Crystal Faulkner: what public service means to this CPA.

AuthorSonderman, Melanie
PositionMember profile - Interview

Crystal Faulkner doesn't just let things happen, she makes things happen. While she's busy with her role as managing partner of Cooney, Faulkner & Stevens, LLC, she still finds time to give back to the community--and then some.

You host a weekly radio show in Cincinnati called BusinessWise. How did you get involved with the show, and what sort of topics does it cover?

The primary philosophy of our firm is to be our clients' adviser and partner, helping them achieve their business and financial goals. One of the ways we accomplish this is through our radio show, BusinessWise, which airs on two National Public Radio stations at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays when most listeners are driving home from work.

Our guests are tremendously talented and successful individuals. We highlight their successes and discuss the challenges they faced to achieve that success. We discuss everything from how to motivate employees, how to save taxes, considerations when buying, selling or starting a business, legal issues related to business, real estate topics, employment issues, tips to increase sales, and even business etiquette. We recently spoke to an attorney in China about the Chinese influence on business here in the U.S.

Our show is not the typical radio talk show. We try to be objective and present both sides of controversial issues when they arise. When we talk about business or taxes on the air, we are giving people ideas that they can then take to their own financial advisers and ask, "Can this help me in my circumstance?"

The show is a lot of fun and we continue to learn and grow along with it. It really forces us to be better business people in addition to our role as financial advisers and CPAs.

You and your colleagues at Cooney, Faulkner & Stevens, LLC, created the Accounting for Kids Day program in Cincinnati, which has grown to become a statewide event reaching thousands of elementary students each year. What prompted you to start the program and what did you hope to achieve?

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When my colleagues and I decided to form our own firm, we built the element of giving back to the community into our mission statement. Our firm's associates were often in an impoverished part of town where we saw many young girls on the streets who had small children. That inspired our first step to giving back: we adopted an inner-city school and provided weekly math and finance tutoring, as well as field trips and parties. That is how Accounting for Kids...

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