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Booms, busts and finance upheavals: RoseRyan’s CEO looks back on 20 years

When I cofounded RoseRyan (then known as Macias & Ryan) in September 1993, the Internet was just taking off. The word “global” had a different connotation. Cell phones (if you even had one) were the size of bricks. The “cloud” was in the sky. In many ways, it was a simpler time for accounting and finance.

In the 20 years since, we have weathered two economic downturns and countless changes in accounting rules, governance and oversight. Corporate abuses gave us Sarbanes-Oxley, AS2 and AS5, the PCAOB and the Dodd-Frank Act. Business changed, and continues to change, at exponential rates of speed. We have a truly global economy, blazing technology advancements and exciting new ways of doing business.

This all means that the staid and boring world of accounting has become anything but. We have addressed changes with far-reaching implications in the areas of stock-based compensation, accounting for derivatives, business combinations, fair value measurements, codification and accounting for leases, and we’re now facing brand-new ways to look at recognizing revenue. (FASB promises it will be final any day now.…)

CFOs and their teams have had to step up their game. In addition to understanding and implementing new and complex accounting principles, they are rightfully taking on a more strategic role as leaders in the business. No longer are CFOs expected to be just the keepers of historical financial statements and budgets; they also need to understand their business and market trends, and strategically and systematically increase the value of their company. Not easy tasks, but certainly challenging and exciting in today’s dynamic market.

While the finance needs of Bay Area companies have changed, the fundamentals of RoseRyan’s business have not. As in 1993, in 2013 we are dedicated to attracting and retaining top-notch professionals, and to providing an environment where our consultants are challenged but also able to enjoy a personal life. This allows us to provide exceptional finance and accounting solutions to our clients, giving them the right people with the right skills at the right time.

No matter what the level of their assignment, every RoseRyan consultant rolls up their sleeves to get the job done—and they look beyond the cubicle to provide best practices, advice and objective opinions derived from their years of experience. We call ourselves “gurus” because we strive to be leaders and mentors for our clients and one another.

We’ve worked with more than 700 clients at RoseRyan, and they have made for an exciting 20 years. It has been a great time to work with companies in the technology and life sciences industries, participating in the myriad of changes that have taken place and watching companies go up and down—and sideways. What’s most exciting is that we are often with clients through their corporate life cycle. For example, I started with one client as CFO when they were in an incubator. We shepherded them through two-plus years of fast growth as their outsourced accounting department. We later helped them with revenue recognition issues, stock-based compensation and audit support. Finally, as they neared their exit, we helped with financial forecasting, due diligence and integration with the eventual acquirer. We were with the company for over eight years, and it was rewarding to understand their business, walk with them through the ups and downs, and celebrate their successes.

RoseRyan would not be where it is today without our amazing clients or our consultant gurus. I am very proud of all of them, and I am pleased that RoseRyan helps both clients and our employees thrive. They are a huge part of why I think the Bay Area is a great place to work, to learn, to live. I give heartfelt thanks to all who have made the past 20 years possible. We’re looking forward to the next two decades!

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RoseRyan volunteers go for the orange at Second Harvest Food Bank

“This was great, it’s amazing the work they do here,” “That was fun, I smelled oranges in my sleep” and “I never thought packing boxes of oranges could feel so rewarding” were just some of the sentiments of the 13 RoseRyan volunteers who packed more than 15,000 pounds (yes, almost 8 tons) of oranges at the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Jose.

On December 12, our job at the Second Harvest Food Bank was to break down 1,250-pound pallets of oranges into 25-pound boxes. There were 12 pallets, and the volunteer leader said we wouldn’t get through them all since we only had two hours. Team RoseRyan was up for that challenge! Joining other volunteers in a team of 30, we constructed the boxes, filled them with good oranges, weighed the boxes to ensure they were exactly 25 pounds (as precise accountants will do), and stacked them, ready to be distributed.

Being not only precise but also overachieving, we set a second goal, to finish before the apple-packing team. Mission accomplished on both fronts: we packed all 15,000 pounds of oranges and we were done before the apple team! Our reward: help the apple packers. We soon found out why they were slower. Apples were harder to box as they are slippery, they needed more quality control to sort the bad from the good, and the fruit bruises easily so you have to be more careful when putting them into the boxes.

Nevertheless, apples or oranges, RoseRyan is committed to fighting local hunger. This is the second year we’ve volunteered at Second Harvest, which is one of the largest food banks in the nation. In 2012, they distributed 45 million pounds of nutritious food to people in need in every ZIP code from Daly City to Gilroy. In addition to providing food, they conduct nutrition classes and work with lawmakers to advocate for policy changes that can help eliminate hunger and its root causes. Throughout the year, volunteers contribute over 300,000 hours of service to the food bank, saving the organization more than $5.9 million in personnel costs.

We’re proud to contribute to this significant community program. And we get something from it, too. As RoseRyan grows, it becomes harder to keep in touch with our colleagues. This event gives us the opportunity to take a break from the world of debits and credits and hang out together.

Read about our inaugural Second Harvest volunteer event.

