075: Dena Jansen – It’s All About People

In this episode of Life In Accounting: The Where Accountants Go podcast, we speak with Dena Jansen, CPA who candidly shares from her heart what she has learned as she has grown throughout her career from her first internship with Arthur Anderson to beginning her own business, which allows her to follow her dream of encouraging and inspiring others, igniting their curiosity, and arming them with confidence.

Things Worth Looking For

Dena started her career while still in college – she’s always worked. She graduated college and began working with a local firm who she connected with by way of one of her professors, Dr. Robert Freeman, with whom she worked as a graduate assistant. She enjoyed the government accounting and it was flexible enough to allow her to study for the CPA exam. When they left Lubbock, Dena joined Deloitte and she continued to grow. An interesting thing that she learned was that she really loves and enjoys people. She also learned that you need to find a niche early in your career, along with the importance of finding out who the other experts are. Dena will tell you that she was very fortunate to be surrounded by accomplished and supportive women who demonstrated positive ways to balance work and home life.

The Partner Life

Dena left Deloitte and joined Maxwell, Locke, & Ritter (MLR) because she was ready for something new and different. She began serving not-for-profit clients quickly after joining the firm. She agreed to become a partner after three years and loved every minute of it. She did some soul searching before accepting the role. She talked to people and she asked many questions. She felt safe and supported by the other partners in the group and so she felt it was the right move.

At MLR they believe that you should do what you are best at, so one partner’s day may look completely different from another partner’s day. Accounting is built on trust so we need to have the technical competencies established, but we must always honor that it truly is a people business. We should spend time building people and managing relationships with our teams, our clients, and new prospects.