1. Meet the hosts — Leah McCool & Aminder Mann, CPA

• Transcript

  Okay, I am Leah, Leah McCool, and I own Orca Accounting.

  My name's Aminder Mann, and I own Sequoia CPA.

  For anyone that is listening right now to our very first podcast, which I'm fully expecting for there to be like maybe, like my mom listens, you know, maybe my husband.

  But for anyone who is listening, this is our first attempt at recording a podcast episode.

  And so this is, yes, so this is step one to the rest of our podcasting journey.

  Yes, you get to come along with us.

  You get to learn with us.

  Exactly, yes.

  So this really, I guess, started because Aminder reached out to me, let's see, when was it?

  Earlier this year?

  January?

  Yeah, I think it was like January is when I, January or February of this year.

  I can't even remember anymore.

  Yeah.

  So Aminder reached out to me via Instagram and just said, hey, I'm also in the accounting space.

  I'm starting a firm and instantly I just remember seeing it and thinking, wait, this is so cool.

  Like there's someone else that's doing this.

  That's in my area.

  And we just found that we had a lot of similarities with our background, really.

  I mean, just similarities with our work experience and just, I feel like we hit it off instantly and we were both just like really excited to talk to each other.

  We were so excited to talk about accounting.

  So nerdy, but in like a really great way.

  I know, I know.

  I think it was inspiring because we both are women of color in the accounting world and that's so rare.

  I think that's what really excited me.

  It was like, oh no, I'm not the only one.

  This is amazing.

  Let me see everything I can learn.

  Like, and then how can I support, right?

  And just kind of be allies for one another.

  So I think that's what was really inspiring to me.

  And then hearing your story and your journey, I think has been super inspiring and motivating to start my own firm and get going and figuring this out.

  And we're kind of stumbling through it, but we're figuring it out.

  But I also think that it's hard for me to be like, oh, thanks so much, because I feel like I am figuring all this out.

  And so just the fact that where I'm at in my business is potentially inspiring is just so weird.

  It's almost that, wait, like me?

  Because you don't, for anyone that has started a business, it's easy to almost see yourself through someone else's eyes when they talk to you about it.

  But otherwise, you're so in the weeds of what you're doing every single day.

  So you don't have that bird's-eye view of your own journey.

  You don't have that perspective.

  And I think that's kind of our hope too with this podcast is by sharing our own journey to inspire other folks.

  I don't have to know everything, but as long as I know something and there's someone out there that's sharing some details, I can kind of stumble through it myself and support and be there for one another.

  I think that's the biggest goal.

  And if we can do that through this podcast and give some technical knowledge, our own experience knowledge, I think that'll be a great rewarding environment for us.

  Yes, absolutely.

  I know.

  And just for anyone that is meeting us for the first time, so a.k.a.

  not our family or friends that are listening to this because they love us.

  Of course.

  Yeah.

  But we both came from the corporate world, really.

  I mean, the combination of working for established companies and then also from the startup world, I think that was what we really connected on.

  And being both senior accountants that left the industry once reaching that title and then starting their own practices, I think that we have a unique perspective of A.

  Being younger than what people typically are when they leave the industry, which is a journey in itself.

  But it is something that I think it is a unique perspective because we don't want people to think that it's impossible.

  Because I think that that is something that I always thought, working in the industry and thinking, okay, what state, like what is the blueprint here?

  Is there a blueprint?

  Is there an unspoken expectation that people have for you to be working in a startup or in a corporate space?

  So that is something that definitely we are excited and we're just both mutually very excited about our own accounting nerdiness and the businesses that we've started because we have figured out a way to make it work and we're still in the early stages, but it's exciting.

  It is an exciting space to be able to share what we do and how we're figuring it out and stumbling along.

  Yeah, yeah, for sure.

  And I think our uniqueness on our journey that has brought us to opening our accounting firms.

  I love hearing your story.

  I love sharing my story to be able to kind of put into perspective that you don't have to start out with an accounting degree.

  You don't have to work at the big four accounting firms.

  You don't have to have 20 years of work experience before you finally feel ready to start your own accounting firm.

  I think just to be able to share the experience we did get and how we got it and how we ended up here, I think if that inspires anyone else to kind of cheer out and find their own path, their own journey, I'd love to be able to motivate someone that way too and kind of share what brought us here.

