CPA Practice Advisor

40 UNDER 40 2012

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

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many blog posts and articles I have written. In other cases, I've met people briefly at conferences and events, and social media has helped me to de- velop a beneficial business relationship with them that otherwise would have evaporated. Specifically, I've found that being involved in social media is a necessity to maintain connections and keep up with the latest events among the Las Vegas tech startup community. At this year's AICPA TECH+ conference, I was ap- proached by a number of people me who recognized my name because they had read my tweets. Through social media, I have also had opportunities to collabo- rate with and get to know some of the brightest minds in the profession from all across the country. While the ROI of my social media use is difficult to measure, I am certain that my career is better because of it. What tips on social media do you think are essential, but perhaps missed by professionals? I've seen a few of my friends create a social media profile and put up a couple of status updates. They soon became discouraged by the lack of interaction, thought it was all pointless and then abandoned it. I built my social media presence as a slow process over Blog: www.dustinwheelercpa.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/DustinWheelerCPA Twitter: www.twitter.com/dustinwCPA LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dustinwheeler Education: Master's of Accountancy, University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Bachelor's of Accounting, Brigham Young University-Idaho Professional Associations/Memberships: AICPA, Nevada Society of CPAs time rather than a one-time event. I started with Linke- dIn and spent a few minutes every two or three days adding information to my profile and making connec- tions. After I felt comfortable with LinkedIn, I followed the same step-by-step process with Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and blogging. I closely observed others who were sharing good information and using these tools effectively. One simple tip that can make a big difference is add- ing a personal message to a LinkedIn connection request. The generic text of "I'd like to add you to my professional network" rarely starts a conversation or leads to anything else. Plus, I often ignore generic requests from people I don't know. What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? My smartphone. It provides means for me to communi- cate with the world, makes information available when- ever and wherever I need it, shows me a map when I am lost, and gives me something to read when I don't have anything else to do. Actually, I have been able to live without it during a few vacations I've taken out of the country the past few years, but it is certainly an indispensable device in my day-to-day life. NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? Throughout my life, I've had opportunities to tour the headquarters of several large companies, but my experi- ence a couple of years ago when I toured Zappos with several other CPAs from around the country was very unique. I was impressed with their culture and how it pro- moted creativity and self-expression among those that work there. Everyone was highly engaged with their work and loved the company. What sports team/championship event do you abso- lutely refuse to miss? I am a long-time NBA fan, and though my favorite team is the Utah Jazz, I'll watch a little bit of any game that is on TV. I love Boise State football and their smurf turf. March Madness provides a much needed diver- sion during tax season. I also enjoy watching the Olym- pics and the World Cup. What cell phone do you carry/use? The Motorola Droid X. I love the big 4.3-inch screen and I've mastered the Swype virtual keyboard. It has served me well, but I think I'm due for an upgrade soon. The Samsung Galaxy S III is on my radar. Do you have a tablet? I have a 10.1 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and a Kindle Fire. What is your favorite professional mobile app, and why? Google Reader. It keeps me up to date with the latest news in the profession. I use it daily to read the lo- cal newspapers, the Journal of Accountancy, the CPA Letter Daily, and blogs by other CPAs. I stay on top of what's new with my clients by subscribing to their blogs, Twitter feeds, and RSS feeds of Facebook pag- es. I also run several Google Alerts through Google Reader, including search terms for my name, the firm's name, and clients' names. How many monitors do you have on your desk? My "command center" consists of four monitors in a unique arrangement. I have two 22-inch monitors on the left standing vertically that I use mostly for com- paring PDF documents. To the right of those, I have a horizontal 22-inch monitor I use primarily for Outlook and a 17-inch monitor at the right end. 18 | 2012 CPA Practice Advisor 40 Under 40 BACK TO PAGE 3

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