New Principal Spotlight: Get to Know Timothy Crosson Jr.
Timothy Crosson Jr., CPA, will be promoted to Principal effective January 1, 2023. Tim said about his promotion, “I have always been dedicated to being a team player and providing the best service and support to my clients and coworkers, and I plan to continue that work in my new role. I am excited about this next chapter in my career. It means a lot to be an integral part of a great firm that continues to grow.”
Let’s learn about Tim and his perspective on accounting and building a meaningful career.
Tell me about your career path.
I started with Hungerford & Company, a small, 20-person CPA firm, right out of college in 2008. I had a lot of great mentors there, like Mike Georges, now a Principal in the Ann Arbor office. He pushed me to work hard and complete the CPA exam. In 2014, Hungerford merged with Yeo & Yeo. A year or two later, I was promoted to Manager and began focusing on audit. I grew from there and was promoted to Senior Manager and now Principal.
What do you enjoy most about working with clients?
Clients are challenged by many of the same things we are – they have staff turnover, new software, and changing regulations, on top of managing their day-to-day work. When auditors like me come around, our clients view us as a resource. We become part of their team and help them deal with the challenges they face throughout the year. It is really rewarding to help clients overcome obstacles and improve their organization.
What are your specific areas of specialization?
One of the great things about working for Yeo & Yeo is that I can specialize. I do a lot of work for school districts and nonprofits. I particularly enjoy working on nonprofit engagements because they force us to look at things differently. Often, nonprofits have their own unique challenges that require us to think critically and find solutions to meet their situations.
When did you know you wanted to be a CPA, and why did you gravitate toward this profession?
I started studying at community college in part because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. I was torn between engineering and accounting, but something about the business side of accounting appealed to me, and I gravitated more toward that. After taking my first college-level accounting class, I really enjoyed the problem-solving, math, and interpretation behind the numbers, so I decided to pursue accounting.
What do you enjoy most about your career?
I enjoy the people-focused side of accounting. I like helping clients solve problems and feel more confident in their business decisions. I also like working with the staff at Yeo & Yeo and mentoring those who are early in their career. It’s really fulfilling to see young staff learn and complete projects on their own.
What was the best advice you ever received?
When I was in high school, I had a teacher with a quote on his wall that said, “The biggest failure in life is the failure to try.” I’ve received similar advice from others throughout my career, and it has been very valuable, especially when I was studying for the CPA exam or going into another busy season. I’ve always believed that when challenges arise, you push through them, and you can feel a sense of accomplishment when you overcome them.
What advice would you give to an aspiring accountant progressing in their career?
One of the biggest challenges young professionals face is transitioning from school to work and finding a work-life balance. To me, work-life balance means that sometimes work comes first, and sometimes family comes first. There might be a time when you have to help a client meet their goal or complete a deadline, and in that case, work comes first. There may be other times when you have to be there for your kids for school or sports, and that is when family comes first. As a young professional, you have to find that balance, and working for a company like Yeo & Yeo that values flexibility and has a family-focused culture really helps.
Tim provides audit services with an emphasis on nonprofit organizations, government entities, and school districts. He has more than 12 years of public accounting and business consulting experience. He is a member of the firm’s Education Services Group and Audit Services Group and serves in the Ann Arbor office. At numerous statewide conferences, Crosson has presented on topics relevant to the education and nonprofit industries.