Cecilia Leung: Dear Accountant: Stories, Advice, and Explorations

Transcript

[0:00:38] DA: Are you exploring careers in accounting and finance? Cecilia Leung’s new book, Dear Accountant, shares the career journeys and wisdom of 20 leaders in the fields of accounting and finance. From senior partners at the ‘big four’ to executive recruiters and entrepreneurs, these industry-leading mentors openly share their individual career paths, their struggles, and lessons they learned along the way. The book provides a unique immersion into the lives and careers of these inspiring leaders. Empowering you to blaze your own trail as you explore the thrilling, wonderful kaleidoscope of the accounting and finance profession. Hey Listeners, my name is Drew Applebaum and I’m excited to be here today with Cece Leung, author of Dear Accountant: Stories, Advice, and Explorations. Cece, thank you for joining, welcome to The Author Hour Podcast.

[0:01:22] Cecilia Leung: Thanks for having me.

[0:01:23] DA: Let’s kick this off, can you give us a bit of a rundown of your professional background?

[0:01:28] Cecilia Leung: Sure, I am a CPA, Certified Public Accountant and I spent the past two decades working for some of the prominent firms like JP Morgan, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ernst & Young, all over the world, in Asia, North America and Europe. I also serve as a consulting CFO for a lot of startup companies. Currently, I run my own CFO advisory practice. My company is called The Entrepreneur CFO. If you ever watch Shark Tank, you know how important it is to be able to tell your story through numbers, be able to have a strong accounting and finance infrastructure to grow, and insights to make strategic decisions. Most business owners have great ideas but sometimes they just don’t know how or they don’t have the capacity to do what we do, so that’s when we come in to help businesses put all the pieces together so they have everything they need to take the next leap forward.

[0:02:19] DA: Now, why was now the time to share the stories in the book? You’ve been in the industry for a long time now. Did you have an “Aha!” moment, was there something inspiring, or something as simple as you had some time on your hands because of COVID?

[0:02:32] Cecilia Leung: Yeah, I’ve actually wanted to write this book since I was 16 years old. Yeah, I loved reading Chicken Soup for the Soul when I was a teenager, and I remember at that time, I hoped that they had one specifically for accountants so I could learn more about, not only what accountants do, but accountant’s life to get some inspiration. That was almost three decades ago and I kept waiting for a book like this to come out, and is still hasn’t. I decided to do it myself and over the years, I just kept on fine tuning it, and it become more clear to what I wanted to accomplish in this book, which is the one we have today.

[0:03:12] DA: Now, when you said, “Okay, I want to write this book” even if it was so long ago, you might have had an idea of the book you wanted to write in your head but a lot of times, during the writing process, sometimes just by digging into some of the subjects a little bit more or the interviews you did, there will be major breakthroughs and learnings. Do you have any of these breakthroughs or learnings along your writing journey?

[0:03:32] Cecilia Leung: Definitely, a lot. For me, writing this book has been a life changing experience for me, because it not only got me out of my comfort zone, gave me the opportunity to reflect on my own life and career journey as an accountant, it also very challenges- in the aspect of- because I wasn’t a writer first of all, and English is my second language. It took me a million rounds of editing just to really say what I really wanted to say. Also, to find all these incredible accountants in my field, initially I started where I know, I started in my network and then, the more conversation I have, the more incredible accountants that I come across which actually become a challenge because how do you put all these people in one book? Yeah, it’s definitely been a life-changing journey.

[0:04:32] DA: When you were writing the book, in your mind, who were you writing the book for? Is this a book for established accounting professionals, or is this for folks who are always thought about or thinking about becoming a CPA?

