Kyle Bickhart ’99 is COO of the Ohio Society of CPAs (OSCPA). In this interview, he describes the career shifts that led to his current position, what he hopes to accomplish within the AAG, the OSCPA’s focus on workforce development, and some Miami memories and fun facts about his family.
You’ve enjoyed a diverse career path leading up to the OSCPA. What are the major factors that led to your current position?
I am grateful for the opportunities my career has afforded me to work at two well-respected firms, GBQ and KPMG, as well as multiple Fortune 500 companies, including Chase, AEP, and L Brands. The vast array of experiences at each of those employers and the tremendous network of individuals I have built in my career has been incredible. Interesting enough, the opportunity to serve on the board of the North Market Development Authority as Treasurer and then President was the experience that changed the trajectory of my career. I had the opportunity to rethink the business model for the North Market, the historic public market in Columbus. I was able to lead a business model change that financially secured the future of the North Market (photo on right: Kyle Bickhart and wife Adrienne Keves at North Market).
They have since expanded to a second location, as well as expanding their downtown location in conjunction with the new 31-story Merchant Building. My North Market experience created the realization that I wanted a leadership role that had the opportunity to analyze and disrupt the business model for future sustainability.
That opportunity came when I was informed that the OSCPA was looking for a new CFO. Scott Wiley had been hired as their new CEO and was looking to disrupt the business model. We met, and the rest was history. I am now the COO and have been here for nearly seven years. I am now able to advocate for our profession as well as challenge our business model to adapt to the challenges our profession is experiencing!
Describe your interest in the AAG, and share your thoughts on the accountancy program and the current challenges with the accountancy pipeline.
I am truly honored to serve in the AAG. There are a few reasons why I had an interest in serving. I am a proud Miami graduate and truly enjoyed my experience in Oxford so I wanted to give back. In addition, a large portion of my position at OSCPA is creating solutions to the talent crisis for the accounting profession, with a specific focus in Ohio. I also had interest in being involved to learn more about what Miami University and the Farmer School of Business is doing as a nationally recognized accounting program, as well as understanding the challenges it faces. Lastly, I am also able to share directly what OSCPA is learning both at the state and national level not only with the faculty team, but also have the ears of other employers represented in the AAG. It is an incredible experience.
What’s a project that you’re excited about right now?
The timing of this question couldn’t be better. The project we are executing right now is the one I have been most excited about since my arrival at OSCPA. We hosted a Workforce Development Summit on September 27 and 28, with over 50 leaders representing the accounting profession in Ohio from firms, companies, academia, and government. At this event in Columbus, we introduced a talent action plan that is focused on three areas to attract and retain talent: (1) better telling the story of the opportunities of the accounting profession, (2) curriculum requirements from high school through licensure, and (3) work experience needs for our professionals.
I am thankful for Dr. Annie Farrell for speaking at our event on behalf of her board position at AAA. We are uniquely positioned in Ohio due to the diversity of our economy, the academic landscape, the workforce development initiative infrastructure, and OSCPA’s connections throughout the state. We will not solve this issue overnight, but believe we can create a model that can be replicated nationally. Please reach out if you want to learn more and/or get involved in this important initiative!
Can you share a favorite memory or two of an accountancy professor at Miami?
It is tough to share just one memory, but the one I want to share today feeds nicely into the talent crisis and how we can attract more students into our profession. My first accounting professor was Anne Davenport. I know many of my fellow CPAs took accounting, and it just clicked right away. That was not the case for me. Professor Davenport spent time with me and explained and supported my journey. She said one day it will just click, but you have to keep working at it. She made sure I didn’t give up. She was right. It did click. We must change the weed-out culture in our profession. I explain to students that learning accounting is the same as learning a foreign language. Learning the language of business is not easy, but we need to attract more individuals to learn the language. Even if someone doesn’t want to be an accountant or CPA, the importance of being able to speak the basics of the language is crucial. This is one of the areas of curriculum that I hope we can address in our workforce development efforts.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
My motto is work hard to play hard. My two main hobbies are tennis and travel. I have played tennis since I was six years old and still play a few times a week. I have dabbled in pickleball and paddle, but tennis is my true passion. I also love to travel. My wife and I just returned from a two-week vacation to the Balkans and have another trip scheduled to go to Colombia this fall. My wife and I enjoy experiencing different cultures and meeting new people along the way.
Anything you want to share about your family? Fun facts about you?
My wife and I live in Clintonville in a historic home we have been renovating and love to entertain. We share our home with our fur babies Magnus, Cardi B and Judy Biscuit. They are all rescues, and we joke that they all won the animal lottery.