  So just kind of digging into our backgrounds here at Leah, do you want to share a little bit about like your roots, your early influences, how did you grow up?

  How did you get into accounting?

  Yes.

  So I grew up in the Sacramento area of California.

  I had a lot of family that were in the entrepreneurship space already.

  Not anything huge as in terms of, they founded a billion dollar startup or that sort of thing.

  But it was always very personal in my family because it helped us live our lives.

  It helped pay for my parents' mortgage.

  It helped put me through school, which I am eternally grateful for because school is expensive.

  Going to school for accounting and anything these days is expensive.

  So I saw the impact that small business and small business finance had on family.

  That really started though when my dad started his own company and that was around 2008.

  And so I really grew up, I'm 25 now, and I saw him through my high school years starting this company from nothing.

  And it was just always very interesting to me because not all of my parents' friends were doing that.

  And so just that idea of, okay, this is possible, that's been really rooted in me since the beginning.

  That's amazing.

  It's inspiring just to see someone else in your family do that on their own.

  It becomes that beacon of like, oh yeah, it's doable.

  Exactly.

  Yeah.

  And I think that a lot of people think, I mean, even me from before I started what I'm doing, it is something where there's a lot of imposter syndrome around.

  And just also it's hard to know where to get started.

  And that was always something where I could go back to my dad and just ask him, even still now, where I'm just asking him all these questions about, you know, how did you know when you were ready?

  How did you, how much money did you have saved in order to start this?

  What's normal here?

  It is all these questions that are not necessarily always, I found it really hard to do research and figure out, okay, is there a plan?

  Is there a formula for this?

  So we're accountants, we want formulas.

  Exactly.

  Yeah, we want rules, we want procedures, we want SOPs.

  Yes.

  And so, so yeah, so that was really what my background was.

  And I think that starting work from a young age, doing admin work and honestly starting bookkeeping in my dad's office was really just the starting point of where I started to think, okay, what do I want to do after high school?

  What am I interested in?

  And that just led me to study accounting eventually at college at Cal Poly.

  So, so yeah, so that was that was kind of where I got my start.

  But what about you?

  Because you are from Canada.

  Yes.

  So this is, so yeah, so you have a unique perspective on...

  I do, yes.

  So tell me about you.

  Yes.

  My, my story is a little bit different.

  And so my parents were immigrants to Canada.

  So they are from Punjab, India, and that's the northern part.

  Farming is our background.

  And so I come from a line of farmers.

  So I didn't know that Punjab was, was far.

  I am really unfamiliar with the geography of India, actually.

  So the north is really the breadbasket.

  So most folks that are from that area are into farming.

  So that's what my grandparents were doing.

  And so my parents moved to Canada for better opportunities, as most immigrants do.

  And so I grew up in Calgary, Canada.

  Most people have heard of Vancouver and Toronto.

  Calgary is that middle area of the prairies.

  So it was not a big city.

  It's a pretty, not a small town, but it's probably a smaller city.

  So I grew up there and grew up in a modest way, right?

  Like most immigrant children.

  But one thing we were really taught was work ethic.

  So I started working when I was pretty young.

  My parents worked multiple jobs growing up.

  No one was an entrepreneur, but they really instilled in us working hard, getting a good education and improving our circumstances.

  So that kind of really put that drive in me to figure out what to do with my life.

  Now the interesting piece that comes in is I didn't study accounting as my undergrad.

  I did biological sciences.

  I remember you telling me that, which is so cool.

  Yeah.

  And this is where it's like, you don't have to have an accounting degree to become a CPA.

  So I moved to down to Seattle actually in 2012.

  So it's been a little while.

  And so I got into nursing when I was here.

  It's always a little bit difficult, like with the visa situation, when you're immigrating to a new country, kind of something I relate with my parents with.

  They immigrated, I moved on to another country.

  So something we share.

  But eventually I found my path to accounting.

  I left nursing as well.

  And so kind of had multiple careers and I found payroll.

  And that really sparked that love for accounting.

  Like I would do it again just because I found payroll.

  I know that we talked about this just in the many times that we've spoken before, but I did not know that you got your start in payroll.

  Yes, that is so funny that that sparked your love for accounting.

  Because I don't know, but I offer payroll for my clients, but I don't love it.

  No, I think most people don't.

