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Protea Conversations: Rae Paulson

Protea Conversations: Rae Paulson

Protea Financial was founded in 2014 to provide high quality out-sourced accounting at an affordable price.  Given Protea’s flexible work environment, the Company especially appealed to accountants who wanted to re-enter the work force after taking time off to start a family. This allowed Protea to attract extremely talented individuals who were overlooked.  Over 80% of both Protea’s leadership and accounting teams are women.

We selected the name Protea because is the national flower of South Africa and is a symbol of our connection. The Protea flower has become an ornamental flower because of this striking beauty and is included in arrangements and bouquets as a symbol of courage or daring to be better or a sign of positive transformation.

Protea Conversations focuses on successful woman in business and their achievements. The hope is that these conversations will create a forum to discuss the experiences, opportunities, and challenges women face, and how we can build a more diverse, inclusive, and successful environment for everyone.

This month we want to present a conversation with Rae Paulson. Rae has been in public accounting since 2005 where her experience includes responsibility for all phases of audit and review engagement execution, assisting clients with technical accounting issues, the implementation of corporate accounting policies and procedures, best practices, internal controls, accounting for transactions, and more. 

Rae is a member of Moss Adams’ Wine Industry and Food, Beverage and Agriculture groups. She graduated from St. Mary’s College of California with a Bachelor of Science degree and received her MBA from Sonoma State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Rae was raised in Sonoma County and still lives here, with my boyfriend of 23 years and our 2-year-old black lab, Louie.  In her free time she likes getting outdoors to burn off energy with Louie, and hosting dinners for family and friends.

How did you decide to become a CPA and decide to go into the world of assurance?

I always liked both math and science. As an undergraduate at St. Mary’s, I got a degree in Health Science, and while I loved the major and the classes, I did not end up being passionate about the career options that I had. After that I decided to go back to school and test the waters before fully forging ahead with my final plan. I enrolled in introductory accounting classes at the SRJC, and took a job working as a bookkeeper I loved the classes and the subject matter, and the work I was doing in the related field of bookkeeping, so enrolled in the MBA program at Sonoma State where I got my Masters degree and rounded out my accounting education, to later be eligible to sit for the CPA exam and start a career in public accounting.

Protea Financial CPA Image for Rae Paulson

What was the decision to join Moss Adams and what has kept you at the firm for 15+ years?

I worked for a smaller firm in Marin County for over a year while I finished up my education and after graduating. Sonoma County is my home, so the decision to join Moss Adams had to do with the appeal of joining the largest local accounting firm that could afford all the opportunity and experience I could want out of a long-term career, coupled with reducing commute time. I knew a few people who worked at Moss Adams before I joined, and having been a softball player, including through college at St. Mary’s, my friends at Moss recruited me to help out on the softball team. Getting to know many of the people from the office from staff to Managing Partner in that casual environment made the decision to join Moss Adams an easy one. While I mention opportunity and experience, as I believed (and still do) Moss Adams could provide all the career path opportunity of the largest CPA firms, while it sounds cliché, it was the people at Moss Adams that brought me to the firm, and is the reason I’m still here today over 15 years later. It is a large group (approximately 100 people in the North Bay), diverse enough in personalities, work style, hobbies and interests to find many different people you connect with in different ways and like working in teams with, but still retains a small enough feel to know everyone personally and have a comfortable, close-knit feeling across the office group, which is important to me.

What has been the biggest challenge you have experienced in reaching your current success (personally and professionally)?

Being a CPA is not a stress-free job. It is deadline driven, and involves continuous learning, change, progression, and challenge. While I would not have been satisfied with a more complacent career path, I have definitely had room to improve on how I handle stress, learning to worry less, communicate more, enlist the help of others when needed, and be proactive, to minimize the stresses that are largely inherent in this profession. Personally, dealing with the other side of all of the above outside of work, and finding balance that works for myself and my family, takes conscious effort. There is always endless opportunity at work to take on projects, learn something new, serve additional clients, but those opportunities and pressures have to be balanced with being happy and fulfilled in our non-work lives as well.

What are your short-term goals of your career and yourself?

At this stage my clear short-term goal is making Partner. This is a plan I have been actively working toward with advisors and mentors within Moss Adams and is my next big short-term career goal.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received that has helped you in your success?

