Lecturer at Leeds and Director of Accounting at CU Boulder听
Curiosity has always been a key ingredient in Russell Jeans鈥� life.
Growing up in Hawaii, he benefitted from being surrounded by native Hawaiians as well as people from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Samoa and many other places. 鈥淚t was great because I was exposed to and learned from so many cultures,鈥� he said.
That sparked his fascination with exploring new perspectives and places. 鈥淚t really shaped my mind. I thought, 鈥楾here鈥檚 so much good out there. And I want to learn more.鈥欌�澨�
Jeans鈥� desire to learn spanned careers and continents before he settled in Colorado, where he has served as the director of accounting for CU Boulder since December 2022. Recently, he added another role to his repertoire: lecturer of financial accounting at Leeds.
From the corporate world to the classroom听
When CU Boulder鈥檚 CFO asked if someone on the controller鈥檚 staff wanted to teach a course at Leeds, Jeans immediately volunteered. He loved previous teaching opportunities, including听a course exploring the WorldCom scandal that he taught in New Zealand, and an auditing class he taught in Hawaii. Although those were short-term roles, they ignited Jeans鈥� desire to be involved in higher education.
At Leeds this fall, Jeans taught financial accounting to a class of 60 Finance graduate students from diverse disciplines, many of whom he was surprised to find had never taken an accounting course before.听
鈥淭he approach was if you didn鈥檛 know anything about accounting, you were going to get a great foundation 鈥� and if you already had a foundation, this would help you refine it, bring it forward and apply it.鈥澨�
Accounting is an essential听skill. At a time when industry reports bemoan an aging workforce and a , Jeans remains optimistic about the field鈥檚 potential. He said accounting pairs well with a variety of听other disciplines, allowing people to specialize. The work is more varied than people might imagine, with hundreds of types of jobs, making accounting well suited to a range of personalities, whether someone is extroverted or introverted, he said.
鈥淐ompanies are not putting enough of a premium on accountants and their invaluable skills.鈥�
Russell Jeans
With AI increasingly able to handle repetitive tasks, he believes more young professionals will be attracted to the field despite the long hours and rigorous CPA certification process. Better compensation will make a difference, along with more accessible licensing.
鈥淐ompanies are not putting enough of a premium on accountants and their invaluable skills,鈥� Jeans said. 鈥淚f we get that wrong, there are key, fundamental risks associated with it, such as inaccurate financial reporting, increased fraud and noncompliance with regulations.鈥澨�
A self-made journey听
Jeans鈥� career trajectory counters stereotypes of accounting as a boring profession. For starters, his college experience was far from traditional.听
He put himself through his undergraduate studies in business administration and accounting while working full-time. He even survived getting shot in the neck during a drive-by shooting in California, where he was a student at Fresno City College.鈥疶hrough that traumatic experience he learned how precious life is and the importance of forgiveness and understanding.鈥疶hat fateful event prompted a move to Florida, where he completed his bachelor鈥檚 degree in accounting at the University of North Florida.听
Balancing full-time work and studying was challenging (Jeans quipped he didn鈥檛 get the partying experience,听but his friends told him about it), but it proved to be an asset. His jobs as a credit manager for a produce company and as a staff accountant at a public company were instrumental in connecting classroom learning with real-world professional expectations.
鈥淚 was able to really use that knowledge with my career to quickly advance,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 could more easily ask questions and find information than people who didn鈥檛 have that experience.鈥澨�
He earned his MBA and CPA while rising through the ranks at KPMG, which supported his goal of part-time work while completing his master鈥檚. His ongoing curiosity about other cultures and travel eventually took him to KPMG in New Zealand, a transformational seven years of growth.
鈥淎t the time they had New Zealand GAAP [Generally Accepted Accounting Principles], were transitioning to IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), and they have a very complex statutory reporting structure, all of which I knew nothing about,鈥� he explained.
Later, a move to Ernst & Young offered yet another learning opportunity, with a new network of clients, colleagues and industries. Each experience taught Jeans invaluable lessons in being adaptable, broadening his global perspective. 鈥淣ow, I鈥檓 not afraid to walk into new situations,鈥� he said.听
Inspiring next-generation leaders听
In his primary role as CU Boulder鈥檚 director of accounting, Jeans oversees campuswide accounting, policy compliance and operational analysis. Working with numerous departments across campus, he helps ensure that CU meets the standards set by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and other regulatory agencies.听听
His curiosity continues to drive his approach to exploring improvements and innovations, asking questions that apply to both the classroom and the workplace. 鈥淗ow do we automate things? How do we take advantage of AI? What鈥檚 the best way to leverage what we have? What skills do we need?鈥澨�
Seeing students wanting to understand and watching them realize how to apply their knowledge is one of the things Jeans loves most about teaching. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really, really awesome when you see that process,鈥� he said.
It鈥檚 like seeing Jeans鈥� five Green-Cheeked Conure parrots in his home office, darting in and out of the frame during a virtual meeting. Occasionally, one will perch on Jeans鈥� shoulder, looking at him quizzically.听
It doesn鈥檛 faze Jeans in the least. Of course not. They鈥檙e just flying around, being curious.听