CPA Journal ran an interview with SEC Chief Accountant Kurt Hohl, who took the post last year after hitting mandatory retirement age EY in 2023, and boy is it inspirational. We say that with the utmost sarcasm.
In response to the question “With your extensive background, how do you think that’s going to influence your role as a principal advisor to the commission?” he says:
Some days I wake up and say, “Why did Paul [Atkins] ask me to do this job?” I’ve really been fortunate to have done a lot of different things in my career. I started back at Deloitte, Haskins, and Sells when there was this new thing in auditing called the computer. I got bored of accounting, I didn’t really want to go into accounting; I was going to go to business school, and I said, “Well, maybe I’ll go work for the SEC.”
We joke but you have to admit the candor is refreshing. There’s no shiny tale of chasing one’s purpose in life, no fib about exciting travel opportunities. Just a guy who ended up in accounting and is still hanging around after 40 years, getting things done. Follow your dreams, everyone.
After taking Wednesday off, the Job of the Day returns with an opportunity at State Street that has the expectation for advancement within the Corporate Accounting and Finance departments.