Personal branding and networking strategies for today’s CPA

You need more than a good reputation and proficient performance to differentiate yourself and your brand in accounting organizations where many team members demonstrate exceptional abilities.

Establishing a unique personal professional brand (personal brand for short) will enhance your visibility — both within your organization and in professional circles — and result in increased career opportunities.

If you are someone who enjoys learning about a specific field (e.g., real estate, not-for-profit, cryptoassets), focus on it and build your knowledge to become a recognized expert. If you have hobbies or extracurricular interests (e.g., running, Zumba, photography), use them creatively to connect with clients and peers, creating new opportunities.

When you align your personal passions with your personal brand, it fosters ongoing fulfillment and satisfaction.

LET’S TALK BRAND VS. REPUTATION

Reputation and brand are not the same. One, reputation, reflects others’ opinions of you, which you can influence with your actions but not control. The other, your personal brand, is up to you. However, your reputation can directly or indirectly affect your brand (and your actions can affect both).

Four core elements make up reputation:

• First impressions: They are formed by observable characteristics and immediate appearances prior to further interactions. Clothing, posture, body language, and other nonverbal factors can influence that impression. A genuine smile, for example, can make someone appear approachable and trustworthy.
• Relationships formed: A relationship can be good or bad and cultivated through shared experiences or initiatives. Disney, for example, calls its park employees “cast members” to create a sense of shared participation and a sense of belonging.
• Credibility: For something or someone to be considered credible, they must be regarded as trustworthy and demonstrate consistent quality. Consider any professional organization. Affiliations, credentials, and knowledge play a part, but if not for satisfied clients and deliverables, the organization would not be highly regarded.
• Reliability: Dependability and reliability are built by delivering consistently on promises and exhibiting predictable behavior through actions. Toyota, for example, has earned a strong reputation for quality and dependability for continually producing reliable vehicles with minimal maintenance needs.

Personal brand includes six key elements:

• Voice and values: Principles that guide actions and decisions.
• Content: The information shared that attracts an audience.
• Creativity: The unique abilities that distinguish an individual from others.
• Personality: A set of characteristics that shapes public perception of your brand.
• Authenticity: The foundation for building a lasting connection with an audience.
• Relatability: Showcasing the human element.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Crafting your brand takes intentional thought and action. The six elements don’t magically appear. The effort put into its creation strengthens your brand’s reflection of you, its effectiveness, and overall appeal.

Let’s start by addressing the following questions:

What is your WHY?

First and foremost, you will want to engage in self-reflection. Which of your existing skills can become behaviors that outwardly demonstrate your greatest strengths and passions? The purpose and motivation behind your brand should be the reason you do what you do and why it matters to you. Your purpose could be as simple as fulfillment from educating fellow accountants on a technical topic or as complex as transforming the profession.

Next, you will want to use your knowledge and current situation to evaluate which additional skills you may need to achieve your desired objectives. From where you are to where you ultimately want to be might require additional education, certifications, or strategic positioning in professional organizations.

WHO is your target audience?

To be successful, a brand must be known. Your target audience, the people you want to know about your brand, should share a level of engagement, influence, and involvement. Not everyone will be interested, and that is completely acceptable since your audience should be targeted. Examples of a target audience can include accounting professionals who are fitness enthusiasts, philanthropists, educators, or something else that aligns with your “WHY.”

WHAT will differentiate you?

Return to your “WHY.” Follow a successful example of someone else who has built their brand and apply your behaviors, greatest strengths, and passions intentionally to achieve similar success.

Aligning work with personal interests is doing work you enjoy. Teaching a fitness class, writing, running, and volunteering at an animal shelter are just a few examples of hobbies that bring people joy that can creatively be incorporated into a day job.

WHERE will you execute your strategic plan?

To identify where you will build your brand, enact a strategy around your “WHO.” Is your target audience found in your workplace? Via social media platforms? Or is it in your local community? Or a charitable organization? At the start of my career, I never imagined teaching a Zumba fitness class at a national accounting conference, but by being vocal about creatively incorporating Zumba into the accounting profession, I was able to share my passion the past two years at ENGAGE.

WHEN will you execute?

