This CPA wants everyone to know...

Three years ago, Kelli Meadows, CPA, watched her daughter and friends head off to college. One major they rarely mentioned exploring? Accounting. 

Everyone said accounting is boring, Kelli recalls. “I thought, okay, we have a problem.” 

Twenty years in as a founding partner at Richmond firm Meadows Urquhart Acree & Cook, LLP, Kelli is excited to show the next generation why the profession is thrilling and exciting. In short, anything but boring. 

“We are not boring. We have fun, rewarding jobs,” she says. “I feel like we are perceived as a very grueling industry to work in that really isn’t a lot of fun.” 

Kelli began using the #AccountantsAreFun hashtag across social media, and the campaign took off. Now, Meadows Urquhart Acree & Cook uses the hashtag in marketing materials and employees sport T-shirts that mimic the “Friends” TV show logo with the phrase: “The one where accountants are fun.” 

In fall 2023, Kelli decided to take the campaign up a notch and declare accounting is fun to Richmond commuters near I-64 and Virginia 288 with a dazzling green billboard sporting the message “Accountants are FUN!” and the firm logo.  

But the phrase isn’t just lip service. Kelli truly enjoys being a CPA and the benefits her firm brings to its clients. 

“I see the value in what we do,” she says. “We are doing continuous planning for our clients. That makes it a lot more interesting to the staff.” Gone are the days where accountants wait around for clients to send tax documents and then CPAs crunch numbers all day. Kelli said the value in the profession is on the relationship side — generating ideas for businesses and acting as consultants. 

As a business consultant to companies without CPAs on staff, Kelli is then able to wrap accounting and tax services into the full equation. Ultimately, accountants are having fun solving problems — and that’s the message she wants to convey to students looking for rewarding careers. 

Anyone can join Kelli’s quest to rebrand accounting! Firms and CPAs are encouraged to use the #AccountantsAreFun hashtag to promote all the inspiring and exciting aspects of the profession.