Stephanie Markert, Excellence in Professional Development Award
Corey Butler, MNCPA communications manager | October/November 2022 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated September 30, 2022
Educating others has called to Stephanie Markert for many years. While she considered teaching for a career, the accounting profession, specifically auditing, won her over and that’s where she’s built her professional livelihood. Fortunately for MNCPA members, Stephanie never gave up on the idea of teaching and brought together her two professional passions, teaching for the MNCPA since 2015.
Stephanie has taught a variety of CPE programs, including webinars, seminars, onsite programs and at conferences, and her average knowledge rating from attendees is 4.78 and her average presentations rating is 4.64. It’s with that success in mind that she is this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Professional Development Award, which recognizes members who have developed unique MNCPA educational programming and, in turn, received high ratings and elevated the professional development of attendees.
“I am appreciative and honored to be recognized with this award,” she said. “Teaching, facilitating and overall knowledge sharing are all such strong components of my professional career.”
Stephanie, who is an audit principal with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP and is also an MNCPA board member, is well known for providing quality supplemental materials in her classes. She is also known for connecting with other presenters to strengthen programming, and for having a great grasp of the accounting and auditing needs of MNCPA members, focusing her classes on leases, updates, revenue recognition and more.
While all her teaching experiences provide memories for Stephanie to hold on to, one involving a blast from the past has stuck with her.
“I was teaching an eight-hour course at the MNCPA and a gentleman in the front row asked many questions that day and after the class, he said, ‘You don’t remember me, do you?’” she recalled. “I was slightly embarrassed, but not being from Minnesota, I thought he might be mistaken. He proceeded to tell me we started our careers together at the same firm in the same year! We had attended first-year staff training in 1997. I’m originally from Alabama and he’s from Minnesota and nearly 25 years later I was teaching him!”
Stephanie said if that yearning to help others in this capacity is there, like it was for her, she encourages others to give instruction a try.
“Teaching not only creates an opportunity for you to connect with other CPAs, but it also develops your technical skills as you prepare and deliver the content,” she said. “If you are passionate about helping others understand complex topics by using practical examples, it is truly a rewarding experience.”
