Tommy Yee recently celebrated his sixth year with 8020 Consulting! In this post, Tommy revisits past projects, explores his career growth and offers advice to accounting and finance professionals exploring consulting as a career path.
1. What do you enjoy most about your work?
I enjoy the variety in both type of work and industry; it never gets boring. You’re constantly presented with new challenges, and I love that it keeps me on my toes and stops me from getting complacent.
2. Are there memorable projects that come to mind looking back at your time so far with 8020?
I’ve worked with one client that started as a small entertainment company and eventually grew to be publicly traded. It’s been very rewarding to have a hand in growing the Accounting and Finance functions as the company has grown from a small private to large public company.
I also had an assignment at one of the largest entertainment streaming companies. It was both interesting and educational to see the internal DNA of the company and how that drove the company to be successful. Additionally, there were a lot of new accounting issues that had to be interpreted and applied to a new industry into which they were expanding.
3. What has been the most unexpectedly rewarding part of consulting?
You’re constantly learning. I’ve been at 8020 for six years, and prior to that I was at a different firm for 12 years. I’m always able to pick up new things at each client that I can apply to future clients. Those learnings aren’t always gained from clients in the same industry; you can learn and apply many things from very different clients.
4. What advice would you give someone considering 8020 Consulting as an employer?
Don’t panic if you go to a client and are presented with an issue for which you do not immediately know the answer. A lot of resources online are readily available to point you in the right direction. You often just have to dig a little bit to find them. The other consultants at the firm are also a great resource. Chances are one of the other consultants has faced a similar issue and can point you to the answer.
5. Is there anyone you’d like to thank or acknowledge?
I’ve worked with David, Kelly, Shawn and Erin for a long time, and they’ve been super supportive and helpful. You really could not ask for better people to work with.
6. What are you most excited about currently?
I’m excited about not wearing a mask whenever I leave home!
Careers at 8020 Consulting
We take pride in nurturing long-term relationships with our team members and our clients. If you’re interested in working on our team of accounting and finance professionals, visit our careers section of the website, where you can learn more about life at 8020. You can also put in an application for consideration by following the instructions at the bottom of that page:
About Tommy
Tommy is a PWC Alumnus with 20+ years of broad accounting and finance experience in both large and small companies including pre-IPO, venture-backed companies. These companies include The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Maker Studios, DirecTV, LegalZoom.com, The Rubicon Project and Specialty Laboratories, where he held leadership roles such as Controller, Senior Accounting Manager, Director of Accounting and Director of Financial Reporting. In these diverse roles, Tommy has provided Internal and External Audit support, SOX Documentation and testing, SEC reporting, process improvement and all aspects of month-end close and reporting process. Tommy holds a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from California State University Los Angeles and is an active CPA.