An important reminder I’ve received is that we are part of a large firm, and we have lots of help, expertise, and resources, so when things get a little over loaded, we are all a team and we WILL get it done and will get it done in a way that will keep our clients well-served but also be sustainable to myself and others.

What is the piece of advice that you wished you had gotten when you were starting out?

The above! In recent years I have had several positive examples of pulling in other resources, moving around projects, and seeing successful examples of work getting done but not all falling on, or staying on, my own shoulders to finish things out that get behind or where a curveball is thrown in to the mix. It would have been a huge relief earlier on in my career if I had asked for help more and had experiences like this.

What advice do you give to others to help them be better leaders?

Give and gain respect by genuinely caring about and supporting your team, while also remaining consistent and fair about what it takes to meet expectations and to be a successful part of the team.

As a thank you to our interview and Protea’s commitment to more diverse and inclusive leaders, Protea will make a donation to Vital Voices (https://www.vitalvoices.org/). Vital Voices Global Partnership is a global movement that invests in women leaders who are solving the world’s greatest challenges. They are “venture catalysts,” identifying those with a daring vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. They scale and accelerate impact through long term investments to expand skills, connections, capacity, and visibility. Over the last 22 years, we have built a network of 18,000 change-makers across 182 countries who are collectively daring to reimagine a more equitable world for all.

Find Your Bookkeeper

We provide your organization a true end-to-end solution to all of your bookkeeping needs. Tax season is year-round to Protea – if you aren’t preparing daily, it’s easy to fall behind. We are always working with your organization to streamline your business’s reports and accounting processes.

Protea Conversations: Wilder Clements

Protea Conversations: Wilder Clements

Protea Financial was founded in 2014 to provide high quality out-sourced accounting at an affordable price.  Given Protea’s flexible work environment, the Company especially appealed to accountants who wanted to re-enter the work force after taking time off to start a family. This allowed Protea to attract extremely talented individuals who were overlooked.  Over 80% of both Protea’s leadership and accounting teams are women.

We selected the name Protea because is the national flower of South Africa and is a symbol of our connection. The Protea flower has become an ornamental flower because of this striking beauty and is included in arrangements and bouquets as a symbol of courage or daring to be better or a sign of positive transformation.

Protea Conversations focuses on successful woman in business and their achievements.  The hope is that these conversations will create a forum to discuss the experiences, opportunities, and challenges women face, and how we can build a more diverse, inclusive, and successful environment for everyone.

This month we have a conversation with Wilder Clements. Wilder is the Principal Attorney and Founder of Clements Employment Law, P.C. Wilder is a labor and employment attorney focused on serving the needs of culture-first organizations and businesses and advises individuals who have been treated unfairly at work.

Wilder brings over a decade of labor and employment law practice to their law firm, which is LGBT owned. Wilder has been recognized as a Northern California SuperLawyer Rising Star.

Prior to starting their own firm, Wilder practiced labor and employment law as Senior Counsel at a major San Francisco Bay Area law firm. With clients ranging from large public agencies, to large healthcare providers, to start-ups and small businesses. Previously, Wilder served as counsel to the Berkeley Law Center on Health, Economic & Family Security, where they developed model legislation for national paid family leave. While attending Berkeley Law, Wilder served as a law clerk for the City and County of San Francisco and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Wilder was also a senior policy advocate the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., where they lobbied Congress to extend workplace protections to LGBT people.

Wilder devotes a significant portion of their services to pro bono and sliding scale legal assistance, including representing asylum-seekers, advising local nonprofits on employment law issues, and assisting with criminal justice reform impact litigation. They are an active member of the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Sonoma County Bar Association, and the National LGBT Bar Association.

Originally from the Great Plains, Wilder maintains a deep love of the outdoors and wild, open space. When they are not practicing law, you can find them hiking a trail or camping in their Airstream or a tent with their family, usually somewhere in beautiful Sonoma County.

 

Tell us about your journey and how did it happened that you started Clements Employment Law, P.C.?

After I graduated from Berkeley Law with an emphasis in labor and employment law, I worked for a large firm in San Francisco. But my original roots are small town – my father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all small law firm practitioners in Nebraska. They also had other entrepreneurial enterprises. I always longed for the close connection they had with their clients and community. I wanted to take my significant experience and start a culture-first law firm that helps California businesses and workers thrive in the 21st century workplace. So, I took a risk to offer something I thought was missing in California labor and employment legal services: high quality counsel, transparent fees, and an eye towards putting people first, who are a company’s biggest asset.

