Jerry Lee
Education and industry as parallel careers
March 17, 2025
Anyone who knows Jerry Lee knows a few things about him: He has a great sense of style, he has a voice that is easy to listen to and he is not one to back down from a challenge.
During his first accounting class in college, his professor told the students to read professional journals to get a better understanding of current topics in the industry. Lee went to the library and found the 1969 issue of the Journal of Accountancy.
“There was a dot matrix image of an African American male with the article blurb that said Black CPAs in America,” Lee said. “I found the article and on the first page it said in 1969 there were 150 African American CPAs in the United States of America. I looked at that and thought, well, there’s going to be 151!”
A tale of two careers
Lee landed a job at a public accounting firm a semester before he even graduated with his accounting degree. Since then, he has held many positions in public accounting, business and industry, along with higher education. His teaching career began through connections he made through his public accounting work.
“My involvement in higher ed began in the early '80s; I knew people who were in the process of starting Metropolitan State University in downtown Minneapolis and they invited me to join the accounting department,” Lee said. He held the role of community faculty for nearly 20 years.
At the same time, Lee was expanding his own professional skills by earning an MBA and shifting from public accounting to industry, all the while continuing to teach at schools like Metropolitan State, University of Northwestern-St. Paul and, eventually, St. Olaf College in Northfield.
“I’ve always been doing both,” Lee said. “I kept myself involved in industry and education at the same time, starting new businesses, being the CFO of a startup tech company — even when I decided to start my own firm.”
When looking back on the impact having a CPA license had on his career, Lee points to something that applies to both of his parallel careers: Critical-thinking skills.
“The CPA license has allowed me to think critically and understand what makes a business a business,” Lee said. “A business is a series of replicable processes and business statements are quantifications of human behavior. Because human relationships drive so much of the world, it’s important to have a strong grasp of both. If you have your process correct and your understanding of human behavior correct, then you can make decisions that lead to success.”
Serving clients through life or death
With such a long, distinguished career, it almost seems that Lee was destined for the accounting profession — but that wasn’t necessarily always the case.
“I was actually thinking about becoming a mortician,” Lee said with his signature infectious laugh. “But I chose accounting instead.”
Topics: Member Profiles
Julia Shiota
Julia Shiota is the MNCPA’s communications coordinator, bringing her passion for storytelling to members through content development, media relations, and covering member accomplishments and events. Outside of her work with the MNCPA, Julia enjoys knitting, reading, and keeping track of all the birds she encounters on nature walks. You can reach Julia at 952-855-5533 or at jshiota@mncpa.org.
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