Today we’d like to introduce you to Connie Zhang, CPA.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It took great effort to get where I am today, a Tax Partner at MaloneBailey. I began my career as a professor of English at Tsinghua University, one of the top universities in Beijing. It was during this time that I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do career-wise for the rest of my life. Business school was appealing to me because I was, and still am, a “people person.” I found my passion in management. I moved to the U.S. and began the PhD program at Ohio State University in business management. I explored different classes and found that accounting, and more specifically tax, was the most interesting to me. From there, I transferred to the University of Houston and received a Master of Science in Accountancy degree. I’ve worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP and Deloitte Tax LLP, as well as LUKOIL, a “Fortune Global 100” oil company. English is my second language, so that of course made things a little more difficult when I first moved to the United States, but my experience from being an English professor helped tremendously. I am very happy where I am in my career, and even though it took me a little longer than most to figure out my passion, I wouldn’t change anything. I have realized what I excel at and haven’t looked back.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes and no. The rocky part of my journey was before I focused on tax. That was a time of exploration and trial-and-error. The transition from China to the U.S. also took some getting used to. Once I found what I wanted to do with my career, the journey became easy.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about MaloneBailey – what should we know?
I lead the Tax department at MaloneBailey, LLP, a full-service CPA firm. MaloneBailey is one of the top 11 firms in the world that audits over 100 public companies, so as the head of Tax I am very proud to have the opportunity to serve our publicly-traded clients. On the private side, we are positioned to serve our corporate clients as well as individuals. I specialize in international tax planning, consulting and compliance services. We support our clients with their international tax needs, such as global tax structuring and tax support for cross-border transactions. We also support local clients with federal, state and local tax matters.
We take pride in a hands-on, service-oriented business philosophy that focuses on quality, reliability and responsiveness to our clients’ needs.
Teamwork and a collaborative spirit are essential at MaloneBailey. Staff have the opportunity to plug into the many facets of the firm. They also have direct access to mentors and members of the management team as well as have the option to participate on different committees, social events, training programs and much more.
Where do you see your industry going in the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc.?
The most prominent changes I foresee in the tax industry are (1) President Trump’s tax reform and (2) the development and utilization of artificial intelligence (AI). The tax reform will transform not only the business environment in the U.S., but also the international tax landscape globally. This will have significant implications for all our clients, and we are ready to assist in whatever way possible.
The use of AI technology will also affect the way tax services will be conducted. Some of the leading accounting firms have already created and implemented AI technology to sort data on a large scope as well as put together tax returns. This will change the whole profession for tax advisors, however, I think there will always be a need for humans in the process. It might just be running the AI technology as opposed to doing the actual work.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9801 Westheimer Road, Suite 1100
- Website: http://www.malonebailey.com/
- Phone: 713.343.4286
- Email: cozhang@malonebailey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malonebaileyllp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaloneBaileyLLP/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaloneBaileyLLP
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/711479/
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