I founded Clements Employment Law, P.C. on the desire and vision to provide high quality employment counsel to businesses and organizations committed to developing a positive, inclusive workplace culture.

Protea Financial Labor and Employment Law Angela Clements

What has been the biggest challenge you have experienced in reaching your current success (personally and professionally)?

Self-doubt and being willing to ignore the naysayers! Every risk I have ever taken has been worth it. Even when I “fail,” I learn something very valuable.  It is very important to be in the right mindset to succeed as an entrepreneur.

What are your short-term goals of your career and yourself?

I want to continue to be a leader in offering high-quality, values-driven employment law counsel to California businesses and organizations. I want to educate business and Human Resources leaders about the importance of tending to organizational culture. A negative workplace culture is absolutely a legal liability for companies that do not tend to it.  I want to take my significant background and knowledge of diversity, equity and inclusion to companies, while helping them with the day-to-day HR headaches that come up in California (wage and hour law, for example!).

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received that has helped you in your success?

It is ok to ask for help, especially during the multiple crises we have faced – wildfires, COVID-19. Everyone has their own struggle.  It’s okay to share yours.

What is the piece of advice that you wished you had gotten when you were starting out?

Don’t obsess about your monthly financials. Plan quarterly. Have faith.

What advice you give to others to help them be better leaders?

At the end of the day, employees don’t remember what you say to them or what is in your employee handbook. They remember how you made them feel.  From my perspective, most big legal employment problems first started out as a small problem. My strength is helping companies tend to those small problems so they do not cause financial and reputational issues down the line.

As a thank you to our interview and Protea’s commitment to more diverse and inclusive leaders, Protea will make a donation to Vital Voices (https://www.vitalvoices.org/). Vital Voices Global Partnership is a global movement that invests in leaders who are solving the world’s greatest challenges. They are “venture catalysts,” identifying those with a daring vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. They scale and accelerate impact through long term investments to expand skills, connections, capacity, and visibility. Over the last 22 years, we have built a network of 18,000 change-makers across 182 countries who are collectively daring to reimagine a more equitable world for all.

Find Your Bookkeeper

We provide your organization a true end-to-end solution to all of your bookkeeping needs. Tax season is year-round to Protea – if you aren’t preparing daily, it’s easy to fall behind. We are always working with your organization to streamline your business’s reports and accounting processes.

Protea Conversations: Yuko Tsuchida

Protea Conversations: Yuko Tsuchida

Protea Financial was founded in 2014 to provide high quality out-sourced accounting at an affordable price.  Given Protea’s flexible work environment, the Company especially appealed to accountants who wanted to re-enter the work force after taking time off to start a family. This allowed Protea to attract extremely talented individuals who were overlooked.  Over 80% of both Protea’s leadership and accounting teams are women.

We selected the name Protea because is the national flower of South Africa and is a symbol of our connection. The Protea flower has become an ornamental flower because of this striking beauty and is included in arrangements and bouquets as a symbol of courage or daring to be better or a sign of positive transformation.

Protea Conversations focuses on successful woman in business and their achievements.  The hope is that these conversations will create a forum to discuss the experiences, opportunities, and challenges women face, and how we can build a more diverse, inclusive, and successful environment for everyone.

Yuko is the founder and Managing Director of Hito, LLC. Hito help companies reduce taxes utilizing different tax codes. During her career, she has helped small to Fortune 500 companies save over $100 million dollars in taxes.

Yuko began her career with KPMG in downtown Los Angeles preparing tax returns for multinational companies. After few years, she decided to start a boutique tax consulting firm with her former business partner, where she had successful exit in 2016.

Yuko enjoys being involved in the Entrepreneur Organization and volunteering for UCI and Cal State Fullerton as a mentor. In her free time, she loves being active from running and skiing to surfing. She loves to cook and spend time with family and friends.

Tell us about your journey and how did it happened that you started Hito, LLC?

I was born and raised in Japan. I was a funny kid, obsessed with my abacus classes and attended 3-5 times a week after school from 1st grade on. Naturally, I really liked math.

I grew up in a family business where my parents had a small construction business. After the housing bubble burst in 90s, I saw my parents and their entrepreneur friends struggle. I thought to myself that I want to help people like my parents when I grew up.

With my passion towards math, I decided I wanted to become accountant at age 14 since I thought this profession will satisfy both of my wants which were using math and helping business owners.

