Dawn Brolin
CEO
Powerful Accounting
Hartford, CT USA
“I do 100% or nothing. There’s no 50% because there’s no point. Why bother? If you’re not going all in, don’t go in.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationDawn Brolin
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I knew that I wanted to be an accountant when I was 16 years old.
But having kids shortly after college set me back a bit—until I got an unexpected offer from my parents’ home renovation contractor, who wanted me to do his bookkeeping.
Through promotion, networking, and word-of-mouth, I started getting more clients and my business grew.
In my late 30s, I went back to school for my master’s degree and then studied for my CPA license.
I eventually joined a partnership doing payroll and bookkeeping—I learned a lot, but I wanted to do things my way.
I met with a tax attorney friend of mine who offered me a civil audit case—that first taste of working a fraud case drove me to keep pursuing that niche.
Once I saw that there was more to accounting than just being a CPA, I became a Certified Fraud Examiner because I loved doing fraud work.
Now I run my own accounting firm to help small- and medium-sized businesses improve profitability—my firm is high-energy and person-centered.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Certification/License
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Certification/License
Certified Fraud Examiner
Certified Fraud Examiner
Career
CEO
I run my own firm that performs fraud accounting and tax resolutions for small businesses.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Numbers
Entrepreneurship
Helping People
Day to Day
My firm helps small businesses keep their business up and running by performing fraud checks and tax returns. I also offer tax resolutions to help small business that are in debt or have tax issues with the IRS. I also act as a consultant to help businesses use technology to perform better and become more efficient.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for professionals
If you want to get into accounting, there’s no doubt that you can do it. Your first steps should be considering what kind of company you want to work for and what kind of work-life balance you want. Once you figure that out, then you’ll know which companies to strive for.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"You can't do it."
Challenges I Overcame
Working Parent
Work / Life Balance
Interviewed By
Making it Balance
Paths in accounting and auditing
