Her Story
About Syma
Syma Molla-Ahmad, CPA, is an Assurance Managing Director at RSM US LLP with 16 years of experience in public accounting and approximately 14 years specializing in private clubs and common interest realty associations. In her current leadership role, she serves as a trusted advisor to clients in the hospitality sector, including country clubs, yacht clubs, and golf clubs, as well as organizations that combine residential and club components. She leads assurance engagements, oversees audit opinions, develops client relationships, and provides strategic guidance to organizations navigating complex financial and operational considerations.
Syma began her professional career at RSM after completing her graduate studies, progressing through positions including Assurance Associate, Senior Assurance Associate, Supervisor, Manager, Senior Director, and ultimately Managing Director. During her graduate studies at Florida Atlantic University, she also served as a teaching assistant. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Accounting from Florida Atlantic University and earned her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license around 2013–2014. Her career reflects a combination of technical accounting expertise, client service, team leadership, and a commitment to continuous professional development.
Beyond her client responsibilities, Syma is actively engaged in the hospitality and financial technology community through Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), where she serves as President of the Gold Coast Chapter. She also contributes to Champions Empowering Champions, mentoring students who have experienced foster care and participating in educational programming. Syma attributes her success to the values of integrity, hard work, continuous growth, and relationship building instilled by her family. She is passionate about mentoring others and believes the accounting profession offers young professionals—particularly women—a flexible and rewarding career with opportunities to continually learn, work across industries, develop transferable skills, and transition successfully into private industry.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Syma
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my upbringing and the values instilled in me by my family, particularly integrity and hard work. Success was never primarily about money for me. My parents taught me to maintain the highest level of integrity, work hard, never stop believing in myself, and continue growing throughout my career. I also believe strongly in building meaningful relationships, developing teams, and helping others grow.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The importance of continuing to learn, building strong relationships, and developing skills that remain transferable across different career paths.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would encourage young women to seriously consider accounting as a career path because it provides continuous opportunities to learn and grow. No two days are the same, and you have the opportunity to work with teams while learning from peers, partners, and senior managers. The profession also allows you to explore different industries and develop highly transferable skills. If you eventually move into private industry, the breadth of knowledge and experience gained in public accounting can give you a significant advantage.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges is the declining number of students pursuing accounting degrees as younger generations explore alternative career paths. At the same time, AI, business intelligence, and other digital tools are creating significant opportunities for the profession to evolve and become more efficient. I see technology as an opportunity to enhance how we work while allowing accounting professionals to focus even more on analysis, relationships, and strategic client service.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Faith, positivity, balance, integrity, and hard work are extremely important to me. I also place a strong value on building meaningful relationships and helping others grow. Whether I am working with clients, developing a team, mentoring students, or navigating my personal life, I try to lead with integrity, maintain perspective and balance, and create opportunities for the people around me to succeed.
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