Timing plays a significant role in building your brand, and immediate or drastic action is not always required. Setting SMART goals can assist in reaching specific outcomes:

• Specific: State an objective — clearly and thoroughly — defining expected outcomes and responsibilities to help hold yourself accountable.
• Measurable: Identify the criteria that enable you to track progress and completion of your goal.
• Achievable: Set realistic expectations. Be reasonable, as factors beyond your control can influence success or failure.
• Relevant: Assure your goals meet your “WHY.”
• Time–bound: Establish a timeline for completion, including benchmarks that let you know if you’re on track.

Let us build off the previous Zumba fitness example and dig a little deeper. A SMART goal could be “I will share my passion of fitness and raise $500 by teaching one Zumba fitness class at a charity function organized by my employer in 2026.” Even the smallest SMART goals play an important role in execution, as the goals will help create visibility and brand awareness. Always start small and build up from there.

HOW will you execute?

Make sure you can bring everything together by integrating your established SMART goals. Note that your personal brand does not need to tie directly to your day job. If you want to set yourself apart, the easiest way is to incorporate your passion. There is no brand-building execution rulebook, no one-size-fits-all approach. Your brand is yours, and in the words of Michael Maksymiw, CPA, CGMA, executive director of the Aprio Firm Alliance, “You don’t need permission to be awesome.”

APPLYING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND IN NETWORKING

Just like within an accounting organization, to effectively differentiate yourself when networking, you must do more than just be a good conversationalist. Though it may seem daunting, taking the first step to connect with others lays the foundation for future professional development and makes subsequent interactions more manageable. Once you have made the initial connection, the rest will follow naturally, as your brand will help pave the way.

If you are new to networking, or want to sharpen your skills, here are some tips you can try:

• Practice makes perfect. Become more comfortable with the idea of expanding your network and your brand by practicing your networking skills with a colleague. Ensure that your verbal and nonverbal communications are consistent and effectively aligned.
• Do your research. If you attend an event, know your audience, time, and location. Depending on the type of event, an attendee list might be made available in advance so you can seek out more productive conversations with targeted individuals. Additionally, know the dress code (i.e., formal, business casual, casual) and ensure you are properly dressed. If you are more introverted, try arriving early to engage in one-on-one conversations with a few attendees before larger groups form. Consider attending with a “buddy,” so you have someone available if your networking falters.
• First impressions set the stage. Catch someone’s attention in the first few moments of interaction. Make your first impression a good one. Focus on the human elements, not the technical or work aspects, as these types of interactions are more lasting, and this is where your brand can really begin to set you apart from the rest. In a formal setting, there are three points — your “pitch” — to bring out at some point during your conversation: who you are, what services you can offer, and what you are seeking. Modify your pitch depending on the setting, but always communicate the three points to get the most out of your interaction.
• Business cards and an updated LinkedIn profile. To avoid being caught empty-handed, ensure you have extra business cards — either a safety stash in your car or extras in your wallet. The number of people at an event can promote an extensive exchange of business cards. To remind yourself of specific interactions and individuals, add a keynote or memory word directly to the person’s business card. Another (perhaps less awkward) option is to add a note in your phone you can revisit later.
  
  LinkedIn and electronic business cards are extremely common among accounting professionals. Make sure you are leveraging your social media platforms and keeping them up to date with your current employer, practice areas, and specialties. For a worst-case scenario, if you do not have a business card on you, you can connect on LinkedIn without delay. Be sure to use a similar process when connecting — include a personalized message with your “add,” so you can remember why you are connecting with this person and have a reminder for following up with them.
• Anytime, anyplace. Events and business functions are not the only networking venues. Connections can occur in unexpected situations and may develop more naturally when they are not planned. Keep an open mind when making new connections and always be your authentic self, as that is what will naturally draw others to you.

After you have gone through mastering the above, ensure you follow up, whether by email, LinkedIn, or otherwise. Be sure to personalize your message. Revisit your keynote or memory word, if necessary, to remember specifics. Stay in touch with your contact — interact, whether by email, over coffee, or at an event. Remember, networking is about forming quality, meaningful connections.

By effectively establishing a brand aligned with your passion, you will distinguish yourself and attract valuable opportunities to broaden your influence. In our dynamic profession, possibilities for growth are endless. Remain open to new opportunities and ideas, and do not limit your potential.

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About the author

Nicole DeRosa, CPA, MAcc, is director of tax at SKC & Co. CPAs LLC and brand ambassador at UWorld Accounting, an online educational platform. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Jeff Drew at Jeff.Drew@aicpa-cima.com.

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