  And I think it helped me in that sense that it was probably, it's like one of the more difficult, like finicky areas of accounting where there's a lot of compliance, right?

  You're really having to follow really tight timelines in terms of processing payroll, submitting payroll and making sure there's funding and taxes, like everything that's involved.

  But really, from that point was like when I went into Smartsheet and was there during the IPO, and just learning end-to-end technical accounting, IPO readiness, working with auditors.

  And there were so many great co-workers there that were in accounting that really inspired me.

  And so like I couldn't get enough accounting.

  So that's where I took off, got my CPA, got all the credits I needed for a CPA.

  So as long as you have an undergrad degree here in Washington, you just need to get the credits in accounting, and then you can apply to sit for the CPA, which I was super grateful for.

  That's the difference that people listening.

  So Aminder has her CPA, and that is my, I am so inspired by that really, because I do not have my CPA yet, but it is something where it's so cool to see that it's, it not, not only is it possible, you didn't, you really started from a point of, you did not go the typical route, and yet you are a CPA and have much experience related to accounting and obviously the enthusiasm.

  So you're just, it's a very cool career path.

  Yeah, I'd like to say accounting found me, like, it came to me and so I'm super passionate about accounting.

  I can talk all day long about different accounting areas, different processes, procedures, CPA exams, questions.

  I can share everything.

  So I love to share my experience.

  I think just because it has been unique and I feel like sharing that perspective of you can complete the CPA exam, even if you feel like you don't have all the technical background.

  It's just a matter of how you study and you can work your way through it.

  So there's hope and inspiration for everyone.

  To know.

  That is good to know because I think that oftentimes, another thing that is common, I believe in our industry, at least from what I've seen is it's really easy, and everybody told me this, but it's really easy to put the CPA exams off if you don't do it right when you're eligible, like right when you become eligible, because working in the accounting space, for anyone that works in the accounting space, but especially starting out in a startup environment or any sort of public accounting environment, especially even if it's not the big four, it's a notorious industry for working many billable hours during busy season and even not during busy season, but just it's easy.

  I mean, like any job, it's easy to kind of get caught up in what you're doing every single day and not prioritize making that time for the CPA exam.

  And then if you don't do it in the beginning, I mean, there's just so many things that come up in life, like starting a business, starting an accounting firm, where then it takes all of your time.

  And obviously there's so many different examples, like having kids or, you know, just starting a new career or whatever.

  But it is, I think that that is really cool that you just got it once you were eligible and now you have it forever as long as you do CPE.

  And that's awesome.

  Exactly.

  And I think for me, because I didn't have an undergrad in accounting, the CPA was my way of like legitimizing.

  I know accounting.

  Like this is my way of saying like I have the education, the experience in it.

  So it was my way of sharing and letting folks know that like even though I may not have an accounting degree, I still bring the expertise that they may require in this field.

  And unfortunately, I have found that unless you follow that typical pathway in accounting, sometimes it can be difficult.

  But I am an example of someone who did not follow that way.

  So if there's a will, there's a way.

  Yes, absolutely.

  No, a hundred percent.

  It's an inspiration to me.

  And I think that to anybody that is thinking there's only one way to do things, there's absolutely not.

  And we're a prime example of that.

  So I hope that if anything, people understand that they are like, there's room for them regardless of their experience.

  It just, you know, you just might have to get creative with how you go about it.

  But, you know, there's still a formula.

  Yeah, there's no fear.

  Yeah, yeah.

  You can still figure it out.

  Yep.

  When did you start to, because you said that you went from payroll, you went to Smartsheet before the IPO, which for every, anyone who doesn't know is an initial public offering.

  That's what a lot of startups try and go for.

  Fire for.

  Yeah, yes, exactly.

  And then you're, you get the little ticker symbol and people can publicly invest in you.

  That was something that I did not know right out of college because apparently I just didn't realize that.

  So yeah, so you started at Smartsheet.

  Where did you go from there?

  And did you have, when did you start, when did your mindset start to change about, okay, do I want to stay in this corporate track or what kind of, how did that start to evolve into your entrepreneurship journey?

  Yeah.

  So after I left Smartsheet, I went and got my CPA and then I came back and started working in startups again.

  And eventually I was at my last startup.

  And I just hit burnout.

  I was just like, I can't do anymore.

