Zunie Nguyen of Yogi CPA and Julie Smith of Harper & Co. Share Recognition
NASHVILLE (Dec. 6, 2021) – Zunie Nguyen, CPA, and Julie Smith have been named dual 2021 recipients of CPA.com’s Innovative Practitioner Award, which recognizes innovation in process, services and technology implementation. Both practitioners successfully used technology and forward-looking practice development strategies to drive advisory services and deliver business relief to clients.
Award winners are chosen primarily through a vote of their peers. Both recipients will be recognized onstage at Digital CPA, CPA.com’s annual conference for practitioners focused on technology and its impact on the accounting landscape. Here’s a closer look at the winning candidates and their achievements:
- Zunie Nguyen is founder and CEO of Yogi CPA, an Orange, Calif.-based firm focused on financial independence for high-income earners. Nguyen set up her practice to be totally paperless and offers consistent educational updates, including videos, social media posts and a monthly newsletter, to better inform clients. During the pandemic, her firm helped clients secure over $4 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and $1 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
- Julie Smith, a practice manager for Harper & Co. in Columbus, Ohio, is a driving force behind efficiency, technology and revenue growth at the firm. In 2017, when the 12-person firm decided to embrace advisory services, Smith built out its tech stack to include robust practice management, document management and research tools. When the pandemic hit, the firm was able to conduct 72 PPP loan engagements while continuing to manage its robust tax work. In a testament to its efficiency, Harper & Co. has tripled its growth over the past four years without adding new staff.
“Zunie and Julie demonstrate not just innovation but agility in a time of unprecedented change, when CPA firms were under intense pressure,” said Kacee Johnson, CPA.com’s senior director of strategy and innovation. “It says great things about the profession when we see such a wave of creativity in firm’s business models, use of technology and value creation for clients.”
To read more about Nguyen, Smith and previous honorees, please visit the Innovative Practitioner Award page. To learn more about strategies for transforming your firm, please visit cpa.com.
About CPA.com
CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.
Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.
A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.
