Partner, KSM

5 A.M.: Wake up.

5:10 A.M.: Head out the door to the YMCA in Westfield for a workout. Having kids turned me into an early morning person that I never used to be. Now those early mornings are what energize me!

6:30 A.M.: Back home for some breakfast and coffee (first of many cups of the day). It’s summertime, so the house is still quiet before my three young boys wake up. My wife and I enjoy the quietness of the house while it lasts.

8 A.M.: I like to go into the office as much as possible. Today, I have a meeting over coffee before heading in. I’m meeting with another individual whose company also serves the technology ecosystem. Our goal is to discuss our mutual practices, where we might be able to collaborate and what we’re seeing from our clients in this space. The technology world is so dynamic and fast-paced that it’s important to discuss what we are seeing and what challenges our clients are facing so we can build up these rapidly growing companies. So many high-growth start-ups fail—it’s our job to make their financial and tax lives seamless so they can focus on building and scaling great products in pursuit of growth!

9:15 A.M.: Arrive at the office after an encouraging meeting. The first objective is to catch up on any emails I may have missed during my meeting through the early morning hours. This helps me assess any high-priority items before my day gets too far along.

10 A.M.: Today is not only about learning from others outside of the firm but also within our growing service lines at KSM. I have a meeting today with the leader of our newly re-launched Information Technology Services practice group. The goal is to collaborate on any potential opportunities. This new service line helps companies optimize their IT strategy, leverage AI for automation and efficiency, migrate to the cloud, among other things. It’s a natural intersection with our technology practice, so this is day one of helping each other better understand our clients in order to support them well.

11 A.M.: Lunch is approaching, but first another email break to catch up on any potential items I need to add to the to-do list before the day is over. There are no known fires to put out (thankfully) so my day can stay on schedule—but days don’t always go this way. In the world of client service, it’s important to be adaptable to unforeseen needs.

11:30 A.M.: Lunch time. Throughout the year, the firm provides at least one lunch per week—today is one of those days. As a husband and father of three young boys, it’s nice to not have to think about packing lunch and being able to be efficient through my lunch “hour” (usually more like 15 minutes to keep pushing through the day).

11:45 A.M.: There’s a stack of tax returns on my virtual desk to get through so my team can continue along with this year’s tax compliance. Compliance isn’t always the most fun part of the job. To me, the most fun comes in consulting with clients on planning opportunities to reduce taxes, structuring future transactions or other more complex matters. In the technology world, this consulting work often includes planning for future growth and an exit journey ahead while being mindful of the diligence matters that might come up along the way (e.g. sales tax matters, revenue recognition concerns, measuring tax attributes, etc.). Having said all of that, tax compliance is important and often the impetus for finding those planning or consulting opportunities. Now through the early afternoon is my chance to check a handful of those off my to-do list.

2:30 P.M.: Now with a handful of items checked off my to-do list, it’s time to prepare for my final meeting of the day—a prospective client meeting. Part of my preparation for this meeting in the days and hours leading up was through using ChatGPT to summarize what the company does and where they have been in the news recently. ChatGPT, along with other tools such as Introhive (a platform that helps uncover relationships), helps me easily consolidate information so I can be better prepared for any meeting, especially one such as this.

3 P.M.: Like many prospect meetings in the post-COVID world, this one is virtual. It is an initial touch base to get to know their business in more depth, along with what they’re looking for in a tax and assurance partner. The hope is this is step 1 towards formally proposing on their tax and assurance needs. Regardless of the outcome, I love to understand prospective clients’ challenges—this helps me better serve my clients.

4 P.M.: Research and development (R&D) and related tax matters are always important in the technology industry—whether it’s a start-up claiming its R&D as a payroll tax credit or a mature SaaS company that’s taxable, this credit is powerful and meaningful to our clients. One of the offices I swing by most on an impromptu basis is that of my colleague who helps lead our R&D tax practice. After catching up on our days in general, the topic of new technologies within his R&D practice come up. This group is pursuing new technologies that can help them do their work more efficiently and with more powerful deliverables.

4:30 P.M.: I’m looking at the clock and realizing my post-work responsibilities are creeping up. It’s one final look at my email inbox before heading out. If there are internal or client commitments to address before the day is over, it’s time to set an alarm for this evening so I don’t forget.

4:45 P.M.: Head home. I coach my son’s travel baseball team and have to get home for practice two days a week.

5:30 P.M.: Arrive at Grand Park for practice after picking my son up from home on my way there. These boys are spoiled with the level of quality fields they get to practice on!

7 P.M.: Practice is over, but now it’s older brother’s turn for his travel baseball practice. Today, both my wife and I stick around to watch him practice while his younger brothers play with his teammates’ younger siblings. These days fly by and there’s nothing I enjoy more than watching my boys have fun and compete with their friends.

8:45 P.M.: Now, the whole family is finally home after practice. These are fun but exhausting summer nights. It’s time to get the boys cleaned up and off to bed—and mom and dad some dinner (finally)!

9:15 P.M.: My wife and I get some time to ourselves. Sometimes this means catch up on emails or other tasks I missed while racing off to the baseball fields. Other times, it means we catch up on our favorite show. Right now, that’s re-watching one of our favorites, Parenthood. Or, it’s both!

10 P.M.: I’m an early riser, so that generally means early to bed. Time to chat with my wife about tomorrow and reflect on anything important (or fun) that happened throughout our day today. This was another one that absolutely flew by—time to rest up for the next!

The Weide family at Grand Park in Westfield.	On vacation.

Job Title: Partner

Company: KSM 

Company Size: 700+ 

Most Interesting Thing About What You Do: I have the privilege of working with companies across various stages of their life cycles. It’s most interesting when I get to see them journey from their initial funding infancy through a material liquidity event. Working with founders from pre-revenue through a life-changing liquidity event is not only rewarding for me professionally, but it’s also personally gratifying to watch my clients achieve such success.

Previous Positions: I worked with Crowe both in Indianapolis and New York City for six years prior to coming to KSM (where I have been now for nearly seven years).

Alma Mater: Wittenberg University

When I'm Not at Work

Family: Madison (wife) and 3 sons (Finn – 9, Cal – 7, Mack – 5)

Pets: Sandy (mini goldendoodle)

Hobbies: Playing sports—mostly tennis these days and whatever sport my boys are playing. Coaching sports—I coach my boys’ baseball, basketball and football teams. My wife and I are also self-proclaimed foodies and enjoy trying new restaurants around the city.

Community Involvement: I’m a volunteer youth baseball, basketball and football coach
in Westfield.

Advice

Advice for Students Considering the Profession: Professional services and accounting is one of the more understated, dynamic workplaces. You get to work with so many different companies and experience every possible business lifecycle event alongside them. You also get to continually work with, mentor and be mentored by colleagues at various stages in their careers. Nothing is ever static.

Best Advice You’ve Ever Received: It’s only taxes. 

Do you think a day in your life would make a good addition to our series? Contact Katie Kirkton at kkirkton@incpas.org to find out how you can share your story.