Meet Jeanie Price, Partner and Director of Administration at DeLeon & Stang, CPAs & Advisors
Partner and Director of Administration
DeLeon & Stang, CPAs & Advisors
What has been your involvement with CPAFMA?
I have served as the Washington DC Chapter Co-President (many times over the years) as well as the Director of Professional Awareness on the National Board.
Where are you from?
My hometown is Mount Airy, Maryland
How did you get into accounting/firm administration?
I started out as the only administrative person at our firm in 1991 and helped grow the role into what it is today.
What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishment or milestone?
Being offer a partnership in the firm.
What was your first job?
Ice cream scooper
What is the toughest part of your job?
The toughest part and also the best part of the job is keeping up with all the changes in technology which allows us to come up with better and better processes.
What is the best advice you have received?
Learn something new every day.
Tell us about your family.
I have been married to my amazing hubbie for 33 years. We have one fabulous daughter (and son-in-law) and two awesome grandboys.
What are your interests, besides the firm?
I love playing with my grandboys, stained glass and exercise.
What is your favorite outside charity or event?
Definitely Junior Achievement. I love teaching students about financial literacy
What is your favorite vacation spot?
The beach, especially Emerald Isle, North Carolina.
If you had the opportunity to do something else, what would it be?
I would open a shop with my daughter with stained glass, craft items, books and music. It would be a venue where folks can come and share their crafts.
Who have you looked to as a mentor; someone who has helped the most with your career?
Cecelia Chaney, a retired CPAFMA member. She always offered great perspective and advice about thinking ahead and looking for opportunities in every day.
What has CPAFMA brought to you and your firm to change your role at DeLeon and Stang?
CPAFMA has been instrumental in my growth at the firm. At the first conference I attended in 1992 as a new administrator at our firm, I was intimidated by the knowledge of the other administrators. There was so much to learn from them, but the resources of the association and the networking with all the firm administrators has helped me learn a great deal. Everyone was always willing to share their best practices and knowledge.
What have you been up to since your board term with the Association?
My position as the Director of Professional Awareness gave me the opportunity to work with the AICPA's PCPS Executive Committee and I have stayed involved with them since. It has allowed me to visit with other CPAFMA chapters and talk about the resources the PCPS has and talk about the relationship that is building between CPAFMA and PCPS.
Since my time on the Board, our firm has gone through many changes. We were approached by two high level managers who wanted to join our firm; both eventually became partners. We opened our second office (across the river) because of one of these hires and that office continues to grow and thrive.
We merged another firm in in 2013 (our 4th) and have successfully transitioned the staff and clients. At that time, we also implemented an iChannel, a CRM/Document Management and Workflow program, and have created our best practices with that software, improving our processes each year.
In 2014, we celebrated our 30th anniversary with a big party and unveiled our history documented by a graphic artist, highlighting our accomplishments and our people. We continue to involve our staff in our strategic planning and visioning processes and with their help reaching our goals year after year. We are currently taking advantage of the MACPA’s new program called the Anticipatory Organization, helping our clients think about their futures, what the trends are and helping them to grow.
If you could tell a new CPFMA member on thing, what would it be?
For all the new CPAFMA members out there, I would say to tap into the organization, attend the conferences, get to know the “seasoned” administrators and pick their brains; learn something new every day and make yourself invaluable to your managing partner and your staff. Get involved in the association both at your chapter level and at the national level; get to know and work with your State Society and tap into all the professionals and their organizations that partner with the CPAFMA.
If you could define the role of a professional firm manager in your firm, what would it look like?
Being a professional firm manager at my firm means being on top of every aspect of the firm, communicating, training and empowering every member of the firm to provide quality service to our clients and ourselves.
What is the best part of being a grandmother?
In 2011, I became a grandma for the first time and being a Gigi is the best. My grandboys are the most adorable, sweetest, smartest, cutest things you could ever imagine. It is such a joy spending time with them, I can’t get enough of them!