I started my career with Big 4 accounting firm, where I prepared tax returns for multinational corporations. Although I learned a lot about taxes, I didn’t feel that I was helping businesses. While I was in search for different area of taxes where I can help businesses, my mother got diagnosed with cancer, so I needed flexibility to travel back and forth between Japan and the US. The group I was working for wasn’t able to accommodate my requests.

Therefore, I decided to start a CPA firm with my colleague from KPMG. I wanted to create a firm where professionals can excel their career even if they have family and need more flexibility. The first CPA firm is now called “Think, LLP.” We built an amazing team who were passionate about helping businesses. We focused on discovering strategies for companies to save taxes so that they can reinvest their freed up cash into their businesses. As we grew, I discovered my partner and I had different view for the firm and I witnessed our culture shifted drastically. Therefore, I decided to exit out.

After taking 1.5 years off, going back to school for my MBA, working with a nonprofit organization (orphanage) in Soweto, Johannesburg, and searching for my passion and desire, I decided to start HITO. I wanted to create a culture focused-company where I can work with people I love and care for. We look for people who are humble, hungry, and smart in our employees and also clients we work with. Through the alignment of our culture and value which is upstanding, outstanding, and understanding internally and externally, we are making more impact in our clients businesses and the local communities they are located in. All of us are passionate about tax credits and incentives since our clients reinvest that money into their businesses to grow and a provide better life for their employees through providing better workplace, training, providing opportunities which impact their local communities.

I named this company “HITO” meaning people in Japanese. Although we are providing tax consulting services, I wanted everyone to remember people comes first. We want everyone to remember why they came to work at HITO (making impact in others’ life) and always appreciate people around them. In addition to that, I wanted to dedicate this company to people who influenced me and made me who I am today.

Yuko-Tsuchida

What has been the biggest challenge you have experienced in reaching your current success (personally and professionally)?

My own beliefs. Looking back, I’ve put many limitations in my life because of my internal briefs. I’m still learning why I think certain ways, why certain things trigger me, or why I react the way I do… Many internal beliefs I have are built on family dynamics, cultural, society, traumas, etc. from childhood. Understanding myself allows me to challenge and push myself in the different levels. It is never-ending learning processes and I’m enjoying it.

 

What are your short term goals of your career and yourself?

The short term goal for HITO (my career) is to build a solid team who has similar culture and value. HITO was started in October 2017 and is still fairly young. As we grow, we need quality processionals who can expand our service offering so that we can grow with our clients’ growth. Also, having more like-minded people will allow us to work smarter (not harder) so that all of us can have life outside of the work and create a meaningful life. Having said that, all of us don’t believe in “work life balance.” Instead, we believe in “work life together” meaning that our work and life integrate. All of us believe that we are in it together to win in personal and professional life.

As far as myself… Building businesses have been my passion and baby. I haven’t had fortune to find a man who I want to spend my life with and create a family with. Given my age, I decided to start a family by myself. Raising child without a partner and father is scary… Having said that my family and close friends are excited to have a baby as well as decision I made. I’m in the early stage of the process but I hope to become a mother in 2022 or 2023.

 

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received that has helped you in your success?

I think my success comes from teaching from my parents. They often said “You are the pioneer of your life. Dream big, put your head down, and work hard. Then you can achieve anything you put your mind to. When I encounter hurdles, I always remember to believe in myself that I can do anything I can put my mind to it as long as I work hard and don’t give up!

 

What is the piece of advice that you wished you had gotten when you were starting out?

Be yourself….

As an immigrant, and a woman in the male dominant industry, I felt I should act in the certain ways when I was a young professional. I always felt there was something missing. Leaning how to be more authentic, vulnerable, and being myself created closer relationships with my colleagues and even with clients. For me, I want to create meaningful relationships, whether it is personal or professional. Although it was much easier to pretend to be like someone else professionally, being myself brought me great friends, colleagues, and clients who I really enjoy collaborating and spending time with, and learning from.

 

What advice you give to others to help them be better leaders?

Learn and be aware of who you are.

For me, being a better leader is to be a better person and creating spaces for your team members to express themselves. In order to do so, I need to listen to them to understand, not to react. It is difficult… For me, not to react and to surrender to them, I need to be completely open. I’m still learning and will be always learning how to do this perfectly. Having said that, it helped me a lot to be more open from learning about how I process information and react.

