Kayla Nguyen

Mr. Jeff Nash

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Nashional Financial, Hodgson & Nash CPAs, PLLC

25 September 2019

13:45

Interview Assessment #1

From corporate accounting for the Big Four to becoming an entrepreneur, Jeff Nash is a

well-seasoned CPA. He was employed by one of the Big Four, which inspired him to take a

more individual approach to and start his own independent business that serves to help others on

a more personal and initiate level. In my first interview, I learned the basic details of accounting

and advice on how to be successful in the field.

Mr. Nash summarizes the business industry with three simple words: confidence,

competence, and connections. These words may not mean much to cynical teenagers in high

school, but in the business/finance industry, or even any industry, this is the formula for success.

These three words are dependent on each other and the absence of one would hinder you from

becoming as successful as possible; I believe that the more competent you become, confidence

will then follow and allow you to reach out to people for the connections. When talking to Mr.

Nash, he revealed that his involvement in accounting was due to his friend, whose father was

already an accountant. This connection prompted him to follow the path of accounting and

disregard his degree in political science. After years of schooling and exams, Mr. Nash became a

Certified Public Accountant and worked for large corporate firms, such as KPMG. His

experience from working in the corporate sector of accounting allowed him to feel more
competent and gave him the confidence later on to start his own company, Nashional Financial,

and his partnership, Hodgson & Nash CPA’s.

Given that Mr. Nash is an experienced professional, the main thing I wanted to learn

about from our interview was the difference between large financial firms and a private firm.

Since firms like KPMG are more sophisticated and structured than a smaller business, there are

different industries like energy, automotive, and chemicals that you can be assigned to whereas a

small business will most likely specialize in a specific area. In college, there is a big expectation

that one will go to a well-known accounting organization after their studies, but I think it is more

for the experience rather than a definite role within the company. After working for a larger

corporation, I think people gain the knowledge that they need to branch off and begin their own

company as Mr. Nash did. Opening a smaller accounting business allows the client to feel more

connected and the relationship developed between the client and practitioner is more

interpersonal. However, the relationship between a KPMG consultant and the client would be

more distant and it is viewed as more of a thankless job. Another benefit of owning a small

company is that there is more flexibility and you are allowed more leeway than corporate.

In order to be successful in accounting, I learned that taking an accounting degree

pathway is recommended in college, although it is possible to get into accounting later on. Being

studious and analytical will get you far, but the most challenging thing is not allowing yourself to

get easily distracted, especially by technology; it is good to know how to avoid distractions and

manage your time well. Passing the CPA exam is already a challenging task, but actually

applying the skills that you have learned and combining them with the business atmosphere,

time, and other influences is more challenging. It is better to develop better habits early on and
try to become more aware of things, like programs, technology, and general news, sooner rather

than later.

I believe I learned very valuable lessons from this interview. The success that you see

today with most businesses, I think, directly corresponds to the idea of confidence, competence,

and connections. This set of words is not exclusive to larger businesses/companies, but can also

be applied to smaller businesses and entrepreneurs.