If you ask members of the NYSSCPA’s Northeast Chapter, Suzanne M. Jensen is something of a secret weapon for CPAs in the region. Whether it’s providing a convenient location for monthly meetings, sharing best practices for budgeting and strategic planning, or taking on yet another Society committee despite the demands of her day job, “Suzanne always responds enthusiastically to the call for service,” said Beth Van Bladel, a past Northeast Chapter president and NYSSCPA board member.
That Jensen, the 2014 winner of the NYSSCPA’s Outstanding CPA in Industry Award, can so easily pick up on the needs of the Society and its members is in part a reflection of her background. An Albany native, Jensen has long been involved with membership groups: She is the CFO and HR director of the Business Council of New York, an association that represents the business interests of firms throughout the state. Prior to that, she spent more than 13 years as the CFO for the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (NYAHSA), now called Leading Age New York, which represents not-for-profit, mission-driven and public continuing care providers.
“I have a passion for membership-driven organizations, which gives me a very unique perspective that I can provide the NYSSCPA,” said Jensen, a former member of the NYSSCPA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
Like many CPAs, Jensen began her career in public accounting, starting at the firm Marvin and Co. where she worked with a number of nonprofit clients. When she decided to move to private industry, that early exposure to nonprofit groups proved key and she continued to work with the entities throughout her career. “Nonprofits have a mission, a true purpose to their existence,” she said. “For me, it’s meaningful to get behind a mission and believe in what you’re doing and why you are doing it.”
As the CFO of the Business Council, Jensen is involved in all aspects of the organization, which includes two for-profit subsidiaries, three political entities, two affiliated organizations (a charitable arm and an insurance trust) and a workers’ compensation self-insurance trust. Indeed, Jensen heads the human resources function and oversees IT within the organization.
Her ability to play dual finance/HR roles began at the NYAHSA, where she “wore the HR hat” until the company reached 50 employees. She assumed the HR role in the Business Council in 2011, after volunteering to head up the department. The two roles actually intersect more than would be immediately apparent, she said.
“The finance department already handles a lot of HR functions including, for example, benefits administration and new employee orientation,” Jensen said. “I’m also fortunate to be able to utilize a fantastic outsourced HR resource and legal counsel, when necessary.”
Jensen joined the NYSSCPA in 1998 at the urging of Society member Alan Fetterman, who was the audit partner in charge of the engagement at the NYAHSA. As soon as she did, she said she was “completely blown away by the huge amount of professionalism and knowledge,” and knew this was the sort of organization she wanted to become more involved with.
Starting out as a member of the Professional Ethics Committee, she has since gone on to serve on the Not for Profit Organizations Committee, the Audit Committee (which she chaired), the Governance Subcommittee, the Finance Committee, and numerous oversight committees as an advisor, in addition to being an active member of her chapter.
“Suzanne has devoted an extensive amount of time to the NYSSCPA,” van Bladel said. “On many an occasion I have found her working in her office on a weekend so that she can carve out time during the week to travel to New York City for an NYSSCPA meeting.”
NYSSCPA Past President Gail M. Kinsella, who served as chair of the committee that selected Jensen and other award winners, said that the Society had indeed benefitted from both her dedication and her background. “Suzanne brought her perspective from being part of a nonprofit organization to our board, which has been really helpful,” she said.
Jensen noted that this goes in reverse as well: While she brings a nonprofit viewpoint to the NYSSCPA, she also brings the CPA’s business eye to the nonprofit Business Council.
“Despite the non-profit designation, we’re still a business and we should be running things like a business,” she said. “We still need to have positive cash flow and positive net assets in order to carry out our mission.”
Jensen noted that in her role at the Business Council she also strives to be as “communicative and inclusive as possible,” qualities van Bladel said she already exhibits in her work with Society members. “Fellow executive committee members have commented that they appreciate her level of professionalism and ability to articulate the issues at hand in a collaborative manner,” she said.
Adds Society Secretary/Treasurer and fellow Northeast Chapter member F. Michael Zovistoski, who counts Jensen as a mentor: “Suzanne is clearly an outstanding professional, but I believe she should also be viewed as an outstanding leader. For the past 17 years, she has worked tirelessly among members in industry, representing our profession… I know of no one more deserving of this award.”