  And that's kind of the case in a lot of startups.

  You have to do more with less resources.

  So you're kind of stretched thin.

  There's a lot more work than can get done.

  And you're pushing yourself to the extreme.

  So I really last hit pause.

  I didn't know what game plan there was.

  I just knew I needed some time away from the corporate world.

  And I honestly thought I may just go back and find another job.

  And then something changed.

  I don't know what it was.

  But I just, as I spent more time reflecting and had that extra space away from the corporate world, I just wanted something different.

  I wanted a different pace of life.

  I wanted a better balance with the type of work I was doing and something that felt more meaningful.

  And so I started to listen to more to podcasts.

  There was a number of women that had started their own accounting firms and had been successful and with limited hours.

  And I was really inspired.

  That could be something I could do.

  So I started digging a little bit more into that.

  And I landed on, okay, maybe I'll start an accounting firm.

  I don't have to spend a ton of hours on it if I don't want to, to start.

  But let's go down this path.

  And it really aligned with my values of wanting to help businesses and providing those resources to them.

  And so I started small and so, and I reached out and I wanted to network.

  And so that's how I found you on Instagram.

  And I was like, oh, Leah is doing this.

  She started her own accounting firm.

  I want to learn more about what did she do and what did she find helpful?

  And so kind of tapped into other women and they've been the most helpful so far in terms of response, right?

  Of wanting to help and share and not...

  Shout out to women.

  And feminine people with feminine energy.

  100%.

  100%.

  Just not gatekeep.

  And I feel like sometimes the accounting industry feels like that, is there's a lot gatekeeping of knowledge, of fear of losing clients.

  That was something that I was so...

  I realized how excited...

  I mean, really, you were like the catalyst for having this idea of starting the podcast, really, because you were so excited to just ask me questions and I just remember it didn't even cross my mind for a millisecond to gatekeep what I have done so far, like instantly.

  Really, what it is, is I am so passionate about accounting as well.

  And I just wanted to share all of the things.

  I mean, being able to talk about, A, my business, and being able to share that and really spread the love, really, and just say, okay, here is, you know, I don't know what I, I don't have all the right answers.

  I don't know if there are right answers with entrepreneurship.

  But in terms of being able to offer any sort of insight into what's worked for me, what hasn't worked for me, it is something where it was so exciting, and I was so excited to talk about it, because it is a very common thing in our industry.

  I don't even think in necessarily with just accounting firms and people that are starting their own independent practices, but if you work in the finance space, I completely agree with you.

  Women can tend to be more approachable in the space because it is an industry where I think that if you don't know something, you feel like you're wrong.

  And whereas no one knows everything, no one starts out knowing everything.

  That's why you learn, you ask questions, you make mistakes so that you can learn from them.

  And that's something where I was always very appreciative of people that let me know, hey, it's okay if you don't know everything.

  And so I think just being able to talk about you asking me questions about, okay, like, what is going on?

  Like, how did you?

  Like, what did you do?

  Yes, exactly.

  And that is something where I think that really it started the idea of, okay, this is something where we could share our knowledge in this because it is so possible to not have to stay in the corporate world if you don't want to.

  This is this is possible.

  Yeah.

  Yeah.

  And I think just having that growth mindset is just the biggest key.

  You don't have to know everything as long as you have like action for bias and you're willing to learn as you go.

  You'll figure it out.

  So I really appreciated all the feedback I got from you felt such relief and comfort in like knowing that, okay, there's someone else out there that has at least some answers where I feel comfort in knowing that I can always go to you and ask, hey, what did you do in this instance?

  Or how do we brainstorm this?

  And so just having that network and like being able to reach out with you, I think was huge.

  Yeah, I'm so glad because that was literally how I felt too.

  It was just it's so exciting to have someone that is equally as nerdy in accounting about accounting because it is such a thing where we are so passionate about it and being able to bounce ideas off each other or just say, hey, what was your experience with this?

  What did you do?

  What were you thinking?

  Like just having that, I think, especially in any sort of work regard, it's a really special thing to be able to be vulnerable and say, I don't know this process.

  I don't know what to do here.

  Let me know.

  Like, what do you think?

  Just being able to do that is such a valuable resource.

  And with the also the very real admission almost of like, we're not trying to pretend that we know everything.

  We're not trying, we're very skilled at what we do, but no one knows everything.

