Young professional aims to maximize his potential

By Cecilia Yontz, OSCPA marketing and communications intern 

Matt Peck’s accounting background helped set him up for success as he found new opportunities in his career.   

“The first major that I declared was actually accounting,” said Peck, CFP®, and wealth strategy advisor at Anderson Financial Strategies. “I had taken a course my senior year of high school and developed a passion for the curriculum and the profession and went into college thinking I'd probably be an accounting major.” 

During his sophomore year at Wittenburg University, Peck added a finance major. Upon graduating, Peck began his career in accounting before eventually transitioning into a wealth management role. 

Peck was looking for professional networking groups to join when he was drawn to OSCPA because of his history with the accounting profession. He has since joined OSCPA’s YCPA Dayton committee. 

“When you start talking to other CPAs, other financial professionals with different firms, you start to see that every firm has a different way of doing things,” he said. “I would strongly urge anybody, shortly after graduating, to get involved in professional networking whether it's with other related professionals or even just professionals that might not have much overlap in your industry.”    

Being able to network with experienced CPAs while in a finance position has allowed Peck to strengthen his knowledge of core concepts, allowing him to grow professionally.  

“I've always kind of considered myself a little bit more of a social learner, so the core concepts that really stick in my mind are the ones that you talk about,” said Peck. “If you ask an open-ended question to a CPA, they can articulate the tax code, tax proposals, and other concepts in a way that has always stuck a little bit better with me.” 

Peck credits his academic advisor from college, Professor John Fenimore, for being a great mentor and helping him establish strong academic and professional foundations. He also offered advice that has stuck with Peck since.  

“He was kind of known for ‘you don't know what you don't know,’” he said. “We see questions that just seem to come out of nowhere in our industry and we try to always be prepared, but if you don't know a clear-cut answer to something, don't just throw something out there. Let the clients know if you must circle back to do a little more research to get a clear answer. You have to swallow your pride a little bit at times, but it'll serve you well.” 

If you are a young professional looking to get involved in a YCPA Committee, learn more here!