CPA Crossings Subscription: Project Management Skills

Elizabeth Bystrom CPA - Tax geek who will research tax questions when she thinks no one is looking. Loves to talk payroll tax, writes original content, gives payroll training and offers payroll CPE to help spread the word that payroll isn't the black box eveyone things it is.

My superhero skill is I can explain taxes to people in such a way that they actually understand what I am saying. I can also tell you that you owe taxes without making you cry, but that is just a bonus skill.

I've been licensed in the State of Minnesota as a CPA since 2003 and have been in public practice for over twenty years. I spent the first ten years of my career working for a mid-size regional firm located in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN. I started at the ground level as a bookkeeper while studying for the CPA exam. It was here I first learned how to run payroll. In the years after I passed the exam, I spent time working in various departments within the firm, gathering experience in the accounting, business, and individual tax departments.

In 2010, I jumped ship from all that was familiar in order to try my hand at running my own gig. I opened Elizabeth Bystrom CPA, Ltd., a boutique tax and accounting firm located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where I live and raised my two daughters.  

Along with providing my clients with services designed to assist with their business and individual taxes, I've found a niche in talking payroll. Over the years, payroll has remained my first love. I see a constant need for payroll training and consulting, both at the individual and business level.  

A common misconception is that because payroll is so common, it must be easy to do. But what people don't realize is that it is also easy to mess up. That's where I come in. I've assembled a webinar series designed to pull the basics of payroll together in one place.  

Designed to be taken stand-alone, or as a series, Payroll Essentials goes far beyond just giving you a bunch of forms and facts, and develops for the attendee the theory of exactly how payroll really does affect everyone. 

Jessica Hartsfield, PMP, MA

Founder and Lead Consultant, Maven Source International

While Jessica has over 15 years of corporate experience in multiple industries, her greatest skills lie in understanding people. For years she studied groups both in the US and abroad to compile a template for how to create high-functioning teams able to consistently work at their highest and best.

She quickly learned during her career that structures matter and teams need the best structure that fits their style and rhythm. One big piece of that is having a robust project management strategy so she studied and became proficient as a project manager professional (PMP).

Next, while studying for her master's in Intercultural Relations she fell in love with the topic of change management. She vowed to become an expert in helping as many people as possible become comfortable with change and transition, achieving expertise in this subject, not only with her masters, but also by becoming a Change Management specialist.

Her world travels have taken her to four different continents and in each, she has made it a priority to understand not only the cultural differences between the peoples of the Earth but more importantly, what connects us all. This research, plus her earlier studies helped her create her organizational culture program that helps teams better understand each other, themselves and how best they can reach their shared vision.

Change, Culture, and Project management are her favorite topics to talk about - period. In her home life, you can often find her reading, painting, crafting, adventuring, theorizing or playing with her many farm animals.

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Learn more about Jessica's history here