CPA Trendlines

A lifetime ago, two mentors set a young student straight.

Salvatore A. Inserra, CPA
Partner, Porter Keadle Moore, LLP

At 20 years old the world was a blank canvas with vast opportunities and yet it looks like a map without road references. Even after staring at the map you cannot quite figure how to get to your goal or where you goal is. All that said, I thought I knew exactly the path to take. Until I was set straight.

In college I was employed by JP Morgan. Just a part time employee who transferred from department to department. It did not bother me much because I enjoyed the change. At the time, I was enrolled in the City University of N.Y. pursuing an economics degree. The department I was working in, when I met my mentors, was the accounting and analysis group. I basically had 12 bosses. If I was going to be honest about it I should name all 12 as mentors but there were two that stuck out – Diane Makoujy and Lou Vitali.

Lou and Diane were officers with the bank who had come out of the Big Eight. Sharp, witty, successful. Great role models. I would have sought their input but they did not wait for me to ask. The provided me guidance on everything – how to dress more professionally, how to show your “smarts” in a tasteful manner, how to be successful in a team environment and they changed my career goal completely.

After about 2 months with the group, Lou and Diane decided to take me to lunch and double team me. They were going to convince me to change my major to accounting … and they were not going to take no for an answer. It is one of five days that changed my life.

After disrupting my life and putting me on a new path, both of the meddlers, along with the other 10 members of the group, provided me with 2 year internship in accounting and analysis. The kind of experience that students hope to see before entering the real world. They ensured I was always challenged and provided me the guidance necessary so that a college student surrounded by top flight talent would not lose his confidence.

As I wrapped up my college career it was time to look for a job in the real world. I wanted to take the path of my mentors. Big Eight accounting firms was the only place for me. Unfortunately, the Big Eight did not view the university I attended as a top flight school and as a result I hit a wall. A wall is only a temporary obstacle.

My mentors – all 12 of them – heard of my plight and went into high gear. They called folks at the firms they used to work for. They called schedulers, peers, HR managers and partners. They put their reputation on the line for me and insisted that I be given a chance to interview. And they did not take any chances there either. Lou and Diane made me go through practice interviews hitting me with questions and teaching me that an interview should be a conversation. They taught me well as I received offers from all but one of the Big Eight.

I left JPM and it was bitter sweet. Other than my family, I don’t know remember anyone giving so much of themselves to benefit me. Their assistance was life changing and a key to who and what I am today. Twenty three years later, I am a partner with Porter Keadle Moore in Atlanta – far from Wall Street. Not day goes by where I don’t draw upon something Lou and Diane taught me. I try hard every day to honor what they did for me by looking to pass on what I learned to others. Hopefully, there will be a person in the future who will think I had made a difference in their career.

Thank you Lou and Diane.

Sal earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from the City University of New York. He has extensive experience including nine years with international accounting firms and two years with a super-regional national bank. Sal specializes in working with SEC-registered companies and has significant experience in strategic planning, stock offerings including registration statements, and audit committee education programs. He serves on the PKF North American Network (PKFNAN) Accounting and Auditing Committee, which keeps its 90+ member firms abreast of regulatory changes. He also served on PKFNAN’s Sarbanes-Oxley Task Force, which was responsible for educating member firms on the early developments of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He participated in interviews with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on behalf of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to review the effects of Sarbanes-Oxley on small public and private companies and is serving on a PCAOB panel on Auditing in the Small Company Environment. Sal has been an instructor for a number of seminars on accounting and managerial issues including Sarbanes-Oxley 404 implementation and he spearheads the firm’s quarterly CFO/Controller Peer Group meetings for bankers. He is an active member of the Financial Institution Committee of the Georgia Society of CPAs. He is a member of the AICPA and serves on the association’s Financial Institutions Conference planning committee.

Posted June 12, 2008