Kelly Mann: Women in Leadership, Thriving Against All Odds | ARC

“I’d go through cancer again before I’d go back to not having confidence.”

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Accounting ARC
With Arpan Grewal
Center for Accounting Transformation

More ARC: Analysis, Reaction, Comedy

When Kelly Mann left her public accounting job, she had no clients, no roadmap, and no guarantee of success. But what she did have was a vision—and a willingness to take risks. Today, she is the CEO of AuditMiner, a groundbreaking software company that simplifies 401(k) audits for CPA firms across the country. 

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“I was always told to stop being a bull in a china shop,” Mann recalls. “But I realized I was okay with being a bull—I just needed to leave the china shop.” That realization set her on the path to entrepreneurship. 

In 2020, Mann was preparing to launch AuditMiner when she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Facing both a global pandemic and a personal health battle, she nearly gave up.