As a thank you to our interview and Protea’s commitment to more diverse and inclusive leaders, Protea will make a donation to Vital Voices (https://www.vitalvoices.org/). Vital Voices Global Partnership is a global movement that invests in women leaders who are solving the world’s greatest challenges. They are “venture catalysts,” identifying those with a daring vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. They scale and accelerate impact through long term investments to expand skills, connections, capacity, and visibility. Over the last 22 years, we have built a network of 18,000 change-makers across 182 countries who are collectively daring to reimagine a more equitable world for all.

Find Your Bookkeeper

We provide your organization a true end-to-end solution to all of your bookkeeping needs. Tax season is year-round to Protea – if you aren’t preparing daily, it’s easy to fall behind. We are always working with your organization to streamline your business’s reports and accounting processes.

Protea Conversations: Carolyn Sweeney

Protea Conversations: Carolyn Sweeney

Protea Financial was founded in 2014 to provide high quality out-sourced accounting at an affordable price.  Given Protea’s flexible work environment, the Company especially appealed to accountants who wanted to re-enter the work force after taking time off to start a family. This allowed Protea to attract extremely talented individuals who were overlooked.  Over 80% of both Protea’s leadership and accounting teams are women.

We selected the name Protea because is the national flower of South Africa and is a symbol of our connection. The Protea flower has become an ornamental flower because of this striking beauty and is included in arrangements and bouquets as a symbol of courage or daring to be better or a sign of positive transformation.

Protea Conversations focuses on successful woman in business and their achievements.  The hope is that these conversations will create a forum to discuss the experiences, opportunities, and challenges women face, and how we can build a more diverse, inclusive, and successful environment for everyone.

In August 2021 we have a conversation with Carolyn Sweeney. Carolyn is the Managing Director of Century Group‘s Walnut Creek, California office. During the course of her career, she’s filled thousands of direct hire searches and temporary assignments for leading Bay Area companies and is known for her deep network, professionalism and for building award-winning teams.

Prior to joining Century Group, Carolyn spent 17 years with an international NYSE traded staffing firm where she won multiple awards for exceptional performance and leadership.

She has been recognized as Partner of the Year by the FPA of the East Bay for her contributions to the business community and is presently the acting President for the Accounting and Finance Women’s Alliance, where she’s served on the board and has been an active member for more than 10 years.

Carolyn also enjoys being involved with her children’s school and her Saint Mary’s College alumni community. In her free time she loves music, plays Guitar and Ukulele and writes songs.  She loves to cook and spend time with family and friends and her dog a Black Lab named Hank and Cat named Betty Badass.

Protea Financial Conversations carolyn sweeney

How did you get into the recruiting game and what was the journey to your current role as Managing Director at Century Group?

I went to Saint Mary’s College and got a Federal Work Study Job at the Career Development Center helping the students get part time jobs doing babysitting, lawn mowing etc.  I LOVED that job!  My boss, Patty Bishop was the BEST! We had so much fun at work, it felt like I should pay Saint Mary’s to work there- seriously, the students were hilarious and the people in the community who needed help were so precious.  We really enjoyed the delightful process of connecting people together in a mutually beneficial way.  I thought, “I want to do this forever!”

I started actively pursuing a career in recruiting and met with many many firms.  Finally I got a few offers and picked one to work in Downtown Oakland for a large public firm.  I got in to the staffing business at a tough time.  I started about 3 months before the attacks of September 11th, 2001 happened.  It was a bad market and very challenging to find people opportunities.  I learned, however, that even in the most difficult markets, there are still opportunities!  I was able to learn from experienced partners and find people jobs. After some time, got promoted to being a Senior Staffing Manager and Division Director. I led branches and multiple teams and I really loved it and still do.  After more than 17 years with the big firm, I was ready for a change.

A recruiter found me for Century Group and totally changed my life. By changing firms and going to a smaller privately held firm, I was able to upgrade my employment experience tremendously.  I get to report directly to the CEO and COO of Century Group and I love the collaboration with them.  I also got to launch in a completely new market for Century Group and I love the better compensation and closeness of a smaller privately held firm. 

 

What has been the biggest challenge you have experienced in reaching your current success (personally and professionally)?