  And so there is always something about entrepreneurship.

  There's always something about for us specifically filing taxes that is not something that we do.

  There's always more to learn.

  And so having someone to be able to talk about all this stuff with is really cool.

  Yes, yes.

  That's been the most amazing part, I think, about this journey is one, not feeling like you're out here alone, trying to figure it out, that someone else is there, that you can kind of share this journey and this experience with is like, amazing.

  Yes, absolutely.

  So Leah, tell us a little bit about your accounting journey.

  My intro into the corporate world and just accounting and everything was kind of a typical, well, I shouldn't say typical, but I studied business in college because I didn't know what I wanted to do yet.

  And I knew that I knew I wanted to do business.

  And I initially went back and forth a couple of times with what I would concentrate in and ultimately started out in accounting, then switched to real estate finance.

  And then, because my dad worked in real estate, so I was like, and I think at the time I don't think Selling Sunset was out yet, but I don't think it was out yet.

  Oh, maybe it was too long ago.

  Oh, that's so sad.

  I'm like thinking like back in the day you were an influence.

  But it is something where I always saw real estate as honestly, in the beginning, I just kind of wanted to earn money.

  And I thought, okay, wait, people who work in real estate, they're really impressive and know what they're talking about with all of these high value things.

  And so I started, didn't stay very long in that concentration.

  I think that I just realized that wasn't for me.

  And it just didn't really click with my brain.

  And by that point, it was honestly too late.

  It was my junior year.

  And it was too late to get all of my accounting units done by that point.

  Because for anyone that doesn't know, depending on your school, there are, if you decide to concentrate in accounting, you have to take an intro classes and then mid level classes and then high level classes.

  And so anyways, didn't switch back into accounting in time.

  And I accidentally actually ended up concentrating in marketing.

  And that's when I graduated in, which just spoiler, getting a marketing degree, that's the hardest part of my business now.

  And so it's just funny realizing I always tell people this.

  I'm like, I have a marketing degree and this is just, I'm learning something new every single day because I just don't know, don't know what I'm doing.

  It's a small business marketing person.

  I graduated with marketing and eventually got my accounting degree because I took all of my units.

  I did it in a summer, which was a grind, and I ended up becoming CPA eligible, which is just getting all of the units that you need in order to sit for the CPA exam, for those who don't know.

  And that is when I started really my typical career path and started working at a public accounting firm called Moss Adams.

  Stayed there for a busy season.

  I started in October.

  I was gone by June, people.

  And that busy season got you.

  Yeah, that was an experience.

  And okay, I will say, and I will harp on this later, but I'll never talk bad about any experience that I've had really in the corporate setting or anywhere that I've worked really because it was such a valuable experience to realize, wow, this is something where some people who have made partner, who are managers, who are, you know, whatever, some people are built for this.

  And even if you're studying accounting and you're wanting to get into the industry, there were people that were staff accountants with little old me who was, you know, 20 years.

  No, I was not 20.

  I was 23, I think, at that point.

  But is it's anybody, as long as you, like we were saying, take the steps that you need in order to break into the industry through education, through connections, then you can start accounting really at any age.

  And so it is, it's an accessible industry.

  You're never, you're never too old for the industry.

  100% agree with that.

  Yeah, so it's awesome because I think that that really showed me, okay, this is something, this is a career path that is really, it's supportive of people from wherever they come as long as they want to learn.

  And so anyways, let's say that really, it really taught me valuable experience.

  Some people were really built for that sort of high-pressured environment where they had a new manager every single week, new clients every single week.

  It was, but to me, I got very overwhelmed and was just, I am very people-pleasing and just really honestly was tell that I was not a good fit for that job.

  Not that it was anything wrong with them that I had awareness of at the time, but it was just, I was not built for that, so.

  Not a good fit.

  Yeah, it was not a good fit.

  And I really wanted to go back to what felt comfortable, which was working in a smaller environment where what I attributed it to was, I went from being a small fish in a big pond in the public accounting space, and then I went to a startup where the only other person in the accounting department was our controller at the time, who then got promoted to our VP of Finance shortly afterwards, so it was really just me and her building out an accounting department in the startup.

  That's crazy.

  It was, no, it was a very, so I went from being the small fish in the big pond to one of two fish in the pond that is very small.

