Meet the Chapter President: Andrew Glenn, CPA
For TSCPA Chattanooga Chapter President Andrew Glenn, CPA, a childhood dream led him onto the career path to CPA. “As a young child, I wanted to be a watch jeweler. I loved the precision and nature of watches and how everything had to work together perfectly to function well,” he says. “As I progressed into high school, I never found a way to make my childhood dream a reality. But a random accounting class taken my senior year really spoke to me. My nature that made me love watches seemed to fit perfectly with accounting.” Today, Glenn has developed that childhood interest into a successful career as an audit partner with Mauldin & Jenkins. “The accounting profession has treated me extremely well,” he says. “It allows for so many different roads that can be traveled. I wish more young people would give it a try.”
Tell us a little about yourself, your family and where you grew up.
For the past 31 years, I have lived in and around Chattanooga with my wife, Jamie, and our four boys. My boys were born and raised in Chattanooga. Jamie and I have been married nearly 32 years. We met at Lipscomb University 33 years ago almost to the day. Jamie is from Middle Tennessee, as is almost all my family. But I’m actually a native Hoosier, as I was born and raised just outside of Indianapolis.
What do you like most about your job?
What I enjoy most about my job is the constant change and challenge. I get bored quickly with repetitive tasks, and some of the skills we use in public accounting can be somewhat repetitive, but there are always twists. It keeps the work new and refreshing. I learn something new daily. And I bring value to my clients, which I love.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
When I have time away from work, I love camping and traveling in our RV. And once the weather fully warms up, I enjoy boating with the family and my first mate, Roxy the Chihuahua.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome, or what’s been your most significant success?
The biggest challenge throughout my career has been finding work/life balance. It’s all too easy to over-focus on work and under-focus on family. And there are times this can’t be helped. Just make sure when things get out of balance to rebalance. As far as most significant success, I’ve been blessed to work in a career and with a company I love. But that pales in comparison with my marriage and family. I married my best friend and have been blessed with an amazing family (and Roxy).
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
I’ve received three pieces of advice I often go to. First, the answer to any accounting question is, “It depends.” Secondly, I had a co-worker once tell me that everyone you meet has something to teach you. Listen to those around you and get to know them. There’s always something to learn. Finally, there’s an accounting equation for any situation for which there was a lack of proper understanding and/or planning. It goes like this: “Credit cash, debit experience.”
What has changed the most since you entered the profession, and what do you see changing the most in the next 5-10 years?
The technology changes I’ve seen since beginning my career in 1993 have really impacted the public accounting profession. We can do so much more, so much faster than 30 years ago. And it has thankfully removed a lot of the “grunt work” that was least satisfying. I get to spend a lot more time analyzing information rather than gathering it. And the recent explosion of AI will continue to speed things up and make us more effective.
This article was originally published in the May/June 2024 Tennessee CPA Journal.