Skip to content

This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some are essential to make our site work; others help us improve the user experience. By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Read our privacy policy to learn more.

Close
AICPA-CIMA
  • AICPA & CIMA:
  • Home
  • CPE & Learning
  • My Account
Journal of Accountancy
  • TECH & AI
    • All articles
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Information Security & Privacy

    Latest Stories

    • AICPA releases gen AI tool: Josi
    • AI-driven spreadsheet tools — what CPAs need to know
    • Is spending on technology spinning out of control?
  • TAX
    • All articles
    • Corporations
    • Employee benefits
    • Individuals
    • IRS procedure

    Latest Stories

    • From childhood tax surprise to CPA: A profession leader’s journey
    • Social Security wage base and COLA announced for 2026
    • Congress passes bill requiring IRS to clarify math error notices
  • PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
    • All articles
    • Diversity, equity & inclusion
    • Human capital
    • Firm operations
    • Practice growth & client service

    Latest Stories

    • From childhood tax surprise to CPA: A profession leader’s journey
    • AICPA releases gen AI tool: Josi
    • CPA firm funding — no one right answer
  • FINANCIAL REPORTING
    • All articles
    • FASB reporting
    • IFRS
    • Private company reporting
    • SEC compliance and reporting

    Latest Stories

    • SEC accepting Professional Accounting Fellow applications
    • SEC names new chief accountant
    • SEC ends legal defense of its climate rules
  • AUDIT
    • All articles
    • Attestation
    • Audit
    • Compilation and review
    • Peer review
    • Quality Management

    Latest Stories

    • Right-size your quality management documentation for SQMS No. 1
    • PCAOB publishes guidance related to Audit Evidence amendments
    • AICPA unveils new QM resources to help firms meet Dec. 15 deadline
  • MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
    • All articles
    • Business planning
    • Human resources
    • Risk management
    • Strategy

    Latest Stories

    • Promotion opportunities abound for CFO hopefuls
    • Business outlook brightens somewhat despite trade, inflation concerns
    • AICPA & CIMA Business Resilience Toolkit — levers for action
  • Home
  • News
  • Magazine
  • Podcast
  • Topics
Advertisement
  1. newsletter
  2. Cpa Insider
CPA INSIDER

Summon the courage to take career risks

The right risks can kick your career into high gear.

By Megan Hart
May 17, 2021

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2021. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

Related

May 10, 2021

Managing your personal energy for success

May 10, 2021

3 ways to defeat imposter syndrome — and build executive presence

May 3, 2021

Weighing a move if your job has gone remote

TOPICS

  • Professional Development
    • Career Development

In 2014, Luke Selvig, CPA, was invited to attend a networking event. As a self-described shy person, he wasn’t exactly excited at the prospect. But Selvig had recently joined Boyum Barenscheer, the Twin Cities firm where he’s currently a manager, and thought it would be a good idea to tag along. It’s a decision that changed his life.

Through networking, he got involved with a Minnesota Society of CPAs committee that he was soon asked to chair. The role came with an unexpected responsibility: giving a speech in front of about 350 people at a dinner for new CPAs. Taking risks helps you grow, he said.

“If I can talk in front of more than 300 people at a dinner, I can talk in front of my co-workers at a meeting,” he said.

Selvig, who will speak about getting outside your comfort zone at this year’s ENGAGE conference, sees a link between that first networking event and many of the things he has since achieved, including graduating from the AICPA Leadership Academy and becoming vice chair of the AICPA’s Young Member Leadership Committee. That’s thanks largely to the confidence his public speaking has helped instill.

“If you think of your happiest moments or proudest accomplishments, they don’t come from a place of not taking risks,” he said.

Career risks can, naturally, be scary. These tips can help whether you’re considering a small step or a major leap:

Practice putting yourself out there. Stepping outside your comfort zone becomes easier the more you do it, Selvig said. Start by speaking up a bit more in meetings or volunteering for new tasks.

