Meghan De Gennaro, CPA

I got into accounting and finance from my high school history teacher and my high school accounting teacher. Ms. Merkle really paved the pathway for me to get into this field, so I credit a lot of getting to this point from them from the beginning. Throughout the way, I've had so many people that I could name that have just been so kind and helpful. I've had two notable professional mentors that I speak to quite often, and I'm very grateful for them. What we do is such a unique space, and not just because it's the theme of influential women, but it's a unique space because there's not a lot of women in it. I was happy that they gave a chance on me, and I credit them for bringing me to where I am now.

I would say, first and foremost, don't let anybody tell you you can't do it. I would be a cheerleader and an encourager. I would sit there and let them also take the lead and charge. One big thing about me is that anybody that comes in, I try to give them as much context and as much background into what we're doing as possible, so that they know how to respond or be a leader on their own way. I've had an associate right now, her name's Kayla, who came to us from a project management background and she never studied tax before. What we did is we took some extra time together, so I would invite her to all the meetings that we have on our finance transformation project so she can see how other people interact with each other, and then meet with her after and say, what did you gain from this experience? And then in the next meeting, I would ping her and say, you know this, you can save the points now and make her own name, make her own brand. I get very invested when young women come and they want to be in our field, just because it's more of a growing field for women. For me, I'm just trying to be as approachable as possible and create a safe space for everybody to thrive.

One of the biggest opportunities in tax and accounting right now is the growing demand for tax expertise within financial transformation projects and international collaboration, while another important challenge—and opportunity—is increasing female representation in the field and continuing to develop strong leadership and management skills among women professionals.

One of the things that I like to do is work with my local parish food pantry. During the holidays and throughout the year, I try to get involved to help feed those who need more food or need assistance in that way. I was also involved with Habitat for Humanity at one point. I really liked that organization because I think that giving back to the community is super important. I like that Habitat for Humanity takes into the housing situation and tries to give affordable housing to those who may need it. I really love that organization and I really love the food pantry and what they do at my church, too. So I try to go and get involved with that as much as I can. Expanding the network and especially finding other women that are in the same leadership roles or similar leadership roles is really important to me. Being validated is, of course, very nice, and I do appreciate and love that. I also think it's a way to inspire other women to get involved in their work, in their communities, in their lives.