[0:04:45] Cecilia Leung: Yeah, I’ve gone through a whole process of that as well. This book was initially written for the young professionals that I mentor, to share with them my advice, to help them navigate their journey because I remember how clueless and overwhelmed, I was when I first started out. I gradually expanded the scope to bring in 19 other extraordinary leaders in different accounting disciplines to share their journey and inspiring stories. They talk about - in their own words - about their back story, what inspires them, what influences them, the challenges and obstacles they had to overcome to get to where they are today. The reason why I wrote this book is because I am a CPA, I love what I do, and I appreciate accountants who do this work. Really, the world of accounting is so fascinating, and yet, we don’t get a lot of spotlight. Think about it, there’s not even enough books and movie that humanize accountants and we often get so misunderstood, and frankly, I think most people don’t really know what we do. Usually when people ask you, “What do you do?” you tell them you’re an accountant, and then they instantly don’t really want to ask anymore because they don’t know what to say, or they think, hey, you might be boring, or they start asking you about taxes as if that’s the only thing accountants do. If you really understand what accountants do, there are actually many creative, innovative, brilliant minds out there who are accountants, building accounting systems, building and leading companies, busting fraud, catching the bad guys, teaching personal finance, doing financial planning and so so much more, which is exactly what I talk about in this book and so this is really for my fellow accountants, and also, those who aspire to be accountants, and also, those who have loved one who are accountants, because all the story in this book will give reader a better understanding of what accountants do, and have a better appreciation of their work and their impact. I really think that accountants really change the world, and I am so proud of all of us.

[0:06:57] DA: Yeah, I love that you mentioned that because I wanted to ask you about that. If you had to pick your top one, or just a top few, because I know you just mentioned a few, what do you think that are some of the things that people would be surprised that accountants do?

[0:07:10] Cecilia Leung: Yeah, I mean, a lot of things are beyond numbers. First of all, we tell stories through numbers and that’s fascinating. I think also, we use numbers to bust frauds. I think there’s a lot of things like, beyond numbers, let’s say for example, people think it’s like, we just close the books, or we help people just apply for loans but that’s beyond that. Because, when you think about it, a fraud case, like the Madoff, the impact of it, it really caused suffering and produced a massive negative ripple effect. Also, when you think about what I mentioned earlier, about helping businesses with loan approval, that really help build a stronger economy, and help people with the opportunity for a better life and better future. I think it’s not really surprising, but I think, yeah, people might be surprised by the impact that accountants have to the extent of all the work that they’re involved in.

[0:08:10] DA: Now, can we talk about – let’s dig into your career journey? You bounced around in a few different positions, you were in different countries for a while, you talk about where you started and what led you to your happiest days as an accountant?

[0:08:27] Cecilia Leung: Wow, yeah. I think when I first graduated from college, I graduated with a business and finance degree, and frankly, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. I thought, adding a CPA credentials to my resume would open up a lot more opportunities, and I’m so glad I did that, and it definitely did open up a lot of opportunity. Not globally. I think at the beginning, it was- I think at the beginning, I still didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I just kept doing whatever comes my way. I work at the big four, I work for all the global companies, and frankly, just take all the opportunity that came my way and focus on building skills and experience. I think I’m definitely at the best place in my career at where I am today, running my own firm because it’s where I can put everything together, all my experience and skills, be able to really make an impact and help businesses grow.

[0:09:37] DA: What, if anything would this book have changed in your career path, had you had it when you were first starting out?

[0:09:45] Cecilia Leung: Yeah, I think this book wouldn’t change anything I have done, it might have changed the approach, but I think it would definitely change how I feel. Because growing up, I always thought that there is an answer to everything, and there’s a path that I needed to follow and – but then, we realized that a career is never a linear move path, and it has a lot of twists and turns that can take you different ways and places that you at least expect it. I specifically remember, many years ago, I worked super hard and I was up for promotion, and I thought, “Wow, if I made this, this is going to define my career, and I will be so successful”. When it didn’t happen, I was devastated, and thought my career was over, and it obviously hasn’t been the case. I left the job and something else so much greater came up. If you read the book, there’s definitely stories like that, right? People at the time, when they got laid off, when something happened beyond what they thought they would be, and they really don’t really have the perspective and insights as to how they should do, or what they should think about. If I have this book, it definitely give me a lot of perspective and insights and wisdom that I didn’t have as a young person.

[0:11:06] DA: Now, you mentioned it earlier but the book itself is, you know, it talks about yourself and your life and your career, but it’s also a series of interviews with some of – some really powerful folks throughout the financial world. I want to ask, how did you pick who you really wanted to talk to, and whose stories you really wanted to feature in the book?