  Yeah, that's quite the flip.

  Yes, exactly.

  And so you really just, but I loved where I worked, the startup was called Wander, and I see them all the time.

  It's a beautiful, it's a really cool company, a hospitality company.

  Shameless plug, I love them.

  But it is something where ultimately I learned so much, I owe everything to that company.

  And my boss, Lauren, she was amazing.

  It taught me, it gave me the confidence to understand, okay, I, working in this role, learning so much about software implementation, learning all of the aspects of really the full cycle general ledger.

  It was so cool to be able to, and I think that, you know, you would agree because it is where you see really a close up of what is happening across a company's financial statements and the activity that happens every single month.

  Just, you know, really understanding, okay, accrual accounting, making adjusting journal entries, like doing all the things, making all the work papers.

  Like, it was really something that I saw from the very beginning.

  And that really gave me the confidence to realize, okay, by the time I was senior accountant, I had learned so much and I was working under my boss, who was a CPA the entire time.

  I mean, just all these nerdy things, like finally 1099s, I felt like I just had such a process down for that.

  And just, you know, AP management, monthly close.

  It was such a good insight into giving confidence about, okay, this is how you close out, because this is what happens every single month if you are a business.

  And that gave me the confidence to, eventually when I realized, hey, this is, this is, do I want my boss's job?

  I don't think I do.

  And I was the same as you.

  I kind of just took a leap of faith, didn't know what I was doing, took the summer off.

  I quit my job in April of 2024, and didn't know what I was getting myself into, thought very, it was very likely, I thought that I would just go back to work for another company and, you know, maybe take a stab at the tax side of things.

  But I had no clue.

  And kind of same as you, I just started listening to podcasts, I started doing research, I started finding women in the space that had started their own firms, but usually they were, you know, senior managers or, you know, people, people that were much older and more experienced than me that quit and then started a firm, a bookkeeping firm or accounting firm.

  And so it really was something where I saw that it was possible.

  And I was just, I was just excited.

  I was so excited to dig in.

  I was just like, okay, wait, this is possible.

  It was so cool to see that I didn't have to go back to corporate accounting if I didn't want to.

  It's like having that option at that point.

  And I think one thing you really referenced in startups, kind of getting that deep dive into all areas.

  I think for anyone that wants to open an accounting firm that doesn't have that typical experience, if you want to learn anything and everything accounting, work at a startup.

  It will be grueling, but you will be rewarded in learning so many areas of accounting, which will just set you up for starting an accounting firm.

  If you don't want to go down the path of being at another small regional accounting firm, per se, right?

  But I love to see that you were in the same startup environment that I was.

  We were both senior accountants by title, right?

  But the experience speaks volumes of being able to do the books, the clothes for small businesses.

  It's just that deep knowledge comes from that experience.

  And that's really where we connected was that another senior account in a startup found her own accounting firm.

  So it's been amazing.

  Something that I think we'll definitely talk about is a lot of examples in the industry.

  You know, there's there's I mean, there's impostor syndrome everywhere, but it is so cool to see another person in this space.

  And knowing that there are people that have started bookkeeping firms without an accounting degree or any sort of schooling or whether you know, they don't have a CPA, they don't have formal experience.

  And so it really is.

  I mean, I think it's a lot of things.

  I think that we both just get impostor syndrome.

  I think it's easy to kind of just question your if you belong in a certain space, if you are a woman, if you are a person of color, it's just easy to kind of just have those doubts.

  And it's unique to everyone, but it's such a fun journey to realize, okay, wait, I am really good at what I do.

  And this is something that could help people.

  And now we get to do it.

  We get to work for ourselves and grow our own businesses and just see where that journey takes us.

  Yeah, that's the next path of our journey.

  And I think that having this podcast will be that perfect platform for us to share as we grow, as we learn from our experiences.

  Absolutely, yeah.

  And so just to kind of get towards the end of this first episode, for the future, what is your vision for your firm?

  What are you trying to build in the long term for what your practice is?

  Yeah, for me, really, it's about building Sequoia CPA has always been about more than just starting a firm.

  I really wanted to create something that felt aligned and balanced with my life, with flexibility and with growth and with purpose.

  And I want to work closely with my clients, not just really to keep their books in order, but to really help them understand their numbers and help them make strategic decisions and feel like they know where their business is headed and give them the tools and insight they need to actually succeed.

