
Dear Accountant
*Earn free CPE credit for listening to this episode! Visit EarmarkCPE.com to sign up for free! I am so excited to invite my mentor, Penney Ooi, to chat about how to build an impactful business as an Asian female leader in the wealth management space! She is recognized as the first woman to achieve the highest field advancement level within World Financial Group, which is part of Transamerica, a fortune 500 company. She is a rare combination of visionary and master builder. Penney is a strong advocate for financial education and financial literacy - Through her career, she not only...
info_outline
S5 E2. The best kept secret in Corporate America: The PhD Project
Dear Accountant
*Earn free CPE credit for listening to this episode! Visit EarmarkCPE.com to sign up for free! What does Diversity Equity and Inclusion truly mean? Over 20 years ago, The KPMG Foundation, which invests in business education and volunteering, started a national program called The PhD Project, with the mission to increase the diversity of business school faculty. In this episode, I had the pleasure to speak with Blane Ruschak, President of PhD Project; and Dr. Marinilka Kimbro about their work with the PhD Project. I truly believe that The PhD Project is the best kept secret in...
info_outline
S5 E1. Learn tax strategies to reduce taxes and build wealth with James Rainwater, CPA
Dear Accountant
*Earn free CPE credit for listening to this episode! Visit EarmarkCPE.com to sign up for free! What are some of the things that rich people know and most of us may not know? Yes, tax strategy is definitely one of the biggest ones. In this episode, I invited my strategic tax coach, James Rainwater, to come on the show to share some tax tips and loopholes only the rich know! James not only is a CPA and tax strategist, he is also a very successful entrepreneur, investor, and advisor. Enjoy the episode! CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST, JAMES RAINWATER, CPA Linkedin: Tax Planning: Schedule time for...
info_outline
S4 E5. Women in Accounting and Finance
Dear Accountant
This week’s podcast guest has more celebrated achievements that's worth listing; Jessica McClain’s leadership and innovation continually spur our industry forward, and I’m excited to share our conversation with all of you. In this episode, we talk about what it takes to succeed as a woman in business, how to effectively manage a mentorship relationship, and so much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation! Episode and Blog: https://www.dearaccountantbook.com/post/women-in-accounting-and-finance CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST, JESSICA MCCLAIN ABOUT CECE LEUNG, CPA Cecilia "Cece" Leung is a...
info_outline
S4 E4. How to create joy and purpose in your life?
Dear Accountant
I’m so excited to share this week’s episode with Danny Bader. Danny is an incredible public speaker, motivational instructor, author, provider, and more. After a near-death experience, Danny connected with the process and feeling of being alive in a whole new way. He advocates and helps others create joy, purpose, and fulfillment. In this episode, we dive deeply into the best ways to create with integrity and authenticity, to connect with others, and to be the best version of yourself. His career and passion shines through the episode, and there are tons of tidbits of great advice and...
info_outline
S4 E3. How to Prepare Students Now for the New CPA Evolution 2024
Dear Accountant
CPA licensing can open a lot of doors but opportunity cost matters; the field needs to consider shifts in its current approach in order to attract top talent, and this is an incredibly exciting time for the profession! I’m so excited to chat with Liz Kolar - her life resume encompasses all walks of experience, from public accounting at PwC to college professor; from CPA instructor to a leader in the educational technology space, Liz thrives on providing and encouraging young accountants. I speak with Liz about her career journey, her understanding of the changing CPA, and advice on how we...
info_outlineThe topic of Diversity in Accounting is not new. I have been hearing about it even before I entered into the profession almost two decades ago! Yet, the accounting profession is still not where it should be in terms of diversity goals. Any studies or statistics would show you that the representation of minorities in the accounting profession is low, specifically as the professionals continue to rise up the rank.
In the past years, we also heard about the pipeline problem - some of the young talents just don’t find accounting an attractive career option, which is such a shame because I personally love accounting, and how my accounting background and experiences has opened up so many opportunities and helped me to continue to build my entrepreneurial career.
Usually, when people look at me, they would never think I am an accountant - but I am a super proud accountant, and I am also a lot of things - I am a published author, podcast host, speaker, business owner, endurance athlete, pianist, and yes, I also built an online skin care company and sold it many years ago!
And honestly, when you get to know more of us in accounting, you will know how fascinating our stories are - there are comedians, FBI agents and children book authors - you name it! So I say we as accountants need to break this stereotype, change our narrative and branding, most importantly, share our stories so people know exactly what we do and the impact of our work.
ABOUT DR. KECIA WILLIAMS SMITH, PhD, CPA, Director, Center for Accounting Diversity
Kecia is a CPA, and currently serves as the Director of the Master of Accountancy Program in the Department of Accounting and Finance at North Carolina A&T State University. She spent her early careers at one of the big 4 for almost a decade, then, she pivoted to join the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) where she created and led the Inspections Training Office that served over 400 inspection personnel. Yes, if you remember, the PCAOB is a dedicated regulatory agency that was created by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 to audit the auditors. Then, after spending almost another decade there, she went back to school to get her PhD - and post-PhD, she taught at Virginia Tech for a few years, and eventually returned to her alma mater in academia, bringing all her experiences together to the classroom.
Cece’s note: Kecia’s passion is contagious. I’d say it’s obvious that helping pave the way to quality education to the younger generations is not only her vocation, but her calling in life. Thank you, Kecia!
Connect with Kecia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kecia-williams-smith-ph-d-cpa-6053b11/
GET ON THE MAILING LIST
The Center for Accounting Diversity will be officially launching in Feb 2022 -- so exciting!! Stay up to date with this important initiative - send an email to [email protected] to be added to the mailing list.
ABOUT CECE LEUNG, CPA
Cecilia "Cece" Leung is a finance executive and CFO advisor to growing businesses who are ready to scale up financially and get ready for next-level opportunities. Cece is the founding partner of The Entrepreneur CFO, a global professional advisory firm helping growing companies with strategic decision making as they become financially and operationally ready for their next big thing. With fluency in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, paired with two decades of international financial services experience in New York, London, Switzerland, Hong Kong and China, Cece has worked with prominent firms including JP Morgan, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ernst & Young, offering the best in-class solutions to Fortune 500 and growing companies worldwide. Cece is the author of the book Dear Accountant: Stories, Advice and Explorations, which offers up-and-coming professionals valuable insights and perspectives about the many career paths and opportunities under the accounting and finance umbrella.
Personal Website: www.ceceleung.com
Book Website: www.dearaccountantbook.com
The Entrepreneur CFO website: www.ecfopro.com
Coaching, Training and Workshop: https://www.ecfopro.com/training-and-coaching/
PR, Media and Collab: https://www.ceceleung.com/media
Podcast Blog: https://www.ceceleung.com/blog
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceceleung/