Mark Gallegos, CPA, MST

‘Everybody’s still yearning to be known and valued’

“Like a big pitcher of water”: I get to talk to people all day, every day, and I take it pretty seriously. I have the ability to change someone’s day. That could be just saying, “Hey, hello, how are you doing? What’s going on in your life? What’s going on in the business?” I kind of view it as a big pitcher of water. I’m a high-energy person. I want to be overflowing and helping people.

Encouraging young accountants: I will always tell young accountants it’s OK to make mistakes. When you have questions, whether it’s me or any other partner or anyone in management, you should be able to ask. You need to start to trust the people. We have mentors and managers and partners. We are here with you the whole way.

Giving back: I’ve always volunteered at different nonprofits or NGOs. I’ve been in parts of the world where people have no food or they’re in war-torn countries. I want to keep giving back so that at least I can do my part to make a change. I may be somewhere in Costa Rica. I may be in Southeast Asia, but no matter what, everybody’s still yearning to be known and valued.

Busy season: This is the playoffs. It’s the Final Four in basketball or the Super Bowl in football. Here’s where you’re really up against the gun. Can we work as a team to get a massive amount of work done between Jan. 1 and April 15? There’s a lot of things that go on, but it feels rewarding when you get across the finish line, and you’ve got everyone with you. You’re like, “Look at what we all did.” Not I did, not you did, we all did.

Shark bite: I was surfing in Duck, N.C. I’m paddling out in shallow water. Suddenly, I got dragged down. It probably lasted a few seconds. I stood up, and I was in a little bit of shock. I took off the wetsuit glove, my hand’s bleeding, and there were a couple teeth in the board. The shark got mostly the board, and my hand was just in the way. I ended up with a couple bite marks and some stitches. I went in the water the next day because if you don’t get back in, you’ll never do it again.

Tax partner at Porte Brown in Elgin, Ill.; Illinois CPA Society board of directors; member, AICPA Tax Practice Management Committee

Favorite place to travel: I love the North Carolina Outer Banks.

Favorite music: Music-wise, I’m pretty diverse — pop, rock, hip-hop, Latin, EDM. I’ve been fortunate to develop relationships with people in the music industry, which has made me appreciate not just the music, but the work that goes into creating it.

Favorite food: I gravitate toward Puerto Rican/Latin and Mediterranean cuisine. To me, great flavor always wins.

— As told to Mark Tosczak. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Jeff Drew at Jeff.Drew@aicpa-cima.com.