Her Story
About Julia
Julia Griggs serves as Growth Strategy Manager at Sweeney Conrad, where she drives organic growth for the firm across all service lines by triaging leads and matching clients with the appropriate CPA team members based on industry expertise and business needs. She began her career in accounting in 2018 as a marketing intern at a top 10 local firm that was later acquired by a national firm, later pivoting to business development. Griggs earned her bachelor's degree in business administration with a marketing concentration and an Italian minor from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after growing up in Bellingham, Washington, with a goal of returning to the Seattle area. She has completed RAIN training for sales and a digital marketing certification program. Griggs attributes her success to a willingness to ask hard questions and challenge traditional methods in an industry she describes as historically stale, and she values making an impact through her high-visibility role supporting partners and managers on business development, networking, and client presentations. As a self-described 99 percent extrovert, she thrives on connecting with colleagues and clients while coaching her team with the ethos of being the person she wishes she had in their position.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Julia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think not being afraid to be curious and ask the hard questions. Like, why have we been doing it this way? What if we try doing it this way? From an early age I didn't really have that fear of authority. I was happy to pave a path a bit. In an industry like accounting that has been historically stale, you need that voice in the room.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Be the person you wish you had. That's my ethos - how I manage a team, how I coach my team up. Who, if I was in their shoes, would I need right now?
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. Even if it's a role that doesn't exist yet, there's so much innovation that still needs to happen in the accounting industry, so if you have an idea on something that would provide value to the workplace, or fill up your cup personally, don't be afraid to ask your leadership team.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
For the industry, there's not as many people entering the industry as exiting and retiring, so succession planning and upskilling the more junior staff is always top of mind. We have built out internal processes like shadowing on every client and stronger training models to prepare the next generation of CPAs. AI is being incorporated with proprietary software that helps prioritize emails and automate tasks.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being able to make an impact is always what fills my cup up. This is a high-impact role where I get to work with every partner, manager, and senior manager helping them achieve their goals and upskill on business development, networking, and presenting. I'm a people person at heart, 99% extroverted, so the ability to connect with so many awesome individuals really makes my day-to-day go by fast.
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