Anoop Mehta, CPA and President of Science Systems and Applications Incorporated, joined us for this episode of Life In Accounting, the Where Accountants Go podcast.
Thank you Mr. Miller…
As with many of our guests, Anoop became interested in accounting at an early age. He had many influencers, including his father, but one influencer made a greater impact than you may imagine. For many accountants, the interest in accounting starts in a high school class. Anoop’s story is similar, except that he had an extremely dedicated high school accounting instructor. His teacher, Mr. Miller, not only provided the basic bookkeeping class that many high schools make available, he also allowed students to sign up for a second year of accounting under an independent study program where they could learn about accounting in even more depth. It was through Mr. Miller’s efforts that Anoop was able to delve deeper into accounting at a much earlier age than normal.
Moving up to President
This early start in accounting coupled with the influence of his father, also an accountant, solidified his interest in the field. While completing his education, Anoop took a part-time intern position with one of his father’s clients as their 2nd overall employee. It was a small business that was just moving out of the owner’s basement into their first office. By the time he graduated, the company had grown to 20 employees and Anoop was running the office. Fast forward to today, and through many years of hard work and good fortune the company has grown to over 1000 employees, and Anoop has served as their President since 2015. The job that started as a part-time internship for a fledgling organization has grown into what many would consider to be the opportunity of a lifetime.
The importance of getting involved
One of the themes throughout this episode was personal growth. When Anoop joined SSAI, he was employee number two, and they now have over 1000 employees. The skills that it takes to grow with an organization at that pace, and to eventually lead it as well, are not all learned in college. Outside supplemental growth opportunities are necessary in order to keep your interpersonal skills up to par. For Anoop, many of those external growth opportunities came from being involved with professional organizations such as the CPA Society. He’s also been active on other non-profit boards, but he definitely attributes some of his growth to his involvement at the Maryland Association of CPAs. Giving back to the profession by serving in the association is important to him, and it has benefited him personally as well.
Other episodes on similar topics that you may enjoy would include: Paula Gold-Williams and Byron Patrick.
For more information on the publication mentioned in this episode, click here.
To listen in on this interview with Anoop Mehta, please use the player below:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS
