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Leader of the Pack

California CPA magazine: July 2008

CalCPA's New Chair is Driving Change

CalCPA’s 2008-09 Chair Greg Burke likes to get up close and personal with the world around him. For the past 24 years, he’s worked at John Waddell & Co. CPAs, where they emphasize one-on-one contact with the business owners they serve. During his time out of the office, one of Burke’s favorite activities is taking nothing but the necessities into the wilderness for some intimate time with nature. And his favorite mode of travel? Motorcycle.

“There’s something about traveling on a motorcycle,” he continues. “You feel the temperature changes, you smell the smells—the sense of motion is more involved because you’re moving your body with the turn. It’s an entirely different experience of moving through the scenery—you feel like you’re part of it, as opposed to traveling through it in a box. That appeals to me.”

Burke plans to bring his immersive, hands-on style to his recent appointment as CalCPA chair. “Much of what I’m hoping to accomplish is communication and listening,” he says. “I want to meet a lot of members and listen to their input. I think it’s going to be a very worthwhile and fulfilling year.”

As CalCPA’s leader, Burke also can feel the changes—and challenges—the profession is facing, much like he can sense change while riding through various climes on one of his two Harley-Davidson bikes. “Even though the profession is facing many challenges, that brings many opportunities too, and I think there’s a lot that can be achieved.”
The Hometown Boy
Burke’s current firm is nestled on the lush banks of the American River, in an office park decked out in wood and surrounded by trees. It’s a relaxing atmosphere, to say the least, and the Sacramento heat doesn’t seem to penetrate through the greenery, leaving the area cool and inviting. It’s no surprise Burke lives only six miles from the office with his wife, Jean, who he has been married to since February 2000.

Burke was also born and raised close by, in the “midtown area” of Sacramento, only a mile and a half from the Capitol. His mom was originally from Phoenix, and his Dad moved to the area from Green Bay, WI. Burke attended Jesuit High School, which he still remains a part of by serving on the board of the alumni association. “I really appreciated the education I received there. It put me in good stead for college and everything since.”

Burke started his college education at University of California, San Diego, for two years, before transferring to University of California, Davis. His first college roommate was big into backpacking and got Burke hooked on it. “He and I are friends to this day and have done numerous backpacking and climbing trips in the mountains,” says Burke. “I used to spend one or two weeks of the year in the mountains. One of the bigger adventures was spending 10 days on the John Muir trail. We hiked from the Devil’s Postpile all the way down to Mt. Whitney, which was probably my longest trip in terms of mileage covered.”

Ironically, Burke never took an accounting class in college. He received a degree in Environmental Economics and Policy Analysis. “It was an agricultural individual major—in other words, I wrote my own major to get out of school because I wasn’t disciplined enough to do any of the traditional majors,” he jokes. “It was a combination of economics—particularly the analytical part of it, because I started life as a math major—and environmental studies, which I was very interested in. It was the early to mid ’70s, we had our first oil crisis, and there was a growing awareness that our actions impacted the planet, which in turn impacted everyone.”

After college, Burke continued the “green” theme and took a job working in a backpacking store called Alpine West in Sacramento, which helped feed his addiction to outdoor recreation. “I don’t do as much backpacking today, but I still like to get up into the mountains.”

Burke’s accounting life started when he went to work for the IRS after his mother suggested he take some of the entry-level government tests. “She had worked for the state, and was retired at the time. She explained that it was an opportunity to start a career and learn something.” At the time, Burke really wanted to work for the state energy commission, but Proposition 13 had just passed and the state froze hiring. “Since I had an econ degree, it was grad school or take whatever came along.” So he took his mom’s advice and took the general, college-level entry government exam, and it turned out the IRS was hiring.

“I figured I’d go for it, as it would give me access to other government jobs and I might be able to transfer to the EPA, or whatever other doors it might open,” he says. “I found out I liked it and had an aptitude for it, and started taking accounting classes to get promoted within the IRS. I was at the IRS for six years, before I started at my current firm. I saw the CPA exam as a challenge, and an opportunity to progress. I felt there was no reason not to pursue it, and there was no downside for sitting down for the exam. Now, here I am, 29 years later in an entirely different career from where I started.”
You Can Take the CPA Out of the Sierra …
“Most of what I currently do is work with small- to mid-size businesses,” says Burke. “Eighty percent of my practice is providing tax and accounting services, but I also do some litigation support in two areas: wage loss and economic damages and defending accountants in malpractice suits.”

Burke started at the firm doing tax and accounting work as a staffer for one of the partners, as well as staffing some litigation support engagements, which was a growing practice area at the time.

Burke says, besides vying for good employees, his firm tries not to compete with the big firms. “What we’ve identified as our niche is the owner-operated, small- to medium-sized business, not the medium- to large-sized business,” he explains. “We serve clients that don’t tend to mesh well with the large firms. We’re hands-on accountants; we spend 70 percent of our time doing chargeable work. What we offer is the one-on-one contact with the business owner. All this differentiates us from the large firms.”
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
Burke’s relationship with CalCPA started before Burke was licensed. “In May 1984, I started going to the tax committee meetings after being introduced to CalCPA by Ken Dodge,” says Burke. “It was a way to get technical information and meet people. I’ve been active ever since. Eventually I was asked to chair the tax committee in 1991, and that started my leadership involvement.”

Becoming chair was not an easy decision for Burke to make. “I talked to my partners and wife about it,” he says. “I also talked to a friend, who’s not an accountant, about it, as a third party perspective. I was aware of the time commitment and what was involved, and that made it a hard decision. My initial thought was not, ‘No,’ but, ‘Maybe not now.’ But, eventually, I did decide on yes. It’s an opportunity to serve and give back—that’s my main motivation. Being a CPA has made it possible for me to live a life I’ve never anticipated, and I want others to have that opportunity. CalCPA and the Education Foundation has been a really big part of that. Advocacy is very important to our members, and I want to be a part of making those things happen.”

During his time as chair, his main goal is to help address the shortage of accounting educators.

“I’d really like to contribute to addressing the shortage,” says Burke. “I look back at my background: neither of my parents were college graduates but they really emphasized the importance of education and gave me a tremendous opportunity to pursue my own education. It’s made an enormous difference in my life. I really believe that what my parents believed in is still true, and if we can put more accounting Ph.D.s in classrooms, we can help change lives.”