Over 10 years ago, a dear colleague passed away suddenly after we had worked together for a decade.  Our whole office was in mourning.  I had never experienced such visceral grief with so many daily reminders.  Natalie Dennis was a treasure of a person and beloved by her clients and the greater community.  She helped so many people find great jobs. She was extremely successful, smart, enthusiastic and funny (and beautiful!) Seeing her empty desk, and her name everywhere in our computer database… it was so sad.  Learning to function as an individual and as a leader with a grieving team was something I had never experienced before.  It’s one thing to grieve personally, but to be on an entire team affected by loss and grief was a whole new challenge.  The biggest thing I learned from that was the power of candor and how bonding it could be to say honestly… “this all feels meaningless right now”. I also learned how to create safe space for other people to get thru tough stuff and I got a lot better at accepting support and help myself because I really needed it during that time.  I’m still grateful for my team and my boss who helped me thru that time.

Additionally, navigating coming back to work after having my first child was a doozey.  The market had fallen apart while I was on leave, and when I returned, my business was a shadow of its former self. None of my professional clothes fit. I was sleep deprived and had to shut myself in a phone closet to pump breastmilk twice a day.  There were so many times during those days when I thought: “Is this what ALL returning to work Moms’ experience??  Tell me it isn’t so!” Some things have gotten better in many places, but that adjustment from person to parent is not to be underestimated. 

 

What are your short term goals of your career and yourself?

 My short term goal is to hire 2 more partners to help continue our growth and ensure that everyone has all the tools and resources they need to succeed.  Long term, I want to have built a lasting brand in the Bay Area for Century Group, see both my kids graduate college as confident, contributing tax paying citizens.  At the end of it all, I want to look back and see that I have built a well-lived life filled with friends, adventure, positive impact and meaning.

 

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received that has helped you in your success?

Best piece of advice… tough one!  I’ve benefitted from so much great advice.  One piece of advice I got early in my career from Susan Afan was, “Dream really big and go after it as hard as you can.  Don’t go after a small goal, because when you get it you might be left to wonder what else you might have been able to do, or if you miss and get less, you are in such a low spot.  Shoot for the moon and if you miss at least you can land amongst the stars.”

 

What is the piece of advice that you wished you had gotten when you were starting out?

You are never as bad as you feared or as great as you fantasized.  Don’t be so dramatic about yourself… Just do your best and keep going.

 

What advice you give to others to help them be better leaders?

Check in regularly.  So many leaders avoid this until there is urgency or a problem that needs to be addressed, but I truly believe that regular check ins help keep good performers on track, helps weed out poor performers or mis hires sooner and helps increase the feeling of connection and purpose thereby increasing employee morale and retention.  This means checking in sometimes even without a big agenda… like “How are you doing?  Need anything from me?  Good plans this weekend?”  It can feel frivolous, but I promise you it’s worth the investment and showing you care.

 

As a thank you to our interview and Protea’s commitment to more diverse and inclusive leaders, Protea will make a donation to Vital Voices. Vital Voices Global Partnership is a global movement that invests in women leaders who are solving the world’s greatest challenges. They are “venture catalysts,” identifying those with a daring vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. They scale and accelerate impact through long-term investments to expand skills, connections, capacity, and visibility. Over the last 22 years, we have built a network of 18,000 change-makers across 182 countries who are collectively daring to reimagine a more equitable world for all.

Find Your Bookkeeper

We provide your organization a true end-to-end solution to all of your bookkeeping needs. Tax season is year-round to Protea – if you aren’t preparing daily, it’s too easy to get behind. We are always working with your organization to streamline your business’s reports and accounting processes.

Protea Conversations: Tracey Welch

Protea Conversations: Tracey Welch

Protea Financial was founded in 2014 to provide high quality out-sourced accounting at an affordable price.  Given Protea’s flexible work environment, the Company especially appealed to accountants who wanted to re-enter the work force after taking time off to start a family. This allowed Protea to attract extremely talented individuals who were overlooked.  Over 80% of both Protea’s leadership and accounting teams are women.

We selected the name Protea because is the national flower of South Africa and is a symbol of our connection. The Protea flower has become an ornamental flower because of this striking beauty and is included in arrangements and bouquets as a symbol of courage or daring to be better or a sign of positive transformation.

Protea Conversations focuses on successful woman in business and their achievements.  The hope is that these conversations will create a forum to discuss the experiences, opportunities, and challenges women face, and how we can build a more diverse, inclusive, and successful environment for everyone.

