I am sure (or at least hoping) that I am not alone in feeling that
there are more things to do – personally and professionally –
than there is time in the day. The end of each day generally
leaves me with equal parts frustration and motivation to make
tomorrow better than today. Yet, when I stop to think about all
that has happened each year, I am always surprised and pleased
with how much has been accomplished.
In addition to serving on the WSCPA Board of Directors, providing
accounting advisory and capital markets readiness services
to clients for my day job, being a husband and dad for my
family, and trying to keep our chickens, ducks, cats, and dog
in order on “the farm” in Spokane Valley, I also serve on the
accounting advisory boards for Eastern Washington University
and Washington State University, including also as chair of the
latter. Probably sounds a bit crazy, but I love it. People often
ask me: “Do you like serving on boards? And doesn’t that take
up a lot of your time?” In short, the answers to both are simply,
“Yes.” (Albeit those who know me will admit that my answers
are never short thanks to the gift of gab!)
Many of us serve across our communities, families, and
workplaces, and we all do it for different reasons, even out of
necessity. A colleague of mine once advised me, “Don’t just pick
a cause for your résumé or because you feel compelled to give
back. Find something you care about, so you can both benefit
from the involvement.” For me, I enjoy serving because it helps
me fulfill part of that motivation to make tomorrow better than
today, not just for me, but for my kids’ generation and future
generations. I have a passion for this profession and the impact
it has on our communities. I want it to continue to flourish and
provide equal opportunities to anyone and everyone that wants
to be a part of it, just like it has for me and my family. Even more so, I have a
passion for helping students
and our younger generations to have
opportunities, achieve their potential, and find
success in life, whether that’s in our profession or something
else. The joy and appreciation that I see in students when
they land that job offer, or receive that scholarship that lifts
a financial burden, makes the time investment worth it and
provides the motivation to do it again.
Recently, I had lunch with a couple of friends in Spokane,
who are also CPAs (and members of the WSCPA!). We were
commiserating about our busy schedules, especially all the
“important” meetings to attend that seemingly made the days
longer. One of them shared a quote by Charles de Gaulle, “The
graveyards are full of indispensable men.” We laughed, but it
was also a good reminder that even though everything seems
important or essential in the moment, someone else can always
pick up and take over where we left off. We all live in our own
state of busyness, but we can choose how we spend our time
to provide fulfillment and that sense of accomplishment.
With that said, I feel very thankful and fortunate to have been
the chair of the WSCPA for this past year. It’s certainly been
marked with significant and unprecedented challenges, but
I’ve appreciated that experience and how it has helped me to
grow both personally and professionally. I am also proud of
what the Society has accomplished over the past year, and the
direction that it is headed. Only time will tell, but hopefully I’ve
helped make the Society and our profession better tomorrow
than it is today. I know one thing: Tom Sulewski will be a great
chair and can turn my shortcomings into successes!
As this will be my final column as chair of the WSCPA, I also wanted to take an opportunity to thank
a few folks. Firstly, I would like to thank my wife, Krystal,
for supporting me and our family throughout the years
– I wouldn’t be able to do this without her. I would also
like to thank KPMG for allowing me the time to serve,
and my fellow board members for their support and
participation throughout this past year as chair to help
make many of our strategic initiatives come to fruition.
And a tremendous thank you to the WSCPA staff who make
everything possible – this was a very challenging year, but
I am so impressed at the flexibility and dedication that this
team provided to ensure the best experience possible for
the members.
And most of all, I would like to thank you, our members,
for all your support and involvement with the WSCPA
and our great profession. We strive to the provide the
best experience possible to our members as noted in “A
Message to our Membership” from Monette Anderson,
Director of Membership, on page 4 of this edition. As
always, please feel free to reach out to any of the board
members or staff to let us know how we can serve you better.
Jared Theis, CPA, is an Accounting Advisory
Director in the Seattle office of KPMG LLP
and chair of the WSCPA Board of
Directors. You can contact him at
jtheis@kpmg.com.
This article appears in the spring 2021 issue of the Washington CPA magazine. Read more here.