A New Perspective

From the Oct. 2009 Issue

The economic times are tough all over, but while many professionals and other American workers are seeking security in the uncertain job market, at least one professional accountant has decided to strike out on her own.
For Elizabeth Davis, a CPA in Norwalk, Iowa, several factors combined to make this summer the right time to start her own practice, Davis CPA Solutions, LLC (www.DavisCPASolutions.com). The economy was one of those factors, since after more than 10 years working in the accounting office of a corporate travel agency; she felt that relationship might be changing soon.

Elizabeth had climbed the financial management ladder from intern to controller for the business, but had done so as a remote worker, which allowed her to spend more time with her family. Although technology had enabled her to help successfully manage and grow the company over several years, top management was planning transitions in its operations and she knew they wanted to bring her position in-house.

So she started looking at other opportunities and found few attractive options in the current job market. That was, of course, until she looked around her own town of Norwalk, a southern suburb of Des Moines. Although the town has a small population of around 8,000, it has a bustling small business base but only one CPA serving the community.

After doing a little more research and some long discussions with her husband, the thought of running her own practice became increasingly appealing.

Professional Snapshot Elizabeth Davis , CPA Principal Davis CPA Solutions, LLC www.DavisCPASolutions.com Norwalk, IA Productivity Score: 302   Twitter: @EDavisCPA Facebook: /Davis_CPA_Solutions_LLC

“Ryan and I are fortunate that he has a secure job and so even though we’re definitely taking a leap with the new accounting firm, we know that his income is stable and sufficient enough that we could scrape by if we had to.” The split with her previous employer was very amicable, she notes, so she also had the benefit of a severance package. The next thing she did was certainly unconventional but also brilliant: She met with her soon-to-be competitor Ricardo Alverio, CPA.

Ricardo’s been in practice in the area for several years and knows the community well, so I knew he would be able to provide good insight,” Elizabeth said. “We have different specialties and so we aren’t really competing for the same market.” The Alverio practice primarily focuses on personal income tax and the growing Hispanic market, whereas Elizabeth’s expertise is in corporate finance and business consulting. She noted that he also offered good advice on getting her new practice off the ground.

Logistically, making the conversion from a remotely-located employee to a self-employed sole practitioner hasn’t been a large hurdle so far. Her home office was already set up and she already had the work ethic necessary, while buying a new laptop and setting up a firm website were easily accomplished, especially since husband Ryan is a professional web developer. But since the sum of her experience has been 10 years on the corporate side and one year as an assistant auditor for the state of Iowa, she acknowledges that she may be a bit rusty on some of the other aspects of public accounting.