Sheri Grossberg

Title: Audit Principal Company: SRG City: Encino Specializations: Business consulting, taxes, 401(k) audits, staff training, new staff recruitment, audit procedure development and financial and tax compliance for small and midsize companies. At SRG, Sheri Grossberg is one-third of the firm’s principals, alongside Philip Marshall and Scott Goldfarb. Founded in the 1960s, the firm — formerly known as Solomon Ross Grey & Co. — maintains offices in Encino and Los Angeles. Grossberg joined the firm as a partner in 2008. She has served as a board member of La Canada Flintridge Shakespeare Co. and is a past board member at the Girl Scouts of America. Question: Why accounting? Answer: My parents thought I would be an accountant when I was 10 or 11 (growing up in Calabasas). I started charging interest on my allowance. They would pay me if they were late. Favorite part of the job: Watching people be successful with their businesses. The tax planning and saving people money. Biggest challenge: One of the toughest obstacles I had was when I had a new client who had just had twins, had a new business, was behind with the taxing agencies, and so myself and my team had to go and get all of her tax issues resolved and it all kind had to happen in a short period of time. It worked out. Now her business has $10 million in revenue. How does your personality make you good at accounting? I always call myself a hand-holder for people who have medium-sized businesses. I’m definitely somebody who leads them through the process of growing their business. I’m nurturing. Sometimes they don’t have people to guide them through the process, a business loan or a 401(k) audit. (Recruiting young professionals), you can tell when people understand the business side of it and take an interest in the clients. It’s usually just the questions that they have and the excitement that they have. Somebody I must have met eight years ago when he had just first graduated from college, he went to some other firm and he recently just contacted me and now he’s a senior manager at a firm. It’s kind of interesting how you can meet people and have a long-term relationship without even seeing the person for years. How has your gender affected your career? It has helped me with the recruiting and training because so many people who enter the industry now are female, so they look to have a mentor they can identify with. With my clients, I’ve been successful, more nurturing and patient than maybe a male. Impact of tax reform: People have a lot of questions about it, how it’s going to change. Overall, it’s going to reduce people’s tax burden. How is the accounting industry changing? The big thing is the cybersecurity. It will continue to be a big issue for clients. We probably won’t see social security numbers. It’s kind of already transforming. Changes you would like to see: If we can get rid of the deadlines (laughs). It’s just getting worse. Advice to executives looking for an accounting firm: They should look at CPAs that match their company size as far as the support and help they would need. Over the years, I’ve seen people try to go to big firms and not really get serviced. Look for somebody that meets the size of the business and is available to consult with. Advice to people considering a career in accounting: Make sure to get your license. You’d be surprised how many don’t.