[0:11:23] Cecilia Leung: Yeah, it definitely have been a long process because I spoke to at least, almost like a 100 people. And yeah, a lot of them are amazing but I really have to be very selective in terms of who to include in this book. People kept saying like, “Yeah, that might be a book two or three.” Oh my god, this book already took two years, so we will see, but yeah, there is definitely a lot of amazing people. But also, I wanted to find people who share my vision of helping the younger generations of young professionals because this is not really about us. It is about us sharing the journey, our journey and advice and wisdom to help the next generations. I wanted to work with people or feature people that have to share the same vision. I think I love all the stories and everyone has such unique journey to share, and there’s one story for example, I think resonate with me the most, is Andrew Ly. He is the CEO of Sugar Bowl Bakery and so he is the classic American success story because he was an immigrant and he came from – He was born during the Vietnam War, so he came to the America with nothing, and he shared about all the obstacles and challenges that he had to go through. Then, eventually, he went to study accounting and kind of used that skills to help build the business. I think a lot of times when young people look at successful people like him, they thought, “Oh they must have all the connections in that world,” and all of that, but no, really a lot of people went through deep struggle but they were able to get– you know, they were still able to succeed and make something out of themselves.

[0:13:18] DA: What were some of the most surprising things you learned from these stories? Or did anything really unexpected come out?

[0:13:25] Cecilia Leung: I always know accountants are fascinating. I’m surprised that not enough movies and books written about it because, you know, when you think about it, the medical field, Silicon Valley, or the lawyers all have a lot of TV drama or books written about them, right? For most of us, we more or less or at least feel that we know what they do. For accountants, there’s so many fascinating story that’s not even be featured. For me, I am not surprised but I think for most people, they might be surprised just because it hasn’t been out there.

[0:14:01] DA: Now, also in these stories, did you find any common themes amongst them from the people you interviewed?

[0:14:07] Cecilia Leung: Yeah, a common theme I think from all of these stories is that nothing is as easy as it seems, and I think back when I was a young person, I always thought you know, if there is one linear path, if I do this I would be, you know, successful, but that’s not always the case. Like I mentioned before, you know career is never a linear path. There is so many twists and turns, and when you look at all of these people’s stories, that’s exactly what happened, right? One guy, he mentioned when he graduated with an accounting degree, all the big four wanted him and so he felt like he’s like a big hotshot, right? Then when the economy tanked, and then he got laid off, and really with all of his great credentials he couldn’t find a job, and so he ended up doing all of these labor intensive work, picking up garbage on the highway and all of these different things. I think the common thread is really people go through different challenges and obstacle and even with that, you still be able to have a successful career at the end of the day.

[0:15:13] DA: Now, besides the book to help aspiring CPA’s or younger folks in the industry, you also do some mentoring. Can you talk about the mentoring, and then maybe, did you have any mentors that have helped you coming up along the way?

[0:15:27] Cecilia Leung: Yeah, I definitely have great mentors and I can say that without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Mentorship means a lot to me because when I was in college, I volunteer at a community center in China Town, and I was a receptionist, so I got to talk to a lot of people in and out and mostly young kids from immigrants and underprivileged family, and one day, this kid asked me, “Can you teach me how to get into a university?” I thought, “What do you mean? Do you need tutoring or career counseling?” and then he said, “No, I know you’re also an immigrant like me and I wanted to know what you have done to get to university.” I didn’t think much about it and since then he would just come to me for questions, and sometimes we meet for coffee, and we stayed in touch even when I moved to a different country to work. When he graduated, like, almost eight years later, he sent me a note. It says, “Thank you so much for being my mentor all these years. When I moved to this country I thought my life wasn’t going anywhere, and you made me see that I could become something and so much more.” Then it made me realize that all these years, he never really said I was his mentor but I have been mentoring him without realizing it. Whenever I hear something like that, it really motivates me more to do this work because sharing your knowledge and experience could really help people and change someone’s life.

