Editor's Note: This is another installment in our ongoing series highlighting this year's Insightful Accountant's "2018 Top 100 ProAdvisors." Over the remainder of the year, we will introduce you to our winners, getting their insights on a wide range of topics, including what it is like to be a leader in their profession, how to stay on top and what the future holds.
Gita Faust
This week, we will be profiling Gita Faust. Who is the CEO and owner of Fast Trac Consulting as well as the founder of HammerZen. Working for over thirty years in the real estate industry, Gita has reached far outside of the box of a real estate investor; she is an accountant, a mentor, an author, a consultant, a speaker and a QuickBooks guru. As the owner of Fast Trac Consulting (FTC), Gita has experienced every bit of running a business, from the good to the bad and from the roadblock to the solution.
Tell us about how you got started in the business.
When I was pregnant with my son, I got into a pretty bad car accident that left me with a disability. I could not lift an empty cup from one table to the next without struggling, and I could not sit down comfortably for more than a few minutes at a time. The entire ordeal left me feeling powerless. After five to six years of this frustrating situation, I could sit for a stretch of two hours at a time--so I knew it was time to decide what I wanted to do. I started part-time; after all, I was not completely healed, which erased all plausibility of working a full day, and on top of that, I had a son at home that I needed to look after! It was at that point that an epiphany dawned on me: I had been trying so hard to work around my disability when I could adapt to make my job work for me. I pursued creating my own business, and then one thing led to another. I bookkept for two months, then started training, and eventually that training led to clients. My husband eventually retired a few years ago, and then I started working full-time. Everything from there on out was very fast-paced.
Tell us a little about your practice.
As an accountant, mentor, consultant, author, and speaker for Intuit, I feel that I have expanded my reach into a little bit of everything. My team and I at FTC have helped countless businesses gain a deeper understanding of the accounting world through our offered custom programming and integration; QuickBooks set-up, review, and analysis; consulting; and training.
What is your role in your practice?
I am the CEO of FTC and founder of HammerZen, but that is just my official role. I often speak one-on-one with my clients to help them find the best solution, so I would like to say that my role is connecting personally with my clients so that we can work together to make the best decisions for their businesses.
What does it mean to you to be recognized out of more than 300,000 ProAdvisors in the world?
“Excited” does not even begin to describe how I feel about being recognized. It is truly an honor to be named as a Top ProAdvisor; I am glad that I could use my knowledge and experience to help so many people.
Your first thoughts on getting news of the honor?
As this is my fifth year in a row receiving the award, I was immediately both humbled and proud that my work has had such an impact over the last few years.
How has your ProAdvisor practice changed or evolved over the last couple of years?
With technology evolving every single day, a lot of my daily processes are continuously being simplified. The roles of automation and artificial intelligence are becoming more prominent in the industry every single day, and I take advantage of that--but I still connect one-on-one with my clients every single day.
Why is continuing to enhance your skills and acumen critical to staying one step ahead of the curve?
There is no avoiding competition nowadays, so enhancing your abilities and keeping up with the newest innovations helps you stay on top of the game.
What are three areas every accountant should keep an eye on next year?
Accountants should watch closely the progression of automation throughout next year and how it helps businesses improve their efficiency. Artificial intelligence is another big and upcoming factor in the industry’s future success, so everybody should keep an eye on AI and take notes on how to implement it into his or her business. Finally, as always, accountants should pay attention to networking; networking is what makes the business world go round, and it is how you get the connections that help you make it big.
Name the biggest technological advancements you saw this year.
AI is huge. Without AI-capable software, it would be impossible to see your visual data in just a few minutes. If you want something instant (which, in this day and age, everybody does), you need to use the QuickBooks-compatible apps with AI capabilities. The industry is taking huge leaps with AI software, which is great, but we still need to remember to teach clients how to understand and read into those insights.
What was the best piece of advice you ever received?
The best piece of advice I have ever received is something I have heard from multiple people. In a world where you are taught to keep pushing forward, you should take a second to look back and give yourself more credit for your accomplishments. You should take time to be proud of what you have done, and then you can focus on what else you want to do.
What is the story that best describes how you help your clients?
I would not particularly say there is any specific story that describes how I help my clients. Often I am bold and direct; I tell it like it is so that we can easily work through what the problem is and how to fix it without any dilly-dallying.
What is the biggest item on your to-do list in the upcoming YEAR?
There are two major goals I have for the upcoming year. First, I want to take my new baby (A.K.A. HammerZen) to the big leagues. With its artificial intelligence capabilities and efficient features, I know that it can and will help countless businesses more than it already has. On the other hand, a personal goal of mine is to fulfill my husband’s dream of taking a train ride through the Rocky Mountains
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