8/6/2019 5 Questions with Jeff Frable in Tulsa World 8-6-10

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questionswith Jeff Frable

MAn BARNARD/ Tulsa World

Jeff Frab le, a CPA and

partner with Curzon

Cumbey & Kunkel PLLC,

recently completed his

term as president of the

Oklahoma Society of

CPAs.

Interview conducted byNancy Hollingshead,

World staffwri ter.

1hat do you do as a partner with(urzon Cum ey & Kunkel PLL(?I've never experienced a

culture similar to our firm, and Iget the opportunity to be part ofthe leadership team that dTivesthat culture. I get the oppor tunity

to work with many entrepreneurs

who need someone to alleviate thei rburdens related to various tax andbusiness issues. The various rolesI play with my clients and partners

fosters a growth culture that can bevery exciting.

2When did you become interested in

numbers?I took my first accounting

class my junior year of high school.From that point, the curriculum

seemed to click with me and I con-tinued to follow the path to where Iam today. I've learne d relationsh ipsand trust are just as important asthe technical aspect. I love takingcare of clients and making them feelimportant. Many times, being pro-

active, solving a problem or simplyreturning a phon e call strengthens

the relationship and builds trust.

3OU just ended your one-year term

as president of the OklahomaSociety of (PAs. What was the most

challenging issue you faced during your ten-ure, and what did you find most rewarding?

A significant portion of our pro-fessionals are ol der than 50. The de-velopment of the "New CPA" - de-fined by the OSCPA as younger than

40 or having five or fewer years ofexperience as a CPA - is imperativeto the continuance or our profes-

sion and leadership with in theprofession. This ini tiative reaches asfar back as grade or high school todevelop our future leaders.

The most rewarding aspect hasbeen the continued success of the

Financial Literacy In itiative. CPAshave initiated grass-roots effortswith free resources and tools toeducate all ages on basic financialtopics. A great example of this is"Do it Herself: A Journey to Finan-cial Freedom," a conference heldeach year in Tulsa and OklahomaCity. Hund reds ofwomen attend,and many leaveeducated andempowered to take control of their

financial well-being.

4More than110 countries worldwidehave adopted Internat ional FinancialReporting Standards for financial

data, and the United States is reportedlygearing for the change. What is the IFRS,

and what will the change mean to you andyour clients?

The transition from our nation'sGenerally Accepted Accounting

Principles (GAAP) to IFRS is not atax issue; therefore, it will not affectmost individual taxpayers. IFRS isa set of accounting standards thatmay one day be the global stan-dard for the preparation of publiccompany financial sta tements. IFRSmight also come into play for anyentrepreneurial business owner

wi th the need or desire to present

financial statements on the samebasis as foreign compet itors, which

would make comparisons easier.Conve rsion to IFRS could be

more than an account ing exercise,though, as it could affect many

aspects of a u.s. company's opera-tions. A date for mandatory u.s.implementation has yet to be set.CPAs will react, though, when the

Securities and Exchange Commis-sion designates a date for voluntary,

or even mandatory, adoption ofIFRS by all U.S. public companies,and maybe even nonpublic compa-nies.

SHow does the year ahead look forOklahoma's (PAs?

It's a great time to be aCPA in Oklahoma. The public holdsour profession in high regard as atrusted resource with much integ-rity. With pending tax and financialreporting changes on the horizon ,the public will continue to look toour profession for insight, under-standing and answers.