Advertisement

“It’s kind of like working out,” he said. “You’ve got to build up those muscles by taking those small risks. Do things incrementally.”

He recommends saying “yes” more often — even if the immediate benefit of an action isn’t clear. When Selvig attended that first networking event, he had no idea where it would take him.

And, if taking initiative doesn’t come naturally, find a colleague or friend to hold you accountable, he suggested.

Another benefit of practice is that if you do take a chance and it works out, “it gives you some evidence to support taking risks again in the future,” said Erin Daiber, a CPA turned career coach and owner of Well Balanced Accountants in San Diego, Calif.

As a coach, Daiber frequently works with CPAs who want to advance their careers. One of the things often holding them back: self-confidence.

“People have this idea that you should have a certain level of success before taking a risk,” she said. “This is one of the strategies we use to keep ourselves stuck. It’s a way of mitigating the discomfort of possibly reaching for something and failing.”

Early-career CPAs might avoid risks, even relatively small ones like asking for a raise or volunteering for a new project, because they’re afraid of trying and failing, Daiber said. If you’re experiencing these doubts, tell yourself that in the best case, the risk pays off. In the worst case, you learn something, she said.

Advertisement

Think about where you want to end up. While working with clients, Daiber often has them approach career choices as business decisions. When calculating if a risk is worth it, consider whether it’ll take you closer to your career goals, she said.

“The thing that I tell people is that if you don’t manage your career in accounting, it will manage you,” she said. “It’s really important to have an idea and to be regularly evaluating where you want your career to go.”

If you look at career risks through this lens, it can be easier to tell whether they’re right for you — and to avoid blaming yourself if things don’t pan out.

“It’s natural to go to the worst-case scenario of what could happen by taking a risk, and usually that stops people from taking a risk at all,” Daiber said. “But by focusing on the possibilities that are available to you by swinging out and taking a leap towards what you want, there’s a huge upside. Even if it doesn’t work out as planned, remind yourself that you’ll never let it get to your ‘worst case.'”

Learn as much as you can before making a move. Another way of judging whether a career risk will be worth it — and of lessening your anxiety over it — is to get more information. This is where networking can come into play. Lesley Mitler, a former CPA and co-founder of Early Stage Careers, a coaching firm for college students, recent grads, and early-career professionals based in New York City, recommends that accountants make connections through professional organizations such as the AICPA or their college alumni network and talk to people whose achievements align with their career goals.

“Network with people who have jobs that would be interesting for you,” she said, and ask them how they got there.

If you’re contemplating a new job, note that job descriptions can fail to accurately reflect what day-to-day work might look like, she said. Try reaching out to people with firsthand experience in similar roles to hear about what it’s like for them.

Advertisement

Don’t sell yourself short, Mitler and Daiber agree. If you don’t have all the desired qualifications for a job posting, consider applying anyway. Employers may not expect applicants to have every skill on the list. Often the most important appear first, Mitler noted.

Don’t expect perfect timing. Sometimes taking a career risk can look as simple as asking for more responsibilities or inviting a senior colleague to lunch. But other times, you’ll have to make major decisions about your professional future. You can’t always choose when that’ll happen. If you’re waiting for the perfect time, you’re likely to miss opportunities, Daiber said.

Prepare for change. If you’re contemplating a big career move, prepare for the transition. If possible, save a little extra money beforehand, Mitler said.

You might also consider seeking professional help. Before taking a leap, look for courses or training to build skills relevant to your new career path, Mitler suggests. These opportunities might also help as you determine whether your new career direction is really right for you. Meanwhile, Daiber said seeing a coach herself played a big role in her own career journey.

“We do the best we can with the tools we have. Everybody does,” she said. “But we don’t know what we don’t know, and that’s the benefits of coaching, to open your eyes to new possibilities.”

AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2021, the premier event for accounting and finance professionals, will be a hybrid event this year. Join us at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas or online, July 26–29, for keynotes and sessions on accounting and auditing, tax, technology, leadership, personal financial planning, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and more. Keynotes with Sir Richard Branson and NASA’s Adam Steltzner will be held online on June 8.

