If Honkamp, P.C. President and CEO Katie Thomas were in a “choose your own adventure” book, turning to a different page might have seen her pursue banking or medicine instead of accounting.
A chance encounter with one of her dad’s customers set her on the path to where she is today, leading the firm.
A place in Dubuque
Ms. Thomas lives in Dubuque, though Honkamp operates across the state of Iowa and in Wisconsin.
Dubuque is an eclectic blend of quaint and industrial, valleys and bluffs, and a history involving French fur trappers, Native American culture and even some Chicago mobsters. It’s also the place where she grew up, leaving briefly for one year to attend college in Iowa City in 2001.
At the University of Iowa, Ms. Thomas majored in medical studies, but didn’t get very far. She found interest in an accounting honors class and switched her major to business.
Homesickness and the vast expanse of the university left her feeling “a little lost.” So, she returned to Dubuque and attended Loras College in the spring of 2002, where a professor suggested she major in something more specialized like finance – so she did.
Chance encounter
As a teen and during her college years, Ms. Thomas worked for her dad’s pool installation company, a job that taught her the value of enterprise and hard work, with the opportunity to build skills around organization and customer service.
It was while she was doing routine maintenance on a customer’s pool that she met Honkamp’s CEO at the time, Greg Burbach.
“(We) just started talking and talking about finance and business, and he said, ‘you should consider accounting. It’s a great career,’” she said.
Ms. Thomas followed his advice and added an accounting major in 2004, calling him once she settled into her studies. “I said, ‘hey, do you have any internships available? I’m an accounting major now,’” she recalled. “And he said, ‘actually, we do have an opening.’ So I started as an intern, and I loved it.”
Accomplishments
The two-time recipient of the Avantax Planning Partners President’s Club award has now been with Honkamp for 19 years, starting as an intern in 2004 and working her way up to president and CEO through several roles – an accomplishment she uses to encourage the next generation. She was named president and CEO Jan. 1, 2023.
“I tell all of our interns that there’s no limit to how far you can go,” she said. “I’m really proud to watch our people grow.”
When she started at Honkamp, the firm had three offices. Today, there’s eight – five in Iowa, three in Wisconsin, and clients that span the nation, with Ms. Thomas looking at options to expand its footprint even further.
“We are big enough to be able to offer a lot of services that clients are looking for, and we’re big enough to be able to attract people and to be able to invest in technology that some of the smaller firms can’t do,” she said.
“I think we’re positioned really well to continue to grow and to be able to survive for the long term. I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Industry Trends and Challenges
Hiring and retaining employees is a particular challenge for the accounting industry, which Ms. Thomas attributes to a lack of student interest due to barriers within the major.
“To be a CPA, you have to have 150 hours of college credit,” said Ms. Thomas. “And there isn’t a requirement of what those extra 30 hours are, beyond the degree in accounting…(students) are not seeing the value of that extra year.”
The accounting world is endeavoring to change this, both at the state and individual level. In the summer, Honkamp brings in high school students to give them an overview of the business. “It really is exciting, and you do get to help people, and you get to do a lot of fun things,” she said. “It’s not just sitting at a desk crunching numbers all day.”
The days of exclusively crunching numbers is becoming a thing of the past, a shift in what Ms. Thomas refers to as “a move from historian to advisor.” Today’s CPAs emphasize building relationships with clients and acting within an advisory role. Assisting clients in learning to improve their business operations, how to increase revenue and achieve success are some of the many duties that CPAs perform.
“I could work with a dentist one day and a manufacturer the next day, and a construction company the next day,” she said, looking back at the beginning of her career and reflecting on what she liked best about it. “It was just a really wide variety of work that I didn’t expect when I first started.”
Leadership and vision
To Honkamp’s CEO, the key to professional success is remembering that behind each business is a person. “Although you’re making business decisions, there’s always a person that’s being impacted,” she said, adding that learning to work effectively with people to find solutions requires effective communication. “Just having those conversations and leveling with people, you can get through anything.”
From a leadership perspective, success not only means effectively guiding your team, but also admitting you don’t have all the answers all or the time. “(Leaders) need to be constantly learning, and be open to what other people’s ideas and experiences are,” she said. “They have to surround themselves with people that are good at what they do.”
Community member
Honkamp employs the “oxygen mask first” policy in that it prioritizes the well-being of its staff.
“We have to take care of our people first, and then they will take care of our clients. And as part of that, we are also taking care of our communities by volunteering by giving back our time and talent,” Ms. Thomas said.
Community involvement is important to Ms. Thomas. She serves as a board member of the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce, a recent role. Additionally, she works as treasurer for the parent associations of her two sons’ schools, Dubuque Montessori and St. Columbkille.
When she’s not working or volunteering, she’s watching her sons’ baseball games or running on one of the many picturesque trails in Dubuque.
“In the end, I love where I’m at,” she said. “I love what I do, and I can’t imagine going down any different path that would lead me to the same place I am.”
