ProConnect™ Tax spotlight: Megan Leesley, CPA

Welcome to another profile in a series of articles about accountants who use Intuit® ProConnect™ Tax and also serve on the Intuit Tax Council. Meet Megan Leesley, CPA, tax director for Dark Horse CPAs, a national firm that focuses on tax, accounting, and CFO services. I sat down with Megan to learn more about her firm, a bit about her background, and why she serves on the Council.

Scott Cytron: Megan, thanks for being with us today. Where are you based?

Megan Leesley: I’m based out of a small mountain town in Colorado called Salida. However, because Dark Horse is fully remote, I’m able to work from anywhere with a solid internet connection, so I often travel and work from other locations for extended time periods.

SC: Tell our readers about your practice; it is structured differently than most practices, right?

ML: Correct. We have a unique structure designed to bridge the decision gap CPAs in public accounting face between the traditional partner route—which is often an ambiguous path focused heavily on billable hours rather than actual performance— and the daunting choice to start your own firm from scratch. We strive to provide the tools, structure, and support for our CPAs, while fostering the autonomy and entrepreneurship for each of our principals to build their own practice based on their vision of their ideal client, book of business, and work/life balance.

SC: So do you consider Dark Horse a disruptor?

ML:  Absolutely! We are the antithesis of the traditional public accounting firm. Dark Horse has built a flat organization where our “Leadership Team” is not a group of head honchos dictating down the pyramid. Instead, they are a team that serves our CPAs and their staff so they can better serve their clients, directly benefiting financially from their work, and set their own goals for work/life balance.

To put it bluntly, Dark Horse is putting the power back in the hands of the CPAs to control their own destinies.

SC: On the Intuit Tax Pro Center, we featured Dark Horse’s Chase Birky and Max Fritz who referred to ProConnect Tax as “table stakes.” Tell me more about your tech stack and what Intuit products are you using?

ML: We have an extensive tech stack, but our core technology for Client Advisory Services (CAS) and tax is Intuit-based.  On the tax side, we use ProConnect Tax and Intuit Tax Advisor as our primary tax preparation and planning/advisory software.  On the CAS side, we use QuickBooks Online, as do the vast majority of our clients. Our other tech stack offerings, including Karbon, Ignition, and Keeper, were selected not only for their own functionality, but also their integrations with the Intuit products we use.

SC: I know you’re a new member of the Tax Council. In what ways do you think the Council is important to the profession?

ML: With the current issues and challenges our industry is facing, such as CPA shortages and burnout, I believe that we should seize any opportunity we have to collaborate on proactive solutions, tools to streamline our work and increase efficiencies, and practice management ideas, and offer feedback to generate technological improvements that could positively impact workflows. Tax Council is one of these opportunities. By bringing together leaders to discuss innovative ideas for the future of public accounting, the Council is fostering productive conversations that can be implemented in real time and be the proof of concept for others to enact change.

SC: What other volunteer work are you doing?

ML: I just finished up a four-year stint on the board of my local community foundation, with the last two years serving as the chair of the board.  It was a fantastic experience, and reminded me how much I love collaborating with peers to help find solutions to shared issues. While I have rolled off the board, I am still serving on the Finance Committee as a community member, and was recently voted on to the Advisory Board for the foundation.  I’m also a member of Chaffee County Women Who Care, a group of about 150+ women who believe in making philanthropy more accessible through the power of collective giving to support our local nonprofits.

SC: What was your very first job?

ML: As soon as I could drive myself to work, I got a job as a checker for HEB, a grocery store chain in my hometown, Austin, Texas. It was actually super fun getting to meet new people every day, see regulars, and challenge myself to see how fast I could get people through my line without any inaccuracies. I’ve always been a bit of a nerd about always challenging myself, even in simple tasks. I’m a complete extrovert, so it was a pretty perfect first job for me.

SC: How can tax professionals keep up with all the changes in tax laws and regulations?

ML: CPE opportunities abound, but realistically, I don’t think any one person can keep up with the vast amount of constant changes to tax laws and regulations on their own, especially not to the expert degree expected of us as tax professionals. Even the interpretation of the various laws and regulations can vary wildly from person to person. This is why community is so important in the tax profession.

Being a part of organizations such as the AICPA, state CPA societies, and alumni groups, and networking with fellow tax professionals through conferences and councils such as the Tax Council, offers us a chance to hear varying interpretations, understand the implications of particular tax positions, and learn about areas of the tax code that we may not be as well versed in as another colleague.

SC: If you were stranded on a desert island with access to just one kind of technology, what would it be, and why would you want it?

ML: The practical side of me wants to say “a satellite phone” so I could tell people my location and be rescued! If rescue was not an option, I’d at least be able to chat with friends and family. As I mentioned before, I’m a bit of an anomaly to the standard image of a CPA in that I’m a complete extrovert and need regular connection time with people, especially my loved ones.

SC: Thanks Megan!