Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

When the Belonging at HORNE Sponsor Program was introduced to me, I sincerely thought that it was a “nice” concept, but I was SURE I knew exactly where my career was heading. There was no doubt in my mind I was in the driver’s seat. Sure, early in my career I needed help and to this day am very appreciative of the individuals that guided me. Honestly, the thought that kept going over and over in my head was that this program would be great only for individuals who are just embarking on their career and navigating new waters.

C’mon, with over fifteen years managing and developing team members with whom I assisted in their professional growth (including direct impact to their career) surely I knew how to steer MY own career. Or so I thought…

“Creative accounting”… When you search Wikipedia for “cooking the books,” you are cross referenced to creative accounting. It’s interesting to me that this euphemistic term has such a negative connotation. It has long been a way of referencing accounting practices that may literally uphold the laws and regs under which we practice, but often practices that miss the intent, or spirit, of the law. I want to challenge this way of thinking about creative accounting.  Why? Because I know that creativity in the accounting profession is a requirement—we’re not compromising ethical standards, not at all. But the concept of creativity means understanding that business as usual is not at all the business of the future. Or, as we say at HORNE, status quo is not an option!

Last week, team members from across the country met in New Orleans, Louisiana for our annual HORNE Leadership Summit. Helping to make the summit a success, we invited Meridith Elliott Powell to be one of the keynote speakers. Her recent blog sheds light on our firm from an outside view and we want to say thank you to Meridith Elliott Powell. Thanks for your leadership, kind words and for this incredible recap of our journey to building the Wise Firm. (Excerpt below, click link for full blog.)

This week our team shared “Sunday Lunch” together in New Orleans for our annual HORNE Leadership Summit. We had a great time! But, we were also challenged. Holding nothing back, Executive Partner Joey Havens asked us all: “Are you ready to lead as we build the Wise Firm together?”

What an important question! And, I think we all have a better understanding now, that we each have to make the intentional choice to lead.

As a talent recruiter for the firm, that is a question I get a lot.  And, quite honestly, I think there are a lot of reasons I could tell you. We each connect our personal purpose to the Horne accounting firm in different ways. For me, it’s the Wise Firm we’re building. But, instead of sharing only my opinion, I’d like to share what other team members are saying.

You see, we actually asked our team members, “What makes HORNE a place where people want to work?”  The top three answers were 1.) Fearless Unrivaled Flexibility 2.) Belonging at HORNE and 3.) a “beBetter” mindset.

Last week I told you about the first four differences I’ve experienced since I’ve been at HORNE. Below, I round out the list with the last three differences and why I am choosing HORNE.

5. HORNE Values People Before Profits

The support at the HORNE business advisory firm is exceptional. The sense of belonging is encouraging and fosters an environment of positive people who feel a connection with the work they do. HORNE realizes that people are much more effective when they actually enjoy what they do.

In September of 2014, I was under the impression that just about every accounting firm was the same, except that some were just larger than others. That completely changed nine months later when I began interning at HORNE. During my internship, I have learned a lot about accounting, but I’ve also learned a lot about culture and what makes one firm different from another. In particular, I’ve learned what makes HORNE so different from other public accounting firms.

My wife and I take walks during the week. It’s hard since we both work full-time jobs, but it’s an investment we make time for as often as we can.  During our walks, we cover a wide range of topics from money, to in-laws, to you-name-it. Today, we hit heads and identified some key areas that we both struggle with. In order to work through those things, we’ve determined that we need to speak the other’s language, and speak it well.

I read something that startled me recently. According to a report titled “The Future of Work,” only 29% of employees believe they can achieve their dreams where they currently work.* Even more startling, when the report removed the executives and entrepreneurs from the data, that number dropped to only 9.8% who believed they could achieve their dreams where they currently work.**

Now, let’s add perspective. Those surveyed were not “unhappy” people. Of the same exact population: