Charles Esler: New board chair ready to drill down into the job
| April/May 2022 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated March 28, 2022
While Charles Esler, CPA can skillfully conduct analysis and create informative spreadsheets, he’s equally as skillful at building a deck or fixing a busted water valve. It’s this hands-on, do-it-yourself approach that Charles will bring to his role as the MNCPA board chair during the next 12 months. The controller with Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc. 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?
My accounting career started in public accounting right out of college. After six years at McGladrey & Pullen (now RSM), I joined Hennepin Faculty Associates (HFA), the physician group serving Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), which was a client at the time. In 2012, the physicians and the health system integrated, and I have been part of Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc. (HHS) since. I have been proud to work alongside great people who do such great things for the health of the community, which has only been amplified during this pandemic.
As far as the CPA designation, that was an honor I earned in 2003, after multiple attempts. Apparently, I truly appreciated the box lunches that came with spending two days in the local college gym for the exam.
What led you to becoming the MNCPA board chair?
I have retained my connection to the MNCPA throughout my career because it’s always been a place for exchanging insights and education with wise people who have a common connection to the backbone of business. Participating in a handful of the society’s groups over the years has only enhanced my respect for the organization. I am continually impressed with the professionalism of the MNCPA staff and members, which perpetuated my desire to be involved.
What excites you most about the role of the MNCPA board chair?
I’m looking forward to the ability to work with, and learn from, professionals I respect and whose company I enjoy. The MNCPA sets the standard for excellence for other CPA societies. This includes a long line of past chairs who have been unbelievably competent and good people. It is a bit intimidating. My goal is to try to carry the baton and achieve a smooth handoff to the next chair — and avoid dropping it during my leg.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the accounting profession today?
There appears to be a convergence of continual industry changes, whether through tax or accounting regulations, or technology. The biggest challenge, however, is the limited number of qualified professionals available to get the work done, due to either retirements or a shrinking talent pipeline.
There are an increasing variety of occupations for intelligent, driven young professionals and the competition is fierce to attract new entrants. Perhaps it is difficult for others outside of the profession to see all the benefits that we see from within. Accountants may not always be the best self-promoters because boasting is not in our nature. This best-kept secret should perhaps no longer be kept.
Where do you see the profession in five years?
This is difficult to predict. I appreciate that the new design of the CPA exam should help better prepare accountants for the needs of today, and I hope that it also becomes a draw for recruiting as it showcases the variety of business aspects accountants are involved in.
I hope that actions taken by the accounting industry — whether that be the AICPA, state societies or educational institutions — create a stable and reliable workforce that continues to be held up as a top profession.
Technology should continue to be disruptive and allow accountants to increasingly focus on being trusted business advisers and less on data processors.
What do you like to do outside of work and why?
I enjoy being involved in my kids’ activities. Prior to handing them over to paid — and more qualified — coaches, I spent years volunteering on their various teams, clubs and events. It was great to have a front-row seat to witness them grow up, and we built camaraderie with the other kids and parents. As they aged, I think it is safe to say they appreciate that I’m less directly involved.
Much of my work involves spreadsheets, reporting and analysis that is electronic and often not referenced much after its intended one-time use. Given that, I enjoy working on projects that create tangible assets, involving power tools or getting dirt on my hands. I enjoy doing home improvement projects, fixing equipment, or even painting or organizing the garage.
Having opportunities to relax is also important. I appreciate times where I can get some exercise, listen to music or effectively step away in order to maintain mental and physical health. For several years, I was able to play drums in a work band that played a variety of styles and decades, but mostly classic rock. It was tremendous fun and expressing that creative side can be very therapeutic — banging on things helps.
What brings you the most joy in life?
I enjoy any time spent with family. My wife and I have two teenagers and I appreciate the few times each year that we can get away and share new experiences together. We bond well on vacation, and everyone seems to be in a lighter mood. Much to my family’s dismay, my vacation preference is to take road trips, as I feel they are the best way to truly see the United States.
What else, besides accounting practices and the industry, do you enjoy learning about and why?
My curiosities can be wide-ranging and situation dependent. Now that everything is available at our fingertips, it is easy to go down a rabbit hole.
Topics that interest me most include history, historical figures and science. Incredible situations highlight incredible people, and there is a wealth of examples of these situations and people in relation to the American Revolution, Civil War, World War I and World War II. They demonstrate survival, tenacity, leadership and the indomitable human spirit. Ordinary people performing extraordinarily during unfathomable circumstances is easy to appreciate and creates intriguing precedent.
I’m also interested in science and technology because of the possibilities they offer for the future. The capabilities range from being able to reduce human suffering from diseases to automotive innovations.
What do you read, watch or listen to every day?
I listen to music every day, though the genre varies hourly depending on the task at hand or my mood. While my children tend to prefer whatever music came out within the last hour, typically I am a fan of music that has aged a bit, like fine wine. The background music I listen to revolves around artists from the ‘60s or ‘70s, while ‘80s hair bands or pop from the turn of the century fuel my exercise or sunny summer drives. More recent artists I listen to tend to lean country.
Currently on my bed stand is, “Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” His foundation of success appears directly linked to the fact that he meticulously tracked every penny, which was somewhat unusual at the time, and is appreciated by this accountant. While fascinating, it has been a slow read because it is decently sized, and I typically do not make it far each night before falling asleep. This slow pace causes me to buy some books to avoid library renewal limitations.
Let’s say you have a free Sunday afternoon. What are you doing?
You can find me fishing or watching the Vikings.
When time allows, my son and I try to get out fishing. We are blessed to have a variety of lakes in the local area that allow us to get out and hopefully snag a few. However, our time on the lake often has little to do with fishing. Instead, it allows us to enjoy our pop-up icehouse, play some cards and appreciate the outdoors. No electronics are allowed in the fish house — apparently no fish either.
As for the Vikings, for some reason — unbeknownst to me — it is one of the few teams that I have always worked my schedule around to watch. You can judge the wisdom of that for yourself. What makes it exponentially worse is that my wife, who is from Wisconsin, and my son, who is from Minnesota, are Packers fans. My daughter used to help achieve equilibrium when she was younger, but she is currently indifferent, and thus wise beyond her years.
Tell us your favorite home improvement story.
Recently, with T minus 36 hours to flight departure for a vacation, my wife discovered our water softener was leaking through a plastic bypass valve causing it to fill up and then overflow water in our basement. I diligently took to the internet and made several excursions to local hardware stores, only to discover that the replacement valve was not readily stocked. If I ordered online, it would not arrive before we left. I called around and found a gentleman in the north metro who ran his business out of his residence and had the valve we needed. We scheduled a meeting time for that afternoon and I drove to get it from him. He was very knowledgeable and helpful.
T minus about 10 hours to vacation departure, I stopped at a home center to get additional supplies necessary to cut and reconnect the supply lines. I brought the valve in with me for reference. I was standing in the aisle contemplating a fix while an employee attempted to assist me. He was holding my bypass valve in his hand when other employees came by and some shenanigans ensued, resulting in the employee throwing my valve down the aisle at the other employee and I watched my valve bounce off the concrete floor. This led to some anger and uncertainty around if the valve was harmed, which would not be known until after installation.
T minus about eight hours until our 5 a.m. departure, the valve was in and after some additional tightening, worked as far as we could tell. However, we ended up turning off the water anyway to be safe.
