Down-to-earth and passionate about accounting since the very beginning, Nicole first moved back to the vicinity of Avalon Park in 2010 while finishing her first undergraduate degree from the University of Phoenix.
When she saw the advertising for a local accounting firm located within the heart of Avalon Park, Nicole had set her sights on the possibility of working at CPA Solutions after graduating. Eventually, the opportunity finally presented itself in the form of a job ad on Facebook.
“When I first moved back to Avalon Park, I saw signs for an accounting firm and thought to myself that this would be a great place to work at. I had two small kids at home, so it would be extremely convenient to work just 5 minutes from home and their school… After I got the job, the rest was history.”
Taking the first step, Nicole started her journey with CPA Solutions in the middle of the hectic 2015 tax season.
Plunging straight into the chaos, Nicole managed to quickly figure out the ropes as she assisted with annual write-ups and helped the team prepare for both personal and business tax returns.
Looking back at it all, Nicole feels that it was her love for accounting and the kinship she felt toward Avalon Park—a community that CPA Solutions has always strived its best to represent—that made Nicole feel destined to become a part of the CPA Solutions team.
Over the past 7 years that Nicole has been with CPA Solutions, she notes with pride when she recounts the firm’s growth. Having been present when CPA Solutions had just started with only five employees, there are now a total of 14 on-site team members that work in their local firm and 8 full-time remote members overseas.
Despite the humbling size of the current team, CPA Solutions currently juggles a wide range of clients—from medical practices to private equity firms—while ensuring meticulous care and detail across the board. Nicole likens CPA Solutions’ eye for detail, work reliance and efficiency, and excellent dynamics as a by-product of having such a tightly-knit team: “I won’t disagree that our work can be very stressful, but having a strong team to lean on makes all the difference.”
Nicole also highlights that this is what enables CPA Solutions to always be on its A-game for their clients where it matters.
“We work hard and enjoy team-building activities that allow us to reset. We are constantly encouraging our staff to continue to grow both professionally and personally. We take care of our team and in return, they take care of our clients to the best of their abilities.”
A constant theme within CPA Solutions, Nicole also notes the team’s continuous efforts for transparency when it comes to diversity and equality, something we feel CPA Solutions deserves applaud for as they help to pave the path for diversified opportunities within the accounting industry.
“I believe that we are the epitome of diversity and quality in the accounting industry. The accounting profession has a reputation for being dominated by men. However, our female accounting staff makes up over 65% of our current team members here at the firm.”
And these efforts don’t just stop there. Understanding that talent is not set by locality nor nationality, Nicole comments on how the team has embraced globalization through their recruitment efforts.
“Our recruiting of top talent is continuously ongoing. The (COVID-19) pandemic changed the workplace and has opened opportunities for us to source talent from around the world… We have staff from all over the globe—Lithuania, Guam, Turkey, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Bahamas, and India are just to name a few.”
Ending on a fruitful note of what the future of accounting might hold for forward-thinking firms like CPA Solutions, we asked Nicole about her vision of CPA Solutions moving forward over the next 5 to 10 years.
Believing strongly in CPA Solutions’ motto—We are partners first, accountants second—Nicole hopes to see CPA Solutions broadening its horizons within the next decade or so as a recognized accounting firm nationwide.
