Member Spotlight: Casey Devine

What was the biggest challenge you encountered when transitioning from public accounting to launching Beyond Financials?
The fear of the unknown was my biggest challenge. I am an accountant at heart so the idea of having to market myself was particularly terrifying! I never want to come off as “salesy”, so I have needed to remind myself that I have a valuable skill set that can help other people.  And no matter what position I have held, helping make other people’s lives better or easier has always been one of my favorite and most fulfilling parts of my job. When I shift my mentality from marketing myself to partnering with others to make both of our lives better, then I am able to overcome my hesitancy to talk about myself!

How has your CPA background influenced your approach to innovation and leadership at Beyond Financials?
My CPA license has granted me a certain level of credibility in the eyes of business owners. Everyone sees those three letters and knows the amount of work that went into obtaining that license.  Accounting is the language of business, so a CPA has an advantage in understanding the inner-workings of any business. Now that I have many years of experience learning the language of business, I can better help business owners understand the story that their financials are telling. Even more exciting is getting to use that information to help the business owners make strategic decisions that align with their goals and values.

Beyond Financials is redefining the future of financial services – what is the most significant shift you see in the industry today?
Public accounting has always looked back at historical activity. However, business owners today are looking for accountants who will partner with them to provide insights into the future. Historical activity becomes more relevant when it is viewed through the lens of how it might impact future decisions. And as automation improves many of the time-consuming accounting processes, CPAs with the ability to interpret the financial reports and help make strategic decisions based on that information will have an advantage.

If you could offer one key piece of advice to accounting professionals aspiring to start their own ventures, what would it be?
My best advice is to be a life-long learner! My grandpa used to say, “If you are comfortable, you aren’t growing!”  At every stage in my career I realized that there was something valuable to learn. As a staff accountant, I learned everything I could about accounting processes, internal controls and segregation of duties. As a senior accountant, I learned about training and motivating a team, meeting deadlines and building client relationships. As a manager, I learned about managing a team, working through complex accounting issues and navigating challenging client conversations. As a senior manager on the business advisory team, I learned to work independently to tackle any business issue that a client had, to break down those problems into manageable tasks that led to true progress and to connect with clients in an advisory capacity. Those skills helped build my confidence in my ability to start Beyond Financials and solve any problem that might come my way, and I plan to continue learning alongside my clients for many years to come!  

How has your involvement with OSCPA shaped your journey from public accounting to founding Beyond Financials?
One of the intimidating aspects of moving from public accounting to owning Beyond Financials was the fear of being alone. Working at an established firm, I had an entire team of incredible individuals that I could reach out to for help. Having a solo practice, I was afraid I would lose that sense of community and access to other accountants. Through the OSCPA and my involvement in other accounting networking groups, I have realized that we have a whole state full of brilliant accountants and many of them are more than willing to help me along my journey. I am very grateful to those individuals and organizations who have supported me through this transition thus far.