Accounting, leadership program draws interest

COUNTING ON HIM: From left: Charland Marciano & Co. CPA Timothy J. Murray, CPA candidate Sean Greenfield and partner Alfred T. Marciano. / PBN PHOTO/DAVID LEVESQUE
COUNTING ON HIM: From left: Charland Marciano & Co. CPA Timothy J. Murray, CPA candidate Sean Greenfield and partner Alfred T. Marciano. / PBN PHOTO/DAVID LEVESQUE

Sean Greenfield is not yet a full-fledged certified public accountant, but he works for a firm whose partners see in him the makings not only of a CPA but an executive.
“Sean has been with us two years,” said Al Marciano, a partner at Charland Marciano & Co., an accounting firm in Providence with a staff of 13. “Professionally, he’s developed very well, and we hope to see him move into a senior position and work directly with the partners so he could run jobs – and not only that, but also be out there as the face of the firm and market the firm for us.”
At the urging of Marciano and another partner, Tim Murray, Greenfield attended the first workshop in leadership development offered by the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants on Oct. 10.
In January, the society plans to hold a second and third four-hour seminar on broad leadership skills after running one that successfully hosted 30 participants in a three-hour introductory session.
David Lucier, a CPA, entrepreneur, real estate investor and member of the society’s board of directors, helped develop the concept for the leadership program, and society Executive Director Robert Mancini helped put it in place. Kubica LaForest Consulting LLC, with principals in East Greenwich, and Arroyo Grande, Calif., ran the program.
“A number of the firms in and out of the society have been requesting leadership training,” said Mancini, “not just a couple of courses here and there but a comprehensive program that prepares one for marketing, communication, business development.”
Added Lucier: “CPAs are in a good position to take leadership roles because of their finance background, especially with nonprofits.” Succession planning is as much a part of the mission as leadership, Lucier and Mancini said.
“As some of the senior members in the firms on the public side start to mature and get closer to retirement,” Mancini said, “it’s important to them to have people to succeed them and carry the torch, not only to sustain the relationships that have been brought in throughout the years but also to seek out new clients for the firm.”
Greenfield, 23, is a CPA candidate with three exams under his belt and a fourth scheduled for next month. Eager to move up in the company, he has the drive and feels these leadership programs, which he plans to continue taking, will help him get there.
“I always say to the partners and myself: In five years I’m not going to be sitting at this same desk I’m sitting at,” he said.
Greenfield expected the seminar to be a lecture and was pleased to find out it was highly interactive instead. The seminar leaders, Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica, keyed in individually on people’s strengths and areas where they could improve, he said. For him, they suggested taking on more responsibility and not assuming he has to excel at his job, but rather, combine competence with leadership traits like taking initiative, effectively managing one’s time and communicating clearly.
“It really got my brain going,” Greenfield said. “It’s given me a lot more push than I already have.”
Tim Ludwig, 37, an agent with the 75-person Mass Mutual Insurance Co. in Warwick, said he attended to check out the seminar and see if it was something he might send subordinates to. He liked what he saw, including the opportunity for reflection on his own career, and will be sending two of his employees to the seminars on Jan. 21 and 23. The workers are in their 30s and 40s, he said. “They take ownership of their roles and responsibilities and [show] a desire to further their career,” he said of the people he’s picked. “Even if the content is something one’s mastered, the networking is a strong learning opportunity.”
LaForest, who is based in California, and Kubica, who is based in Providence, tailor the seminar so that there’s something for millennials and baby boomers alike, and ideas that will get them to understand one another’s perspectives as they contemplate how to advance from their own sphere.
“Where we’re really starting is with self-awareness: to have individuals understand the contributions they make to positive workforce interaction,” said Kubica.
Soft skills that Kubica and LaForest focused on included emotional and social intelligence, foundations in masterful communication, nonverbal and nonlinguistic cues, conflict resolution, being able to decipher and navigate a political environment and building influence and reputation.
Mancini’s group has 2,029 members, with 60 percent in CPA firms and 40 percent in general business and government.
There are plenty of existing leadership programs, Mancini said, but this one is “more broad-based in preparing people to lead.” It focuses on marketing and why business professional development is so important, he said.
“We’re very much encouraged that this will become a strong educational centerpiece for our society,” he added. “The goal is to increase the competency level in contributing to leadership growth in the CPA world and business world.” •

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