SMALL STATE, BIG IMPACT

Kevin Currier: Local CFO finds rewards serving for RISCPA and the AICPA

Like others we have featured in this section, former RISCPA president Kevin Currier finds valuable opportunities serving both the state and national societies.

He is a member of the Government Relations and Public Communications committees for RISCPA. For the AICPA, he is an at-large council member (after a three-year term as a Rhode Island delegate to the council). He is also a member of the Uniform Accountancy Act Committee, which he chaired for two years prior.

Serving on the council and committees breathes life into the issues," Currier said of his work for the AICPA. “I certainly understand some of the subtleties that I probably would not just by reading about them in various publications.”

Currier is currently the chief financial officer of a private company headquartered in Groton, Conn. The business, triVIN, Inc., sells manual and electronic tools for improving efficiency of motor vehicle processing as well as lien and title management. TriVIN has several offices around the country, but Currier is CFO of the holding and operating companies in Connecticut.

Outside of his day-to-day job in our neighbor state to the south, Currier refers to his volunteer work for the societies as both selfish and selfless.

“Part of it is that I’ve gotten so much out of this profession. I view my time as giving back, to a certain degree, for all of the benefits that I derived out of it,” he said. “That’s the unselfish part. The more selfish part is that it helps me continue to grow and understand the issues affecting businesses and the CPA profession overall.”

He says volunteering on RISCPA committees gives him a unique advantage in his work for the AICPA, and vice versa.

When it comes to serving Rhode Island, for example, Currier cites its size as offering some advantages.

“Rhode Island’s size gives us a unique advantage in that not only do I know many of the other licensees within the state, but I regularly get to meet and talk to them at different society events,” he said.

Currier recently met with the incoming president of the California state society, and learned that California has 11 chapters. That requires the president to fly all over the state to meet with members.

“We’re not separated by size and geography as many of the other states are,” Currier said. “Not that it makes us better, but I think I have a better sense of the feelings and opinions of CPAs in Rhode Island just because I’m able to talk to them more easily. It’s a much smaller universe.”

Meanwhile, by serving on a national level for the AICPA in his roles on the council and on the Uniform Accountancy Act Committee, Currier says he gains a broader understanding of the CPA profession and the bigger issues it faces. He says that’s especially helpful given his role at triVIN, Inc.

“I’m in private industry now and not working in public day to day. I’m not going from company to company like I did in public,” he said. “You get very tunnel focused on the things that affect this company and the things that affect yourself. Whereas serving nationally, it brings you out of that and opens you up to the word of the diverse issues that are out there so I have an appreciation for them.”

In his role on the Public Communications Committee, Currier is part of the team, chaired by past president Jacquelyn Tracy, that comes up with ideas for these very “What Counts” e-newsletters every month. They’re the ones to reach out to with any story ideas or topics you’d like to see covered in the future. They meet every quarter to brainstorm an editorial plan for the next issue.