Nikki Kuretich was on the path to a successful career in accounting before she even realized it.
“I started working for my dad’s company and the bookkeeper just kept showing me things,” says the CPA and partner at Wallace Plese + Dreher, which was recognized on the Forbes list of 2021 Best Tax and Accounting Firms. “I just picked up on it and ended up taking an accounting class that was offered in high school and that’s what hooked me. I just knew that that’s what I needed to do. So I went to college and got an accounting degree and went to work for a public accounting firm.”
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Today, Kuretich has more than 20 years of public accounting experience in accounting, audit, assurance, tax, and business consulting. She works with privately-held companies and nonprofits in Scottsdale, Chandler, and throughout Arizona. With privately-held companies, she educates owners about best practices and appropriate standards for their business.
“It’s all about the people and about the relationships,” Kuretich says. “It’s about those connections I make with the people at work and also the clients. That’s what I love about the most about my job.”
That love of accounting has rubbed off on Kuretich’s daughter, who followed her mother’s successful blueprint into the business.
“When she was young, she was the one who like separated her M&Ms and color coded them,” Kuretich says. “So, I’m like, ‘OK, you might have it.’ She liked math and basically took the same path I did. She went to work for her dad and did some bookkeeping, took an accounting class in high school, went to college and is en route to becoming a CPA. So That’s great.”
Be sure to check out the full interview with Nikki Kuretich on this episode of “Today in Arizona Accounting with Wallace Plese + Dreher.”
