Accounting marketers come from many different backgrounds with a variety of experience, and hold many different titles when they land in the accounting industry. Let's talk about our backgrounds and any advantage that gave us, and what the internal career track looks like today.
About Sarah
Sarah Johnson Dobek is president and founder of Inovautus Consulting, a national consulting firm that develops strategies, programs, and training designed to help accounting firms grow faster and in the right direction.
Sarah and her team work with firms to assess their growth goals and execute practical marketing and business development plans. With her unique background in operations, human resources, practice management, and marketing, Sarah delivers insightful, practical advice that guides organizations down the right path toward achieving the growth they desire. Sarah’s ability to understand where an organization is starting from, coupled with her disciplined approach to best practices, drives results for firms and helps them to evolve.
Prior to forming Inovautus, Sarah was the director of marketing for a Chicago-based accounting firm and the director of consulting services at PDI Global, where she learned the nuts and bolts of public accounting firms and the importance of aligning marketing, people, and practice management strategies to achieve growth.
Sarah is a sought-after speaker for conferences, board meetings, and professional service associations and societies. She is a thought leader appearing throughout the profession through articles, podcasts, and videos in Accounting Today, CPA Society publications, the AICPA Journal, CPA Practice Advisor, and more.
Having been named a “Top 100 Most Influential Person” seven times by Accounting Today and a “Top 20 Under 40 Vendor” three times by CPA Practice Advisor, Sarah is without a doubt glued into the profession. Living and breathing her passion, she is also a member and former board member of the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM), past president and member of the CPA Consultants Alliance, and president of CPAsNET, an internationally affiliated association.
About Kari
Kari (Schott) Bakus has over 25 years of business-to-business marketing & communications experience. Kari has spent over 15 years developing and leading growth strategies specifically designed for accounting firms as both an in-house marketing leader and an outside consultant. In her role as a consultant for Inovautus Consulting, Kari works with clients to create growth plans, build relationships, increase referrals, generate leads and grow revenue.
Kari’s in-house work at accounting firms includes five years leading Marketing and Business
Development at Green Hasson Janks, a Los Angeles-based middle-market accounting firm with
13 partners and approximately 130 employees. Prior to Green Hasson Janks, Kari spent five years as a Marketing Director at KPMG, where she led regional and national marketing for KPMG tax services.
In addition to working with accounting firms, Kari has worked with companies with annual
revenues ranging from $20 million to $4.8 billion across a variety of industries, including food &
beverage, printing, wholesale electronics, medical devices and professional services.
Kari earned her MBA from the University of Southern California, and she received her
undergraduate degree in Communications from Miami University in Oxford, OH.
Virtual Campfire Host
Raissa Evans is the host of AAM’s Virtual Campfire, a monthly video roundtable discussion focused on a specific topic. This program is an initiative of AAM’s Virtual Education Committee.
Raissa is CEO/Founder at Running Reload, LLC, working with clients on execution-focused marketing strategy and operational productivity. She began her early career in the technology industry, then spent 12 years as head of marketing at PKF Texas, a firm recognized as a market-leader by its peers due to many industry firsts, winning more than 120 awards along the way. She founded her consultancy in 2015.
Raissa was named AAM’s Marketer of the Year 2011, as well as "One to Watch" by Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential in Accounting. She is Past President of Houston's Interactive Marketing Association, and founder of non-profit Celtic Valor, which raises scholarships for veterans.