Michelle Thompson actually majored in marketing when she was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While she took a test in high school that pointed her to a career in accounting, Thompson was discouraged by one of her professors from pursuing the field, and it was only after working for a year in human resources that she decided to pursue a master's in accounting.
From that moment, Thompson knew she wanted to become an auditor, and after working for Deloitte for six years, she continued her career at Top 50 Firm Cherry Bekaert, where she has been CEO since 2018.
A key milestone in her career came in 2010, when Cherry Bekaert made the strategic decision to reorganize from an office-centric focus to a firmwide service line structure to obtain a "one firm" decision-making model. According to former managing partner Howard Kies, it was important to select people with specific skills and attributes to ride this cultural shockwave and navigate uncharted waters. He quickly considered Thompson for a leadership role in the new structure, but she was initially hesitant to apply unless her skills and profile perfectly matched the position — something, she noted, women often do.
Thompson believes men tend to be much bolder in the workplace because they are less afraid of failure, and she said Kies taught her that believing in her abilities was more important than checking all the marks. She considers becoming managing partner of Cherry Bekaert's assurance services a significant milestone in her career because it taught her the importance of championing one's teammates in seeing their own strengths, and that unique talents and backgrounds always have something valuable to contribute.
"When I first approached Michelle about her interest in being considered for the managing partner of assurance services, she was apprehensive since she had not previously held one of the office managing partner positions, or even a firmwide leadership role," said Kies. "But she had successfully led some major projects and initiatives in the firm by communicating a clear vision, collaborating with stakeholders, encouraging creative problem-solving and demonstrating patience. And it was those skill sets and Michelle's experience in leading change that I believed made her a perfect candidate for this new position."
As a business leader, Thompson concentrates her day-to-day activities on creating a vision for the firm and making sure her staff aligns with it. Listening to what her team is thinking is critical to building a firm culture and connecting with employees, and speaking to them about the future is key to setting the firm's strategy. Additionally, Thompson spends a lot of time traveling to Cherry Bekaert's 25 U.S. offices to meet other leaders and discuss what can be improved at the firm, as well as their shared values.
"As a leader, I think you have to be able to manage yourself and listen to other people to adjust your style to them, not force them to adjust to you," said Thompson. "You also need to regularly let people know that you see what they're doing, and that they're doing well. You have to be out there for your employees because they need you to be open and approachable."
For clients, Thompson recommends the same confidence-inspiring exercise, where a professional needs to create a relationship through which clients will come to trust and rely on their expertise. She describes herself as a team-builder who wants to have as many opinions as possible in the room to get to the right answer, an approach she learned from playing sports in college. As a result, she also spends a significant amount of time considering questions of belonging, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion.
Getting the right people in the room
Thompson believes her team weaves these principles into Cherry Bekaert by being very intentional about bringing the right people into the room. She said a firm cannot truly be inclusive without hearing the voices of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented and hearing their perspective. In an increasingly diverse marketplace, Thompson said that firms should make it a business imperative to represent the community they serve.
"When we hire out of college, we probably lean toward more women than men because, in the pipeline, there are just more coming out and that's been the case for many years," said Thompson. "The challenge in our profession is to make sure that you maintain that balance as you move up the ranks, but conflicting priorities between our individuals can make that difficult, and we need to adapt."
In her five years as CEO, Thompson has made it a priority to have flexible work arrangements to encourage women to seek leadership positions, because that's what allowed her to continue her responsibilities as a partner after giving birth to her daughter. Honored as one of
In the profession, she believes that having a hierarchized team is beneficial to women, as it allows them to work closely with partners and managers who can empower them to work on the frontline. Additionally, working in accounting means changing teams regularly as one gets new clients, which means that professionals get exposed to a wide diversity of profiles and work habits.
To find an effective mentor, Thompson recommends picking someone with whom interactions feel the most natural, and focusing on building an individual relationship with them outside of daily assignments.
