Clair A. Rood: problem solver in chief.

• Author: Whitesides, Hilary Ingoldsby
• Position: Interview

Clair Rood is the new senior managing director of the Salt Lake office of CBIZ, a firm that provides accounting and tax, benefits and insurance and consulting services. Rood has more than 25 years of public accounting experience, including working for the international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

What first drew you into the field?

I attended a community college in Coos Bay, Oregon, and there I went through the engineering program. After a year and a half, I wanted to do something different. That's when I started taking accounting classes. I later continued on at the University of Utah and the rest is history.

What will be different in your new position and what are you most excited for?

Prior to this, I was the tax practice leader here at CBIZ. Now as the senior managing director of the Salt Lake Office. I'm over the tax department and other departments as well. I report to our national office. I do a lot of forecasting, budgeting, expansion. looking for new lines of business and those types of things as well as monitor the productivity of the departments.

I am most excited to have this position back in Salt Lake City. Four years ago our senior managing director retired. And that time the firm had us be accountable to the director in Denver. After that we shared the senior managing director with the Phoenix office. After four years we are now able to have the position back here in Salt Lake.

How do you respond to people who think tax and accounting work must be boring?

It's definitely not boring because its constantly changing. Its anything but boring. We always have new legislation and new rules we have to learn. The fun part is applying that to your client's situation--helping them pay the least they need to under the law. It's all like a huge puzzle that you get to put together. You're always learning and there's always a new challenge. And the very best part is...