Five minutes with Christine Anderson

Tell us about yourself

Mom, Wife, Baker Tilly Partner and youngest of nine from a large family. In the latter half of my career, I’ve spent the majority of my time in public accounting, with a short stint of seven years within industry with a $2 Billion Financial Services organisation as a break between EY and Baker Tilly. I love the career that our profession has allowed me to create and continue to recreate. Baker Tilly has given me the opportunity to lead Growth Strategies for a firm with a plan to be $1.5 Billion by 2025. This is a long way from auditing. It’s a great ride, and I’m still enjoying not knowing what’s around the corner.

What makes you excited about Mondays?

Mondays are a fresh start, refreshed from the weekend (typically) and the opportunity to positively impact people, projects and pathways to accomplishing our strategic objectives. I reset every Monday, prioritise and try to own my prioritisation of highest and best use of my time and energy, including balancing in LaCrosse, Basketball, and family dinners – all are important. I love the fresh start – and sometimes it even works!

What advice would you give to someone starting their career in accounting?

The advice I give my own girls as well as others, is the tremendous opportunity that a career in professional services can provide.My oldest daughter just graduated university and my middle daughter is a rising Junior focusing on accounting. The advice I give my own girls as well as others is the tremendous opportunity that a career in professional services can provide. A solid degree from university in finance, accounting, analytics will provide unlimited opportunities to do most roles you may have an interest in. Dig deep and really seek to understand any task at hand, and once mastered build on it. Don’t be afraid to try something new.

How do you think attitudes towards remote working will change post COVID-19?

We've proven we can work remotely and the wheels don't fall off the bus. We need to learn from this unprecedented time, it will impact future hiring, retention and growth of team members and how we do business. Our experience is team members that love the remote working and some who desperately want to be back in the office and engaging with others. There is no doubt the future of our profession will include a significant increase in remote work. It is incumbent on our current leaders to determine how we staff and position our firms for the future.

What does ‘now, for tomorrow’ mean to you?

Now for Tomorrow is my commitment to our clients and team members. I commit to invest in connecting regularly, seeking to understand things important to them, engaging to provide perspective where appropriate, and demonstrate we are part of a team working to accomplish their goals. It is a way of connecting, and a commitment to service.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the accounting industry?

We need to increase diversity of thought. Our recruitment of future workforce will require us to rethink the skillsets we need on our team and who we target for recruiting. Our profession gives us market permission to help solve multiple issues outside of financial related matters only, and we need to think of our future reimagining our future.

 

Get to know us in five minutes

 

Spencer Hathaway		Stela Ivancheva