Joshua Lance: Remembering a bright light lost
Many in the accounting profession are mourning this week after we lost one of our best and brightest.
Joshua Lance, CPA, CGMA, founder and owner of the virtual firm Lance CPA Group, passed away Saturday after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer. He was 40 years old.
I served with Josh on the Illinois CPA Society Board of Directors and regularly attended the same accounting events. He was a man who made his mark on the profession and in his community in many positive and lasting ways.
His firm focuses on digital agencies and craft breweries, the latter based on Josh’s experience as a home brewer. Additionally, a division of the firm called The Startup Accountant provides consulting to tech-centric startup companies.
A virtual firm with real intent
He had several goals in crafting Lance CPA Group, which he officially started as his full-time business in 2015. One goal was to structure a firm that allowed him to work from home and see his two young children during the day. As he wrote in the Illinois CPA Society magazine, Insight, in 2018, all his employees were stay-at-home parents who worked remotely and on flex time.
In the same article, he described how he drew upon experiences in public accounting and private industry.
“Starting my own firm enabled me to build a business that took what I liked from my early days in public accounting and experiences in private industry (and avoid what I didn’t like). Here’s what I mean: I loved that the firm I started my career with was highly niched in the banking industry. That meant I got to serve our clients better by becoming an expert in that industry. My least favorite experience in public accounting was tracking time. So, when I started my firm, I decided we would serve a distinct niche in startups, drawing on my private industry experience, and craft breweries, an industry I have a passion for. I also decided we would implement value pricing instead of tracking time.”
A passion for helping others succeed
I remember how excited Josh was to tell me about his firm shortly after he started it. He was proud of it being virtual and especially proud of being able to employ stay-at-home parents. He told me how difficult it was for stay-at-home parents to be able to work from home at that time, and he was thrilled to be able to give them the opportunity to thrive in accounting. He cared so much about people and helping them succeed.
Josh’s care was also evident in his community. He served as the treasurer of his church for 13 years and on the board of Socially Beneficial Investments, LLC, a not-for-profit that currently operates six multi-family residences in Aurora, Ill., that are used to “break the cycle of working class poverty through home-ownership.”
Josh also helped people through education. He was an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University, where he taught accounting and entrepreneurship. He also served as an instructor for the University of Vermont in its Business of Craft Beer program.
Josh loved to share his experiences so others could learn from his successes and his challenges. You can hear more about his story and advice from the podcasts on his website and also his appearance on the Small Firm Philosophy Podcast, produced by the AICPA & CIMA’s Private Companies Practice Section. Josh served on the PCPS Executive Committee at the time.
He also volunteered his time in the profession by serving on the Illinois CPA Society Board of Directors, speaking at events such as AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE, the Illinois CPA Society Summit, and Xerocon; and writing for Accounting Today, Gusto, Intuit, and Xero.
‘We’ve lost a great man’
Besides running his own firm, Josh served as the head of accounting for software maker Ignition. Ignition expressed its condolences on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday.
Tributes also came in this week from friends and colleagues on social media.
Liz Farr posted on X on Sunday: “One of the first things I remember hearing Josh say was that he didn’t really have problems with turnover at his firm. A sign of his kind and generous spirit as a leader. The kind of leader others want to follow. We’ve lost a great man.”
Victor Amaya CPA, wrote on X on Monday: “Josh was a pioneer of our profession and a true visionary.”
Sara Mikuta, CPA, CGMA, posted on LinkedIn on Tuesday: “This breaks my heart. I have been privileged to watch this young professional turn into such a wonderful advocate for our profession and the [Illinois CPA] society. He will be missed.”
Relay Bank posted the following on X:
Josh was selected to the 2017 class of the AICPA Leadership Academy, and CPA Practice Advisor recognized him as one of its 40 under 40 accounting professionals every year from 2017 to 2022. Additionally, Accounting Today recognized Josh as a 2022 Managing Partner Elite and Lance CPA Group among its 2021 Best Firms for Technology for his firm’s people-centric culture and innovation-forward practices.
Josh enjoyed cooking, traveling, and cheering on his favorite football and soccer teams. He loved working from home to prioritize time with his wife, Leesa, and two children, Nathan and Ella. Josh’s family has posted the following on CaringBridge:
“Those who knew him are invited to a memorial service at Hinsdale Covenant Church on Oct. 28, at 10:30 a.m. CT.
“Instead of flowers, the family asks that donations be given to the organizations after Josh’s heart – honoring family and business:
“Foster Progress – Please select ‘In Honor of Josh Lance’
“National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) – Please select ‘General Fund'”
Elizabeth Pittelkow Kittner, CPA/CITP, CGMA, is vice president of finance and HR for GigaOm. For thoughts on this article, please email JofA Editor-in-Chief Jeff Drew at jeff.drew@aicpa-cima.com.
