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Lecturer at Leeds and Director of Accounting at CU Boulder

Curiosity has always been a key ingredient in Russell Jeans’ 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. “It was great because I was exposed to and learned from so many cultures,” he said.

That sparked his fascination with exploring new perspectives and places. “It really shaped my mind. I thought, ‘There’s so much good out there. And I want to learn more.’”

Jeans’ 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

When CU Boulder’s CFO asked if someone on the controller’s staff wanted to teach a course at Leeds, Jeans immediately volunteered. He loved previous teaching opportunities, including 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’ 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.

“The approach was if you didn’t know anything about accounting, you were going to get a great foundation … and if you already had a foundation, this would help you refine it, bring it forward and apply it.” 

Accounting is an essential skill. At a time when industry reports bemoan an aging workforce and a , Jeans remains optimistic about the field’s potential. He said accounting pairs well with a variety of 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.

“Companies are not putting enough of a premium on accountants and their invaluable skills.”

Russell Jeans, Director of Accounting at CU Boulder

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.

“Companies are not putting enough of a premium on accountants and their invaluable skills,” Jeans said. “If we get that wrong, there are key, fundamental risks associated with it, such as inaccurate financial reporting, increased fraud and noncompliance with regulations.”

A self-made journey

Jeans’ career trajectory counters stereotypes of accounting as a boring profession. For starters, his college experience was far from traditional.

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. Through that traumatic experience he learned how precious life is and the importance of forgiveness and understanding. That fateful event prompted a move to Florida, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of North Florida.

Balancing full-time work and studying was challenging (Jeans quipped he didn’t get the partying experience, 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.

“I was able to really use that knowledge with my career to quickly advance,” he said. “I could more easily ask questions and find information than people who didn’t have that experience.”

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’s. His ongoing curiosity about other cultures and travel eventually took him to KPMG in New Zealand, a transformational seven years of growth.

“At 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,” 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. “Now, I’m not afraid to walk into new situations,” he said.

Inspiring next-generation leaders

In his primary role as CU Boulder’s 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. 

His curiosity continues to drive his approach to exploring improvements and innovations, asking questions that apply to both the classroom and the workplace. “How do we automate things? How do we take advantage of AI? What’s the best way to leverage what we have? What skills do we need?”

Seeing students wanting to understand and watching them realize how to apply their knowledge is one of the things Jeans loves most about teaching. “It’s really, really awesome when you see that process,” he said.

It’s like seeing Jeans’ 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’ shoulder, looking at him quizzically.

It doesn’t faze Jeans in the least. Of course not. They’re just flying around, being curious.