Visit the Global Career Hub from AICPA & CIMA for help with finding a job or recruiting.

Advertisement

— Megan Hart is a freelance writer based in Wisconsin. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Courtney Vien, a JofA senior editor, at Courtney.Vien@aicpa-cima.com.

Advertisement

latest news

October 28, 2025

From childhood tax surprise to CPA: A profession leader’s journey

October 27, 2025

AICPA releases gen AI tool: Josi

October 27, 2025

The accounting graduate pipeline: Where do things stand?

October 24, 2025

Social Security wage base and COLA announced for 2026

October 22, 2025

Congress passes bill requiring IRS to clarify math error notices

Advertisement

Most Read

Why accountants need to master the art of reading the room
IRS furloughs nearly half its workers, closes most operations
Using 3 Excel View tools to manage large spreadsheets
Annual inflation adjustments announced for tax year 2026
IRS shutdown plan: Employees stay on the job for first 5 workdays
Advertisement

Podcast

October 23, 2025

Reflecting on AI’s rise in accounting, looking to what comes next

October 16, 2025

AI, succession, the talent pipeline, and defining ‘unapologetic’ ambition

October 8, 2025

Shutdown concerns, the quest for tax guidance, the future of IRS service

Features

AI-powered hacking in accounting: ‘No one is safe’
AI-powered hacking in accounting: ‘No one is safe’

AI-powered hacking in accounting: ‘No one is safe’

Building a better firm: How to pick the proper technology
Building a better firm: How to pick the proper technology

Building a better firm: How to pick the proper technology

Why accountants need to master the art of reading the room
Why accountants need to master the art of reading the room

Why accountants need to master the art of reading the room

How BI and analytics enhance management accountants’ partnering role
How BI and analytics enhance management accountants’ partnering role

How BI and analytics enhance management accountants’ partnering role

SPONSORED REPORT

Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season

Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season

As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.

From The Tax Adviser

September 30, 2025

Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1

August 30, 2025

2025 tax software survey

August 30, 2025

Are you doing all you can to keep the cash method for your clients?

July 31, 2025

Current developments in S corporations

MAGAZINE

October 2025

October 2025

October 2025
September 2025

September 2025

September 2025
August 2025

August 2025

August 2025
July 2025

July 2025

July 2025
June 2025

June 2025

June 2025
May 2025

May 2025

May 2025
April 2025

April 2025

April 2025
March 2025

March 2025

March 2025
February 2025

February 2025

February 2025
January 2025

January 2025

January 2025
December 2024

December 2024

December 2024
November 2024

November 2024

November 2024
view all

View All

http://JofA_Default_Mag_cover_small_official_blue

PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

Learn about important news

This quick guide walks you through the process of enabling and troubleshooting push notifications from the JofA on your computer or phone.

CPA LETTER DAILY EMAIL

CPA Letter Logo

Subscribe to the daily CPA Letter

Stay on top of the biggest news affecting the profession every business day. Follow this link to your marketing preferences on aicpa-cima.com to subscribe. If you don't already have an aicpa-cima.com account, create one for free and then navigate to your marketing preferences.

Connect

  • X Logo JofA on X
  • facebook JofA on Facebook

HOME

  • News
  • Monthly issues
  • Podcast
  • A&A Focus
  • PFP Digest
  • Academic Update
  • Topics
  • RSS feed rss feed
  • Site map

ABOUT

  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Submit an article
  • Editorial calendar
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & conditions

SUBSCRIBE

  • Academic Update
  • CPE Express

AICPA & CIMA SITES

  • AICPA-CIMA.com
  • Global Engagement Center
  • Financial Management (FM)
  • The Tax Adviser
  • AICPA Insights
  • Global Career Hub
AICPA & CIMA

© 2025 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. All rights reserved.

Reliable. Resourceful. Respected.