Tracey Welch is an accounting and finance professional (CPA) with hands on experience in multiple industries, most recently in wine, agriculture, and winery management software. After obtaining a BS in Accounting at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and passing the CPA exam, she progressed through the ranks from staff consultant to senior manager at Price Waterhouse in financial systems consulting. She has worked in businesses ranging from family-owned to multinational corporations and has also had the opportunity to run her own business. She has strong project management and exceptional communication and presentation skills.

Currently, Tracey is the centerpoint of the long-term goal of making DaVero Farms & Winery sustainable economically, as well as agriculturally and environmentally. In addition to the normal juggling of the books and internal administration, she coordinates all of the certifications, including Biodynamic®, organic, and Fish Friendly Farming, as well as production. Tracey is also the President of CompleteDTC, a comprehensive DTC management system, where her passion for great customer service and support is driven this system to exceed expectations of its users.

Tracey is married to Carter, a business coach, and they have 3 almost-adult sons.  Since their nest is semi-empty, they spend a lot of free time playing golf together.  She’s also very active in her church, working with both youth and women’s groups.  Now, that life is almost back to normal, Tracey is excited about doing more travelling to see family around the country and (hopefully soon) going abroad again.

 

How did you get into the wine industry and what was the journey to your current role at DaVero Farms & Winery? 

I didn’t set out to get into the wine industry but it’s proved to be a really rewarding and interesting industry.  I love working with people who are so passionate about the entire life cycle of the product from the agricultural side to harvest/crush, making wine, selling wine and building and maintaining customer relationships. My background was as a CPA and financial systems consultant at Price Waterhouse Coopers from the time I graduated from college to the time I had my first child.  I stayed at home raising my boys for about ten years which was about the same time my husband took a new job in Northern California.  When we moved here, I was looking for a position where I could start part-time and move into full-time as the boys got older.  The first job that I applied for that fit that description was at DaVero and it just happened to be in the wine industry.  It really felt like I was meant to be there.

 

What has been the biggest challenge you have experienced in reaching your current success (personally and professionally)? 

Both leaving and reentering the work force to be at home with my kids was challenging.  While I think it was the right choice for my family to stay home, I missed the intellectual challenge of being in the working world.  I definitely went through a mini-identity crisis those first few months.  And then coming back into the work world, there was the challenge of balancing work life and personal life and playing catch-up to some degree in what I had missed while being at home for ten years. The balance got easier and easier the older my boys were and the catch-up was much quicker and easier than I had imagined it would be.  And the great thing is that I don’t regret my decisions at all.

 

What are your short term goals of your career and yourself? 

In addition to my role at DaVero, the owner and I are involved in an exciting launch of a winery management software system for small direct-to-consumer wineries called CompleteDTC.  Our goal is to increase our market share dramatically over the next few years.  I’m looking forward to introducing CompleteDTC to wineries all over the country and helping them grow their businesses.

 

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received that has helped you in your success? 

There are two things my dad advised me to do that have served me well.  First, in middle school he made me take a typing class which I didn’t want to do because I told him that didn’t want to be a secretary.  But now that I’m on a computer all the time, I’m so thankful I’ve got that skill.  Second, he really encouraged me to major in accounting.  It has opened so many doors for me including my first job and helping me to reenter the workforce after I had my family.  It’s a skill that’s always in demand but also in terms of education, I think it really helped me to understand business from a higher and more wholistic level.

 

What is the piece of advice that you wished you had gotten when you were starting out?

To look at a career as more of a journey that doesn’t have to be a straight path of just climbing the corporate ladder.  It’s been fine to take detours along the way including trying new industries, new positions,  moving to new places, working for myself, being in a start-up and even jumping off the ladder entirely for a time.

 

What advice you give to others to help them be better leaders?

To not be afraid to be themselves and to stick to their values and principles.  At the same time, not to ignore where they have weaknesses and see out advice, help or training that they need to fill those gaps.

 

As a thank you to our interview and Protea’s commitment to more diverse and inclusive leaders, Protea will make a donation to Vital Voices (https://www.vitalvoices.org/). Vital Voices Global Partnership is a global movement that invests in women leaders who are solving the world’s greatest challenges. They are “venture catalysts,” identifying those with a daring vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. They scale and accelerate impact through long term investments to expand skills, connections, capacity, and visibility. Over the last 22 years, we have built a network of 18,000 change-makers across 182 countries who are collectively daring to reimagine a more equitable world for all.