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Living to work? Remember, you only live once

A few years ago, well before I joined RoseRyan, I met a recruiter who was trying to fill a CFO opening in a fast-moving start-up. The role sounded interesting, until the recruiter said the CEO was looking for a young candidate as they were less likely to want a “work-life balance.”

Immediately, I knew the discussion had just hit a fatal roadblock, because I am a strong believer in work-life balance. Someone once said you should work to live, not live to work. That is so true.

When I first started working, I did not have that balance. I would work long hours, and I definitely put work above most other activities. After a few years, I began to realize I was going down the wrong track. My social life was suffering, and I was beginning to see that some perceived benefits were not there. For example, I met people who had dedicated themselves to their companies for years, only to lose their jobs in times of recession or streamlining operations without an ounce of thanks from their former employers. Because their jobs had been their life, they were left with nothing. I felt really bad for them, and began to realize the same thing could happen to me if I wasn’t careful.

So I started to change my ways. I banished my cell phone from social events and Little League baseball matches, and made efforts to get home to be with my family at mealtimes and in the evening. I took steps to avoid my laptop on one full day out of the weekend, and instead to go do something interesting. I can honestly say my work did not suffer from these changes. If anything it got better, as I was now much sharper, healthier and less stressed.

The final vindication of my actions came to me on September 11, 2001. I was one of the people at the World Trade Center that morning, and I was fortunate to get out of there with my life. I had plenty of time that week to reflect on that Tuesday’s events. They cemented in me the need for a proper work-life balance, as you never know what’s coming next.

You only live once. Make the most of it and work to live—don’t live to work.

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RoseRyan flexes muscles at Second Harvest Food Bank

Last week, a dozen RoseRyan consultants and family members sorted 14 crates of food—approximately 11,000 pounds!—at the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Jose.

As we arrived at the warehouse, we were amazed at the rows and rows of pallets with food stacked on shelves, all the way to the ceiling. Once we signed in, our tasks entailed checking expiration dates, putting food items into categories (protein, vegetables, fruit, cereal, etc.), boxing them up, labeling them and stacking them on pallets. As we went through this process, the things we learned: don’t tie the plastic bags you donate the food in, it slows down the process; if the item is past its expiration date, don’t donate it—we ended up throwing lots of food away; and items without an ingredient listing on the package aren’t accepted.

RoseRyan is proud to be a part of this community program and help fight local hunger. The Second Harvest Food Bank is one of the largest food banks in the nation, providing food to an average of a quarter million people a month. Throughout the year, volunteers contribute almost 300,000 hours of service to the food bank, saving more than $5.7 million in labor costs. Food is distributed to low-income families and the homeless from Daly City to Gilroy through shelters, pantries, soup kitchens, children’s programs, senior meal sites and residential programs.

It helps us too. As we are a dispersed workforce and don’t have much opportunity to interact with each other, the Nov. 30 activity also gave us a chance to get know each other better, build a sense of teamwork, and have fun! Some comments from those who attended: “It was one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences,” “Thanks for organizing this, I would have never tried it otherwise” and “Thank goodness for kettlebell workouts!”

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New York Times’ flextime article is heartening

It was heartening to see the January 8 New York Times article, “Flex Time Flourishes in Accounting Industry.” Work/life balance in the finance field is at the core of RoseRyan: When I co-founded the firm in 1993, I was looking to get off the 60- to 65-hour-a-week treadmill myself (which ironically didn’t happen for me personally, but it’s a main feature of the firm for our gurus). We truly “walk the talk” on this issue. We instituted flextime in 1996 and at last count 35 percent of our workforce was taking advantage of it.

I’m certain that’s why are able to attract and retain top-shelf finance talent. Generally speaking, we find that seasoned professionals seek sustainable work weeks, and they see this gift of time as a remarkable perk. (I also wrote on this very topic in a different post in response to a recent article in CFO Magazine that lamented the perils of flextime for CFOs.)

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Flextime helps drive success

I read Alix Stuart’s article “The Perils of Flextime” in the July/August issue of CFO Magazine and want to share my perspective. As the co-founder of a talent-centered accounting and finance consulting firm, I have a different take on some of the issues raised.

It’s certainly true that in 1993 women faced the mommy track in corporate finance. That’s partly why my former colleague, Sue Macias, and I started RoseRyan with an eye toward making it family-friendly and more.

We’ve found that top finance talent is hungry for non-traditional work hours, and it’s been the key driver to our success. Today, RoseRyan is a bustling business for men and women who work part-time or flex-time while enjoying satisfying, challenging work. Half of our seasoned finance gurus are parents, 41 percent work flex hours and 65 percent are female.

It’s heartening to see that companies like Bain & Co. are investigating alternative promotion paths for employees on nontraditional schedules. I’d like to add the kind of high-level consulting work we offer as another option for finance pros who are struggling with work/life balance issues.

While the general stats for women in the field at the CFO position remain dismal, it’s also true that the profession is innovating and alternatives do exist. Certainly, change is afoot. I think the next generation of finance leaders will pick up the ball and charge further down the field.

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