How to craft the CPA career you want

I love being a CPA. My career has taken me to large and small public accounting firms, a family-owned business, a Fortune 500 company, my own not-for-profit practice, and eventually the opportunity to teach as an adjunct professor. And somewhere along this winding path, I realized something important: I didn’t just want a successful career. I wanted a life I loved.

For a long time, I assumed those two things naturally went together. If you work hard and build a successful career, fulfillment will follow. Sometimes that happens, but I’ve met and coached too many talented professionals who achieved everything they set out to accomplish and still found themselves wondering, “Is this it?”

I discovered the profession wasn’t the problem. Misalignment was.

Today, I often tell audiences, “I love my life, and I want that same abundance for you.” Not because my life is perfect, but because over time I’ve learned to make choices that align with who I am, what I value, and how I want to contribute.

The Japanese concept of Ikigai was instrumental in helping me find that alignment. Often translated as “reason for being,” it represents a personal sense of purpose that brings joy. I think of it as a compass. It doesn’t tell you your destination; it shows you the direction by helping you understand what should guide your decisions.

It taught me that a purposeful career is something you build intentionally by aligning what gives you energy, what you’re naturally good at, the impact you want to make, and the opportunities in front of you.

If you’re early in your career, you can find that purpose by exposing yourself to different experiences, experimenting, and making mistakes. In the middle of your career, you can advocate for yourself to try new areas without leaving your job. And figuring out what to do with your professional expertise when you’re closing in on retirement might turn out to be particularly rewarding.

4 QUESTIONS TO FIND THE BEST PATH FOR YOU

The concept of Ikigai transformed the questions I asked myself, and today I use its principles as a coach to guide others on their paths. Here are four questions to determine the type of career and life that best suits you.

What kind of work gives me energy?

Pay attention to the work that makes time disappear.

Notice the conversations you leave feeling energized instead of exhausted.

Just as important, notice the tasks you continually postpone or the projects that leave you drained. These are clues.

One of the first things I ask coaching clients is to walk me through a typical week. I notice when somewhere in that conversation their energy changes. Maybe they’re talking about mentoring a new manager. Maybe they’re describing a strategic planning session with a client. Maybe they’re explaining how they redesigned a workflow that had frustrated everyone for years.

You can see and hear it. They sit up a little straighter. They smile. Their pace picks up. That’s what I’m looking for. Then I ask the opposite question: “What work do you keep pushing to tomorrow?” The answer to that question is just as valuable.

When you stop defining yourself by your job title and start paying attention to what gives you energy, you begin to understand the first piece of a purposeful career.

Will I leverage my greatest strengths?

The next step is understanding what you’re naturally good at. This can be surprisingly difficult because our greatest strengths often feel ordinary to us. They come so naturally that we assume everyone else has them, too.

CPAs have many strengths. Some instinctively recognize patterns in financial information. Others anticipate risk before anyone else sees it. Some are good at building relationships, and others excel at translating complex technical issues into language clients understand. These strengths are differentiators.

I’ve noticed over the years that people often confuse competence with giftedness. We can become highly competent at work that we don’t particularly enjoy. We can also overlook the things that come naturally because they’ve never felt difficult. That’s why feedback matters. When several different people describe you the same way, such as “You’re the one who calms difficult situations” or “You’re the person who makes complicated things simple,” then pay attention.

One of my favorite questions to ask is this: “If you disappeared tomorrow, what situations would people panic about losing you for?” The answer often reveals strengths you’ve been overlooking.

If you’re still not sure, ask your colleagues, mentors, or clients. They may see your gifts more clearly than you do.

Where do I make the greatest impact?

Once you know what gives you joy and where your strengths lie, connect your work to impact. This is where purpose begins to emerge. This is how you shift your focus away from productivity alone. Productivity is about completing tasks. Impact is about what those tasks make possible.

As CPAs, we’re sometimes guilty of minimizing what we do: “I just prepare tax returns” or “I’m in audit.” But think about what happens because of your work. One of my favorite moments is watching someone reconnect with why they became a CPA in the first place. It usually isn’t because they suddenly discovered they love tax law or auditing standards. It’s because they realize those things are simply the vehicle. What they really love is helping a business owner gain confidence, helping a not-for-profit fulfill its mission, or giving someone peace of mind.

Purpose is found in the outcome that your work creates for someone else. When you connect your daily work to the lives you improve, your perspective changes.

Where can I align with opportunity in the marketplace?

The final piece of Ikigai is often overlooked: opportunity. Purpose has to be sustainable. The good news is there has never been a more exciting time to be a CPA.

Our careers are more customizable than ever. Artificial intelligence is transforming how technical work gets done. Clients are asking for more insight, more strategy, and more guidance. Firms need managers who manage their projects, their people, and their clients. Partners need high-performing professionals who can communicate, champion technology, become niche experts, and bring others along through change.

That creates incredible opportunity.

Perhaps instead of looking for a different profession, consider that your purpose may arise from how you contribute within the profession you already love by bringing more of who you are to it. The opportunities are there if you’re intentional enough to see them.

ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS

Discovering answers to the Ikigai questions can be confusing and wearisome. I’ve discovered that when people take the time to discuss and reflect on them, they find the specific language that captures their essence.

One of the biggest misconceptions about finding purpose is that we have to figure everything out before taking the next step. In my experience, the opposite is true. Clarity comes from action. (See the sidebar, “5-Minute Career Compass Check.”)

Create clarity

Certainty rarely comes until we act. Think about every major decision you’ve made in your career: Did you know exactly what it would be like to be a manager, or own your own practice, or accept a new position? Not likely. You learned by doing. Career purpose works the same way.

Instead of asking, “What should I do for the rest of my career?” or the question I consistently asked myself, “What’s available?”, ask a much smaller question: “What can I test over the next 90 days?” Or, “How can I reshape my work so I spend more time on what I’m uniquely here to contribute?”

Treat it like an experiment. Volunteer for a project outside your comfort zone. Mentor someone. Teach a class. Explore a new specialty. Write an article.

Pay attention to what sparks you and what doesn’t. Every experience teaches you something about yourself. Purpose is refined one intentional decision at a time.

Find your center. Then choose your direction.

I was only 10 years old when I decided I wanted to become a CPA. An introductory accounting course in high school confirmed what I’d believed all along. I loved the logic, the problem-solving, and the satisfaction of bringing clarity to something that didn’t quite make sense. But once I got to college, another subject caught my attention: psychology. I was fascinated by human behavior. I wanted to understand what motivates people, why we make the decisions we make, and why some people embrace change while others resist it. The more I learned, the more I found myself thinking, “This is really interesting.”

Looking back, I smile at that college accounting major sitting in psychology class wondering if she was making the wrong choice. She thought she had to choose between understanding people and becoming a CPA. She didn’t know those two passions would eventually come together.

Your career doesn’t have to be something you inherit. It can be something you discover. Stay curious; pay attention to what gives you energy and ignites your passion.

Ikigai doesn’t promise easy answers; it offers better questions. These questions help you align your energy, your strengths, your impact, and the opportunities in front of you. Purpose isn’t found in a job title. It’s built intentionally. And when you find your center, you can choose your direction with confidence.

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About the author

Susan Stutzel, CPA, is a business performance coach and sole practitioner in Tipton, Iowa. She has worked in a top five national firm, a regional firm, a small business, and a Fortune 500 company, giving her a broad and practical perspective. 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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