Bette Hochberger, a graduate of MIT, breaks away from the typical CPA stereotype by leveraging her technical proficiency, innovative mindset, and business acumen to cater to clients all over the country. She embraced the CGMA designation from the AICPA in its first year and is an early adopter in the accounting industry. In addition, Bette holds reputable certifications from Intuit for Quickbooks, Quickbooks Online, Xero, and other favored tools that clients use.
With a diverse educational background in materials engineering, music, and accounting, Bette persistently seeks to merge science and art in all aspects of her life. Her unique approach has made her the preferred financial consultant for astute business proprietors.
Bette takes pleasure in assisting clients, friends, and family members in achieving success in their endeavors and businesses. Her passion lies in supporting her community and broadening the scope of opportunities for women in leadership, STEM, and entrepreneurship. Moreover, Bette harbors a fondness for music festivals and occasionally engages in acting and singing with the Royal Chessmen.
Stepping into the Business World
After completing her undergraduate studies at MIT, Bette went on to obtain her degree from Nova Southeastern University. She began her career in public accounting, where smaller owner-operated firms were often disregarded as mere “Quickbooks Accounts.” Bette initially concentrated on serving the underserved market of female entrepreneurs and providing part-time CFO assistance to small business owners. However, her firm and interests soon grew to encompass a broader range of clients, including law firms, consultants, and real estate firms.
With prior experience in the startup scenes of Miami and Boston, Bette subsequently delved into the world of venture capital-backed startups. During the acquisition of the regional firm Bette was working at by a larger national firm, she witnessed how small business owners were being treated and realized that there had to be a better way. Driven by her conviction and determination, Bette founded her own accounting firm from a spare bedroom in her home. Over time, her firm has grown steadily, with the support of loyal clients who value her commitment to running an ethical accounting firm that prioritizes the best interests of its clients.
The Firm
The emergence of Web3 technologies, such as blockchain, is revolutionizing web development and presenting fascinating new infrastructure options. Investors in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been forced to quickly learn new compliance issues, which Bette and her team have been working with since 2014 when they wrote their first blog post as a Bitcoin CPA. Although understanding compliance issues is not complicated, most CPAs are not familiar with generating documents for financial instruments without regulated brokerage statements. Bette, as a Bitcoin accountant, was ahead of the curve in creating proprietary systems to manage her clients’ Schedule D filings before the need for a dedicated cryptocurrency CPA arose. As a result, the firm is now well-positioned to assist clients in navigating this exciting new investment and wealth-building landscape.
The firm has developed an array of high-value service offerings to assist businesses of all sizes. By standardizing its offerings, the team can provide an extremely affordable level of service. These services are divided into three levels: starter, fractional controller, and fractional CFO.
The starter package is designed to alleviate small business owners’ tax compliance and accounting headaches. It provides comprehensive management of state and federal filing compliance, monthly book updates, handling of payroll and quarterly tax compliance, and twice-yearly meetings for tax planning. Furthermore, the team takes care of annual tax returns on behalf of its clients.
Advance Finance Management System
Fractional Controller is a virtual accounting department where we help small businesses that have grown to the point where managers are starting to make financial decisions. At this stage, Bette’s team does weekly bookkeeping, monthly financials, and quarterly business reviews. If something unexpected happens, the team is reviewing things with clients regularly so it can nip problems in the bud.
Fractional CFO is a full-virtual finance department for small and medium-sized businesses. This is how we help you compete with your larger competitors. At this level, your books need to be managed daily and reviewed weekly, but more important than these accounting measures is working with you to develop and monitor the KPIs – Key Performance Indicators – that you need to run your business. With Fractional CFO, we’ll help you turn into the data-driven company you need to be to succeed at this next level.
Making values foundation of the Firm
Transparency and respect are the fundamental pillars of the firm’s culture, and clear communication about expectations right from the onset of our client relationships makes it easier for the team to uphold these values and maintain strong bonds with the clients. Furthermore, the team’s keen interest in the Miami tech scene and blockchain technology keeps us abreast of the latest technological developments, enabling us to harness them to the firm’s clients’ advantage.
Following a Collaborative Leadership Perspective
Bette firmly believes that prioritizing team processes over individual heroics is crucial for long-term success and sustained performance within an organization. While individual contributions are important, relying too heavily on individual heroics can lead to burnout, high turnover rates, and unsustainable work culture. In contrast, prioritizing team processes can foster a more collaborative, innovative, and supportive work environment that benefits both the organization and its employees.
As the leader of her accounting firm, Bette’s responsibilities include meeting with clients, managing staff, reviewing financial reports, and developing business strategies. However, the part of her day that brings her the most joy is meeting with potential and current clients and providing them with advisory services that help them make and save more money. Bette takes great pride in her staff and loves nurturing their talents and watching them grow professionally.
Advising on Continuous Learning and Improving
Bette places a high value on her family, staff, and clients, considering them integral to her success. She takes pride in being a reliable, innovative, and one-of-a-kind professional who treats everyone with respect, honesty, and integrity. Bette believes that her ethical approach to her work and her commitment to building strong relationships with those around her are the foundation of her accomplishments in business.
Bette suggests that emerging leaders should focus on developing a clear and compelling vision for their business, while also prioritizing effective communication and active listening. Building strong relationships with stakeholders is also essential, as is a commitment to continuous learning and improvement. Bette believes that taking the time to get to know team members and their individual strengths and development areas is critical, as is leading by example and modeling the desired values and behaviors. Delegating tasks and responsibilities to team members based on their unique strengths, interests, and development needs is also crucial for fostering a positive and productive work environment.
Website: https://bettehochberger.com/
