Ben Ellingson, new board chair keeps it cool on, off ice
| April 2020 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated April 1, 2020
Connection with others is paramount, whether developed over paperwork and a desk, or with a fishing rod in hand atop a frozen lake.
Ben Ellingson, CPA, an avid fisher and hunter, lives this truth every day he breathes; that approach will anchor his next 12 months as the new MNCPA board chair. The partner with Eide Bailly LLP sat down with us to talk about his career, his life and where he sees the accounting profession heading in the future.
What is your background as a CPA?
After growing up and obtaining my bachelor’s degree in accounting in Marshall, Minnesota, I’ve split my career between South Dakota and Minnesota, earning my CPA along the way.
I’ve spent the majority of my career with Eide Bailly, focused primarily on the assurance side of the industry. In 2014, my family and I made Mankato our home, where I serve as the partner in charge of the Eide Bailly office there.
What led you to becoming the MNCPA board chair?
I became involved with state societies in 2009 when I was in South Dakota after being selected to attend the AICPA’s inaugural Leadership Academy. Part of the academy’s objective was learning more about the roles the AICPA and state societies play in our profession. After hearing more about these efforts, I was eager to get involved.
Following the academy, I joined a committee with both the AICPA and the South Dakota CPA Society, which ultimately led to joining the latter’s board of directors. I didn’t realize, however, that my time there would be short because I was presented the opportunity to move to Minnesota with Eide Bailly. In summer 2014, my family and I moved to Mankato, and I made it known that I wanted to stay involved at the state society level. Fortunately, not long after, I was elected to the MNCPA board. It was interesting for me to bring my perspective to the board, having come from a state society with similar philosophies but a much smaller organization and membership base.
What excites you most about the role of MNCPA board chair?
I have been blessed with a career that I enjoy, and the interactions with clients, co-workers and the communities we serve continue to provide a rich and rewarding experience. There are several reasons I’m excited to serve as the board chair, but at the top of the list is the opportunity for me to give back to a profession that has given so much to me. I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to be an accountant, and aside from a lucky draw for a career adviser in college, I’m not sure I would have been either. I want to dedicate as much effort as I can to promote this profession to increase the awareness of its rewards for others.
What do you see are the biggest challenges facing the accounting profession today?
We hear all the time about the pace of change, and I can see the challenges each day of trying to keep up with everything that’s evolving. One of the biggest challenges I see is dedicating the time necessary to increasing our own education to remain relevant. Whether we’re talking blockchain, digital currency, automation, artificial intelligence or changes to standards and regulations, it seems hard to stay ahead of the change that is all around us.
And, unfortunately, I don’t think this is going to get any easier! We will need a strong focus on skill development and will need to embrace the changes in technology to carve a successful career as we move forward.
What are some of the biggest opportunities for young CPAs today?
With all this change comes some of the biggest opportunities we have ever seen. The integration of technology into our profession and impact of data analytics and artificial intelligence will continue to provide new areas for an exciting career path. Using these new technologies to our advantage allows faster insights into businesses and creates opportunities at all levels to drive value like never before. Our profession has been burdened with the perception of “just counting beans” for far too long. I think young CPAs are going to quickly find just how wrong that perception is!
Where do you see the profession in five years?
Looking out five years is a daunting task these days given the pace of change we’re experiencing. That said, I think our profession will have grown substantially in that time, but in ways we haven’t seen before. The tasks that we currently have in mind when we talk about being a CPA will still be present, although perhaps in slightly different forms. However, the impact of the change we all hear about is going to create new and different ways to think about how we can provide value and insights that will drive growth in ways we never thought possible. I think the future is very bright!
What do you like to do outside of work and why?
I have an inability to sit still — or so I’m told. Traveling has been a great experience for my family and me in the past several years, and we have been able to see and experience some amazing places across the country. Those who know me best, though, know that I have a true passion for hunting and fishing. I love spending time with family and friends walking through big grass fields chasing roosters, or floating on one of our amazing lakes here in Minnesota in search of a few walleyes.
What brings you the most joy in life?
Relationships — both personally and professionally — truly bring me the most happiness. Building relationships is one aspect of our profession that is overlooked in my opinion, and it’s what I find most rewarding.
What else, besides accounting practices, do you enjoy learning about and why?
It seems every year I get more interested in all aspects of American history. I subscribe to the theory that mistakes will happen, and the only true issue is if we don’t learn from them. History is a great storybook full of examples of how we learned (and sometimes didn’t) from our own past. Gaining a further understanding of why things are the way they are and what experiences occurred that crafted where we are today has been very interesting. I feel like I should reach out to my high school history teachers and let them know everything they tried to tell me has finally sunk in.
What do you read, watch or listen to every day?
Right now, I am really into podcasts. I spend a fair amount of time in the car and these have been a great way to catch up on news or entertainment. I listen to a few podcasts on business and the economy, with my favorite being, “How I Built This with Guy Raz.” This show highlights various entrepreneurs and tells the story of how they went from just an idea to the big businesses we now recognize in our daily lives.
On the entertainment side, I have been listening to countless true stories of crime and corruption. Perhaps this comes from my evolving interest in history, but I blame it more on my love for the “Law and Order” series for the past 20 years!
Let’s say you have a free afternoon on a Sunday. What are you doing?
It’s off to the grocery store to grab some ribs and get them started on the smoker, then round up the neighbors to let the kids play, leaving the parents to visit and enjoy the wonderful summer evenings we are so lucky to have.
Tell us your best fish tale.
I’m sure I had plenty growing up, but certainly the most memorable time on the water for me so far was watching the smile on my son’s face when he caught his first big walleye. He’s following in his dad and grandpa’s footsteps, falling head over heels in love with fishing. To see him struggling to reel in a prized Minnesota catch with a smile as wide as the state is something I’ll never forget!