  And so on a bigger level, I hope it shows other women, people of color, that you don't have to follow the traditional path.

  You can create something on your own that's aligned with your values.

  I'd love to inspire more CPAs to go out on their own too.

  And we need more voices and diversity in this space.

  So yeah, Leah, what about your long term goals and vision for your firm?

  Yeah, no, I love that answer because I think that mine is very similar.

  I think that, selfishly, I started my company because, like I said, I didn't see myself as becoming the next VP of Finance or Controller or CFO of the startup that I was at.

  And I loved the company.

  There was nothing wrong with the company, but it was just something where I knew I didn't want that.

  So, selfishly, I wanted more of that balance of just having time and being able to manage my own time and do whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it and work from wherever I wanted and just really build something that I could put my own creative personal touch on.

  Really, that's what my vision is for.

  I think that there's a ton of aspects about what I, what you said that I agree with.

  It's, I'm a woman of color.

  I haven't said, obviously you can't see us, but I am, I'm Mexican and I am very brown presenting.

  And it is really cool to just see other, I mean, Aminder, you're Indian, but I get mistaken for Indian all the time.

  I think maybe we chatted about that.

  So I'm like, no, but I look like it.

  So it is something where you don't always see women of color in positions of leadership, or of just someone that you can go to for advice.

  And so I think that really just what I love about a woman of color that is also excited about what she's learning, or any person of color, or any, any, any, no matter their gender or whatever, but just someone that is somewhat of a minority, or someone that is supportive of a minority, as if making them know that there is space for them, there is room for them where they want to show up and work hard and that is something where really, I want to be able to create that space in my own firm for my clients.

  I want them to feel like their business is enough and I'm helping them build something as well.

  And with the people that I hire, I want them to know, okay, remote, remote first.

  That is something I love.

  I want to be able to nurture an environment where they don't feel bad if they need to go pick up their kids during the workday, quote, quote, you know, or if they have an emergency or if they live on the other side of the country, it's really just something where I think that work is better done when you can choose where you do it, when you do it, how you do it, who you do it with.

  And I think that is something that I just, I love about, about the space that I am creating and the space that we get to create as business owners.

  So, it's especially in the finance space.

  Yeah, yeah.

  I love that perspective.

  I think it's so important to be able to recognize that and know that the unique value we bring.

  So I'm super excited.

  Yeah.

  All right.

  And that's a wrap for today's episode.

  We hope you found it helpful and maybe even a little inspiring.

  Yes.

  We appreciate you being here and we will see you again for another episode.

  You've been listening to The Accounting Edit, a podcast by Aminder Mann of Sequoia CPA and Leah McCool of Orca Accounting.

  We'll be posting new episodes every other week, so be sure to follow so you don't miss out.

  Does your business need help on the accounting side of things?

  We would love to help you.

  You can find Aminder at sequoiacpa.com or on Instagram at sequoiacpa.

  You can find me, Leah, at orcaaccounting.com or on Instagram at orca-accounting.

  And if you're enjoying the show, don't forget to follow us so you don't miss an episode.

  And if you have any feedback or thoughts, we'd love it if you left us a review.

  It really helps us out and we'd love to hear what you think.

Welcome to the very first episode of The Accounting Edit!

Meet your hosts, Leah McCool and Aminder Mann, CPA - two former startup senior accountants who took the leap from corporate and launch their own firms. In this kickoff episode, they reflect on what inspired the leap into entrepreneurship, the challenges (and successes) they've experienced, and the vision that drives their work today.

As women of color, they bring fresh perspectives to a field that’s often seen as rigid and traditional. Their goal? To create space for more inclusive conversations around accounting, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and what it really means to grow a fulfilling career in this space.

What You’ll Take Away:

• Why starting their own firms was a defining move

• The value of diverse voices in the accounting world

• How mentorship and community made all the difference (no gatekeeping here)

• Real talk on navigating the accountant journey (and alternate paths)

• How their startup experience shaped their client approach

• Thoughts on building work-life balance as entrepreneurs

• The future for The Accounting Edit podcast

Whether you're thinking about starting your own firm, breaking into the accounting industry, or just want to hear how others are forging their own paths, this episode is the perfect place to begin.

Links, etc:

Website: TheAccountingEdit.com