Leading The Firm Into The Future

 

When Jamie Jabouri was in high school trying to figure out her career path, she didn’t have to look far for a role model. Her father, who began his own accounting firm in 1976 with a partner, was admired throughout the community.

“I like the fact that my Dad was trusted by so many people,” Jabouri said. “We would always run into people in the community who trusted my Dad as an advisor for their companies. I wanted to help businesses solve their problems as well.”

After earning her CPA, Jabouri got the chance to work side-by-side with her father 15 years ago at his firm, Schowalter & Jabouri, P.C. Last year, she was appointed president of the company by the firm’s Board. Schowalter & Jabouri is a full-service accounting firm, providing tax, audit and review services, as well as advisory services.

Before joining Schowalter & Jabouri, she spent five years working with accounting giant Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Jabouri said that experience has been vital to her success at Schowalter & Jabouri. “My experience working at an International accounting firm provided a lot of insight that is helpful today as far as how the firm is managed,” she said.

Jabouri is excited to take the firm into the future. “We’ve seen some of the biggest changes in public accounting in the past 18 months, and those changes are projected to continue to occur at a higher rate over the next few years. In five years, some are projecting that public accounting is going to look totally different. We’re going to be using artificial intelligence, we will be using computer based programs to do analysis, and some of the work our younger staff does might be going away and being replaced by software programs. We will continue to make sure we are keeping up with the training we need, and make sure we are keeping up with the technology curve.”

Said Jabouri: “I’m honored the Board appointed me as the leader to help us into the future. It is a big responsibility. I’m excited about the changes we are making and the new talent we are bringing in and how that talent is going to reshape the future of the firm.”