Protecting Public Trust, Nurturing Next Generation Of CPAs

Jeannette Smith, CPA

Firm: Carr, Riggs & Ingram

Title: Partner

Forbes List: America’s Top 200 CPAs 2025

Jeannette Smith, a Partner with Carr, Riggs & Ingram, is many things: She is the Presiding Chair of the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. She serves on the board of examiners for the AICPA and as the Southwest Regional Director of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. She is a member of the Texas Society of CPAs, where she held the roles of director at large, treasurer and executive board member.

But Smith’s ascension to the highest ranks of the CPA profession speaks most strongly to the challenges facing the field—and facing clients in search of great accounting assistance. Smith herself was mentored by, she says, “a kind and gentle CPA who took me under his wing when I needed reassurance the most.” Beyond that, she says her inspiration was her father, who advised her that, “‘Everybody has an angle, just be smart and be true to yourself.’”

Smith, in turn, is a strong proponent of mentorship in the CPA field, which she considers vital to stemming the dearth of new talent in its professional pipeline—a shortfall that could soon pose a problem for those in business seeking accounting services. Indeed, the numbers are dire. Bachelor’s and master’s accounting graduates have dropped by 18.2% since the 2015-16 academic year, while first-time CPA exam candidates fell 33% between 2016 and 2021. The shortage is compounded by a wave of retirements, as some 75% of CPAs are at or near retirement age, and the workforce boasts roughly 340,000 fewer accountants than five years ago.

As Smith notes: “We continue to be faced with a shortage, a smaller pool of accounting candidates, while trying to avoid head hunting from outsiders. We consider compensation trends, specialized skills, work hours and being replaced with automation. To overcome this trend, we decided to make our CPA firm the best CPA firm in the area, especially when it comes to how employees are treated and rewarded.”

Smith has seen firsthand the challenges facing newcomers to the field, including, as she says, “significant change in work-life balance, rebranding, a storm of regulations, while despite the heavy workload our clients think we can do anything,” and notes, as a result, that “in a world of AI, technology has to be our friend.”

Smith tallies the challenges neatly: “Our profession continues navigating a period of significant change that is driven by talent shortages, technological advancements, client expectations and managing heavy workloads, while maintaining work-life balance. We stay current with skills and regulations as we continue servicing our clients while protecting the public.” And above all else, she aspires to the path of her father, who “inspired me to lead by example, stay true to myself, treat others fair—and at the end of the day, just let it go.”

For the full list of America’s Top 200 CPAs, click here.