BDO, one of the nation’s leading accounting firms, is proud to welcome Audit Manager, Christian Richardson, to its Tampa office. “We are all excited that Christian has joined the growing BDO Tampa family” says Assurance Office Managing Partner, Thiru Govender. “His addition makes our team even better equipped to serve the Tampa market.”
Richardson brings over seven years of experience to his role, however, he didn’t start his undergraduate studies focused on accounting. His B.A., earned at the University of Florida, is in political science. Richardson originally planned on attending law school: “After too many courses filled with arguing and debating, I realized law was not for me.” He spent a year and a half working with a bank and worked closely with the CFO: “That experience helped me realize I wanted to pursue accounting.” Richardson went on to earn his master’s, in accounting, from Florida Atlantic University.
In 2011, after completing his master’s, Richardson stayed in south Florida and started working in public accounting, eventually being promoted to manager. Richardson’s industry experience is mostly in the manufacturing and distribution arenas. “Within that realm,” Richardson explained, “I generally worked on SEC and SOX through both attest and consulting.”
What initially attracted him to BDO Tampa was its size and projected growth. With a move to downtown Tampa on the horizon, Richardson looks forward to playing a part in BDO’s continued growth in a new office location. Still getting to know the BDO culture, he’s confident in his choice to join the team: “I am impressed by the office’s collaborative nature. Team members engage in tasks that you wouldn’t typically associate with their role,” he shared. Richardson’s also glad to be back in the Tampa Bay area, as it’s where he grew up and where his network remains.
Though he’s still immersed in the on-boarding process, Richardson has gotten a taste for what his typical days in the BDO office will entail. He will manage team members, measure progress, review obstacles, and facilitate communication. He is also excited about BDO’s commitment to ongoing education and looks forward to keeping up to date with auditing and accounting guidelines.
Richardson also looks forward to facing new challenges head on and knows that his mindset and habits are paramount in working through them: “The first step is identifying the challenge. I then create a timeline and make sure that all team members involved agree on how to move forward. I’m intentional in keeping to our plan.” Richardson’s professional experiences have taught him that resource allocation and communication are keys in working through challenges. Accordingly, he works to get to know all team members’ strengths and speaks with everyone on a daily basis. Doing so facilitates pooling talents and productive, professional relationships.
Richardson is intent on nurturing his personal relationships as well. He and his wife have an 18-month-old daughter, and her presence is a strong reminder of the need to unplug: “Technology makes it easy to work 24/7, but I try to set things up so that my weekends are free and I can focus on family.” When possible, he also enjoys fishing with friends. He finds his friends’ misconceptions of his professional life humorous: “They think I do taxes and ask me for tax advice all the time. They also think everyone in accounting has a meek personality, but 75% of our job involves effective communication and speaking with our clients.” Richardson is thrilled to be back in his hometown so that he can further grow his network here, both personally and professionally.
Congratulations to Christian Richardson on his new role and best wishes for continued success to the entire BDO team.
