$21K—The average amount CPAs invested in technology in the past 12 months. – Intuit
Tracy Katz
LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
Tracy is a partner in the Litigation Services Department at Gursey | Schneider LLP, specializing in forensic accounting for family law and civil litigation matters. She has a bachelor's in accounting from Nova Southeastern University, a JD from Southwestern University School of Law, and over 25 years of experience in litigation accounting, business valuation and expert witness testimony.
Today she divides her time between analyzing complex financial cases, testifying as an expert witness across California and Hawaii, and lecturing at national family law conferences.
What does a typical day look like for you?
As a forensic accountant specializing in family law and dissolution matters, my days are rarely predictable; but what they have in common is they are often driven by the pursuit of clarity. A typical day usually involves analyzing complex financial documents ranging from personal and business tax returns, financial statements, general ledgers, bank, brokerage and credit card statements, equity grants, real estate documents and marital agreements. My day may include tracing assets to determine what is separate versus community property, writing declarations regarding income available for child and spousal support or attending court proceedings.
Beyond the spreadsheets, my days involve extensive collaboration. I frequently meet with clients and family law attorneys to strategize cases, explain my work product, and discuss the financial nuances of settlement proposals. When cases go to trial, a “typical day” revolves around preparing my expert testimony or being cross-examined on the stand, where my role is to translate intricate financial data into clear, objective insights for the court.
What keeps you coming back to your work?
The human element of forensic accounting in family law is what truly drives me. Divorce is often one of the most stressful and chaotic periods in a person's life, and finances are frequently at the center of that anxiety. What keeps me coming back is the ability to bring order to that chaos.
When I can unravel a convoluted financial web of transactions or value a closely held business, I am helping move a case toward an equitable resolution and helping clients move forward with their lives. Providing clients and the court with objective, reliable financial information allows families to move forward equitably. The intellectual challenge of solving financial puzzles combined with the tangible impact my work has on people’s lives is incredibly rewarding.
What should people know about accounting?
People often envision accounting as a purely mathematical and rigid profession—endless rows of numbers and strict adherence to formulas, populated by introverted people who are more comfortable working with numbers than speaking in public. However, a forensic accountant is not your “typical” accountant. Most people would not expect the level of creativity, investigation, interpersonal communication and storytelling involved in forensic accounting.
Numbers rarely tell the whole story on their own; they are clues. I have to think creatively to understand the narrative behind the transactions: What was the intent behind this transfer? Is this pattern of spending recurring? Were these monies spent for the benefit of the community? A significant part of my job is communication; I must be able to take highly technical financial analyses and weave them into a compelling, understandable narrative for judges, attorneys and clients who may not have a financial background. It is as much about communication and psychology as it is about debits and credits.
What do you hope for the future of the CPA profession?
As a coach, I love a magic wand question. So I’ll answer it the way I’d ask it of a client. If I could create anything, what would it be? I’d invite a deeper conversation about private equity’s role in the profession. PE investment is designed for short-term returns, and that focus often works against the well-being of the people inside firms. Beyond structure and economics, I’d call on all of us to double down on relationship skills. We are in the business of relationships anchored in sensitive financial realities. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I’d hold mental health as a professional responsibility. We live in a society that is, frankly, under psychological siege and often doesn’t feel safe. The leaders who will endure are not simply the most technically skilled. They will be the ones who have done the inner work. Clients don’t just trust the numbers. They trust the person behind them.
As organizations race to embrace artificial intelligence, much of the conversation has centered on speed, efficiency and productivity. Leaders are investing heavily in AI tools, employees are experimenting with new workflows, and businesses are looking for ways to gain a competitive edge.
Yet there’s an aspect that leadership adviser and author Jennifer Harrity says organizations may be overlooking that may be the most important part of the AI conversation: people.
AI isn’t just another productivity tool for accounting practices. Learn how a team of college students led an experiment that reimagined an entire tax process from the ground up.
Accountants aren’t mere heads-down, number-crunching functionaries. They need a strategic orientation to fulfill their professional potential. And in that vein, there’s still another side to accountants—the socially aware side.
As excellent as artificial intelligence is at cutting through large datasets quickly, its social abilities are limited. This creates an opportunity for accounting and finance professionals to focus on human relationships and shine.
For as long as the CPA profession has existed, accountants have adapted to new technology, with each innovation having helped businesses make sound financial decisions. AI is the latest chapter in that story, but its impact is unfolding on a different scale.
From Numbers to Neverland Daily Accrual
Before creating a magical empire, Walt Disney was a bookkeeper and commercial artist in Kansas City. That’s right, before cartoons, he was balancing ledgers and designing letterheads.
His pivot came after discovering books on animation at the local library, sparking his dream that led to Mickey Mouse (who was almost named Mortimer, until Walt’s wife brilliantly stepped in).
The kicker? Walt’s brother Roy handled the finances, proving how behind every creative genius is a numbers-savvy partner. Accounting didn’t build Mickey, but it trained the man who did.
Spreadsheet Roots
Daily Accrual
This alphabet you’re reading now owes its existence to ancient bookkeeping, the earliest writing system. The Phoenician alphabet was invented around 1200 BC by merchants needing a faster, efficient way to track cargo, debts and trade deals. Using 22 simple consonants, as vowels were apparently “nonessential,” these early accounting legends paved the foundation for the modern alphabet, and in the name of financial tracking.
So, the next time you’re labeling accounts or closing books, just remember, your own spreadsheets are some small part of a 3,000-year-old tradition.
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