"I personally never felt like there was anyone keeping me from moving forward, but what I now understand looking back is that there were people who were fighting for me when I wasn't necessarily fighting for myself as much as I should have," said Thompson. "As a female professional, I think it's really important to have those advocates and mentors along the way, because they'll truly make a difference in your career and give you an insight of who you truly are, and what you can really do."
When it comes to diversifying the pipeline, firms not only need to hire people from varied backgrounds, but also look at talent pools that they may have not considered before, such as historically Black colleges and universities or Hispanic-serving institutions. Once they join the firm, Thompson said that supporting them throughout their career and making sure they belong is essential to retaining diverse talent. To achieve this goal, Cherry Bekaert developed several employee resources groups under its
She also believes that promoting accounting as an attractive career is essential to responding to the current staff shortage, especially after the pandemic reduced the number of students enrolling in college. The professor who advised her against becoming an accountant believed the field to be limited to bookkeeping and numbers, and Thompson said that is a stereotype that the profession still needs to take on today. To do so, firms need to put more effort into marketing strategies to show they are modern institutions that understand and communicate with their clients.
"I think one of the important things that happened with COVID is speeding up some changes that we all needed to make in our business models, and one of those really is around digital marketing," said Thompson. "Social media has been a big part of that strategy with a very intentional goal to solve problems for our clients and find ways to reach them differently than we have in the past."
Another critical sector to invest in is technology, which Thompson considers to be one of Cherry Bekaert's key strategies. She sees it as a way to make her employees' lives better, by removing tedious and time-consuming tasks from their schedules to allow them to take on a role that can bring out their expertise and connect them with people. Moreover, the Great Resignation has also forced firms to develop alternative solutions to finding candidates, such as automating certain tasks and attracting new talent offshore.
The profession changes
But emerging technologies aren't the only change that shake the accounting field. Legislation also plays a role in transforming the profession, such as the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, which set up strengthened standards for auditor independence, among many other things. Thompson said the law caused a major shift in how accountants presented themselves and approached their responsibilities with investors, employees and clients.
"The types of services that accounting firms do are reflective of those changing legislations, technologies and client profiles," said Thompson. "We have to stay in touch with this evolution because we're being hired for our professional expertise and these continuous regulatory changes directly impact different parts of our business. Staying in tune with these changes is the only way to do our work and serve our clients."
Looking to the future
Last
"In Parthenon, we found a strategic investor and partner to help us execute our strategy together," said Thompson. "What Parthenon does is provide us with the support to build a best-in-class middle-market accounting and advisory firm. While our strategy itself has not really changed, Parthenon has helped us to identify and focus on several key objectives that will increase the value of our business more rapidly."
Thompson believes this change in business model will be highly beneficial for accountants at the firm. She said that moving operations to a sector where more people can participate might make the profession more appealing for prospective talent, and that following influential trends always helps a business grow. Furthermore, she sees private equity as a way to set up her successor for the next stage of the firm, and one of the most important projects of her career.
She considers her election as CEO to be her proudest accomplishment, and she wants to create an environment where people can find the support and confidence to go where they truly deserve to be, no matter their circumstances.
"I often approached my career as a sprint rather than a marathon, and at times it can be exhausting," said Thompson. "I had some disappointments along the way, but they made me fight harder, and I believe everything happens for a reason. Everybody takes a different journey and there's not one right way. If I had one lesson to give, it would be to stay true to yourself and keep pushing, no matter what happens."
At a Glance: Michelle Thompson
Where did you go to college? University of South Carolina (MACC, Accounting); UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School (BS, Business Administration)
Where did you grow up? Fayetteville, North Carolina
Where did you begin your career in accounting? Deloitte
Where and when did you first make partner? Cherry Bekaert, 2001
What is something that people may not know about you? Disney World is my happy place, and I take as many trips as possible with my family each year.
Who is someone you admire? I'm a sports fan, and some of my personal heroes are Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, Simone Biles and Mia Hamm. The impact these women made goes far beyond sports and is making a difference and inspiring people today.
What is your favorite TV show? Does soccer count as a TV show? I'm an enthusiastic armchair detective and listen to true crime podcasts as often as I can, and I love any documentary about how things work — the more intricate the process, the better!
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