Her Story
About Katee
Katee Monahan, CPA, CFE, is a Partner at Louis Plung & Company, a Pittsburgh-based independent accounting firm with more than 105 years of history. With 13 years in public accounting, she leads engagement teams and serves as a trusted advisor to clients navigating complex accounting issues, strengthening financial reporting, and applying accounting standards to challenging business situations. Her work spans privately held businesses, manufacturing and construction companies, nonprofits, investment funds, and employee benefit plans, with particular depth in guiding plan sponsors through reporting, compliance, and audit requirements. Earlier in her career, she spent nearly twelve years at S.R. Snodgrass, P.C., rising from Senior Associate External Audit to Assurance Principal before joining Louis Plung & Company.
A graduate of Westminster College with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Monahan built her career in the assurance and external audit space, developing particular expertise in financial institutions before broadening her focus to the industries she serves today. Reaching partner status early in her career, in a field still working toward gender balance, stands out as one of her defining professional achievements. She holds both CPA and CFE credentials and is an active member of the AICPA, PICPA, and ACFE. During her time at her previous firm, she founded a philanthropy committee to expand community engagement, and she currently serves as Treasurer for her local elementary school's PTO.
Monahan's contributions to the profession have been formally recognized through the PICPA Young Leader Award in 2025 and the Young Lady Leader Award through AICPA, both honoring accomplished professionals under 40. She credits her achievements to hard work, intentionality, and a willingness to embrace discomfort as a catalyst for growth, values she attributes in part to strong mentors who pushed her beyond her limits. Guided by honesty, clear communication, faith, and family, she brings the same intentional mindset to her personal life as she does to her career, striving to be fully present in whichever role she is in at any given moment.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Katee
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to hard work, confidence, and knowing my own worth. My dad always told me to be my own cheerleader rather than stand on the sidelines of my own life, and that advice has stayed with me. I've also leaned on intentionality, the guidance of strong mentors and role models who pushed me beyond my comfort zone, and the confidence to say no to opportunities that weren't aligned with my strengths.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received is that you can't give 100% to everything at the same time, so you have to be intentional about where your focus goes. When I'm at work, I give 100% to work, and when I'm with my family, I give 100% to them. Being intentional in each season allows me to be fully present and effective wherever I am.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Setbacks are going to happen, but I encourage young women to treat them as learning experiences rather than personal failures. Get comfortable being uncomfortable, because real growth comes from leaning into those uncomfortable situations. Lean into your ambition and don't shy away from opportunities to grow, even when they push you outside your comfort zone.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I see learning to use AI as a tool as one of the biggest opportunities in our field right now. It allows us to reduce manual, repetitive tasks so we can focus more of our time and energy on advising clients and meeting their higher-value needs.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty and clear communication are values I hold close in everything I do, along with faith and family, which remain central priorities in both my professional and personal life.
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