[0:17:09] DA: Now, what do you think the end goal of the book is for readers? Do you hope they take some steps after reading the book?

[0:17:18] Cecilia Leung: I hope that they got some perspective and insights that they do not have because, when I think back about my career at many points, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I wish, obviously, having a mentor or having this book is – you’re still going to come across challenge and obstacle. It is not going to solve all your problem, but at least you know that there are certain things that need to happen, and it gives you more confidence to know that, yes, you will have obstacles, you will have to overcome these, people have done it before, and if we can do it so can you. I think it just gives people more confidence to be able to navigate and, hopefully, the future doesn’t seem so frightening to them because, yes, when you’re young and don’t have a lot of experience and knowledge, everything, all the uncertainty just seems so frightening. And forget about young people, right? I mean, for me as a business owner - and I look at the journey ahead for me - sometimes, I feel frightened but, of course, I have mentors who guide me to give me that confidence that yeah, many people have done it. Many people have gone through it and if they can do it, so do you. I think kind of using that as a reference point and as an inspiration, it really helped. I hope that a young professional really be able to get some perspective and really navigate their journey with intention, and give them more confidence and clarity.

[0:18:58] DA: Besides the book, you also built a website. Could you talk about what sort of resources are available on the website to readers and listeners?

[0:19:07] Cecilia Leung: Yes, so the website is dearaccountantbook.com. Currently, people can download a sample chapter to get a sense of the book. I also share one story, which is my story. I also created a reader’s guide because I know a lot of people that I mentor love books and they would get together, and have a book club discussions, and all of that. I created that guide to give them some questions to reflect on, really talk about all these amazing individuals because there’s a lot to reflect on. There is a lot to reflect on like moments at a certain point in time because there is one story about this whistleblower, right? He thought he was so scared, he didn’t know what to do. Obviously, he was a young guy himself also in the story and, you know, he came across this fraud, and he was so young, he was afraid that no one would believe him, right? At that moment, what should he do? He was so afraid to talk to other people also. I think I kind of suggest questions like that and ask the readers, yeah, obviously this person does it if it was you. Now, if in the same situation, what would you do? I think there is a lot of reflective questions like that.

[0:20:23] DA: Well Cece, you know we just touched on the surface of the book here. We want to say that just writing a book, which actually talks about real life stories about what happens in the professional life of an accountant and your career is no small feat, so congratulations on being published.

[0:20:38] Cecilia Leung: Thank you.

[0:20:39] DA: Now, you know, I have one question left, it is the hot seat question: If readers could take away only one thing from the book, what would you want it to be?

[0:20:49] Cecilia Leung: Wow, thank you so much for this question. Hopefully, they will take away a lot of things; the importance of education, the importance of perseverance, and all of the different things that one can do with an accounting degree, and skills, and the magic of numbers. But if there is only one thing, I like for them to take away is that no one can accomplish anything significant by oneself, so mentors are very, very important. I have written this book because I wish I had such a book, a book with not just one mentor but 20 virtual mentors here, 20 amazing and inspiring stories.

[0:21:32] DA: Cece, this has been a pleasure and I’m excited for people to check out the book. Everyone, the book is called Dear Accountant, and you could find it on Amazon. Cece, besides checking out the book and the website, are there other places where people can connect with you?

[0:21:43] Cecilia Leung: Yeah, I am active on LinkedIn. I love connecting with people, so feel free to connect me on LinkedIn and also check out the book website. I mentioned earlier the website address is dearaccountantbook.com. There are a lot of resources there and I’ll continue to add more as we move along.

[0:22:02] DA: Great, well thank you so much for coming on the show today, Cece, and best of luck with your new book.

[0:22:06] Cecilia Leung: I had so much fun talking to you, Drew, thanks for having me.

[0:22:10] DA: Thanks for joining us for this episode of Author Hour. You can get Cece Leung’s new book, Dear Accountant, on Amazon. Also, you can also find a transcript of this episode and all of our other episodes on our website at authorhour.co. For more Author Hour, subscribe to this podcast on your favorite subscription service. Thank you for joining us, we’ll see you next time: same place, different author.