We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cedar Boschan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Cedar, thanks for sitting with us today to chat about topics that are relevant to so many. One of those topics is communication skills, because we live in an age where our ability to communicate effectively can be like a superpower. Can you share how you developed your ability to communicate well?
When I first began my career in forensic accounting, I quickly learned that communication was just as important as Excel. My mentor, Fred Wolinsky, CPA, taught me that great forensic accountants must also be great communicators. He said that half of the job was calculating the numbers, while the other half was deftly explaining them in a written report or when giving expert witness testimony.
Of course, communication is not a natural talent of every accountant. In fact, many accountants tend to be introverted or uncomfortable with written or verbal communication, especially when it gets adversarial, such as defending one’s opinion in a deposition or at trial. Therefore, the communication skills I brought to the role of forensic accountant allowed me to rise quickly above the stereotype, deliver great results to clients, and set me apart, not only as an accountant, but also as a manager capable of delegating assignments in a clear and productive way.
Thankfully, I was blessed with ample and relevant reading, writing, and speaking experience pre-dating my career as a forensic accountant, having studied Greek and Latin roots, advanced English, as well as legal writing, and having worked in corporate communications during college at The University of Southern California.
As my mentor, Wolinsky emphatically encouraged me to dedicate time, study, and practice to sharpen my communication techniques on a regular basis. Like him, I participated in Toastmasters, an organization that helps its members practice and develop public speaking and leadership skills.
Further, as my employer, Wolinsky’s firm sent me to “partner training” with distinguished executive coaches including Jennifer Wilson of Convergence Coaching. Wilson taught me how to use clear communication to hold ourselves and others accountable, and her lessons polished my conflict resolution techniques. I wish everyone could receive the same training!
Later in my career, I began being hired as a public speaker. I also took a part time position teaching royalty accounting and economics courses at a college in Pasadena. I find that such speakerships help me feel more comfortable and confident speaking before large groups.
In recent years, I have studied certain aspects of non-verbal communication. I am most interested in how the colors and styles of clothing we wear communicate to others non-verbally. I hired Emmy-Award winning wardrobe stylist and designer David Zyla to provide me with a customized color palette that I use to support my non-verbal communication. For example, Zyla gave me an “essence” color I can use to convey truth and honesty.
Currently, I am focused on improving my listening skills and moderating my alpha tendencies to talk over people. (Wilson gave me a listening test that I re-take every year to be more mindful of my weaknesses.) I am also presently studying French.
In summary, I developed my abilities to communicate effectively by making deliberate and continual efforts to improve my verbal and non-verbal communication skills. I believe such skills can absolutely be learned by most people – one need not be born with strong communication skills in order to become adept, but it may take years of work.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
After 14 years of experience at larger CPA firms, I founded Boschan Corp. in 2015. We are the go-to firm for forensic accounting and damages quantification in the entertainment, media, and IP sectors. We provide forensic accounting and expert consulting services to law firms their clients. Our culture is brave, diverse and entrepreneurial, and we are known for achieving great results through high standards and better execution.
My role here is deeply rewarding. I get most excited about my work at Boschan Corp. when a client collects a big check and it changes their life. Likewise, I am fulfilled by mentoring so many team members – I can see and hear every day what a positive difference we have made in their lives!
In terms of things I would like readers to know about Boschan Corp.:
1) We are usually hiring for both our operational and client services divisions. Currently, we are looking for a part time administrative assistant to assist our office manager and we are also looking for staff-level auditors and accountants. If you are interested, call us at 424-248-8866 to get instructions on how to submit a cover letter to tell us specifically why you are interested in a career at Boschan Corp.
2) We are now providing privacy compliance audit services to help companies assess vendor compliance with privacy legislation and agreements.
Besides my work at Boschan Corp., I own a media company, Auditrix, Inc., and I also serve on the board of directors for an insurance startup, for which we are looking to raise funds. It is important to me to have a few projects or business endeavors underway at all times, in order to feel challenged, grow and learn new things!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important (for someone in your role) to develop, which three would you say matter most?
With respect to my forensic accounting journey, using SQL-based databases gave me great advantage over Excel users early in my career, and understanding the contractual language and practices in client industries has enabled me to identify findings that those with purely accounting expertise miss. Also, as I mentioned earlier during this interview, communication skills have taken me a long way.
Concerning my path to entrepreneurship, the main quality that has helped me succeed us perseverance! I have a lot of “grit” as they say, and confidence in myself at low points that things will improve if I just hang in there. Lastly, my commitment to improving processes is proving to be valuable, as it has led us to greater efficiency than most other firms – large or small – have achieved.
How would you describe your ideal client?
I have a hard-won reputation as an excellent royalty auditor, but lately I most enjoy calculating and rebutting damages claims in the context of litigation.
Providing such litigation support has led me to work with hundreds of attorneys and I have observed that some are greater skilled than others.
I find that we are often the best choice for litigators who lack industry expertise – they often describe me as the client team’s “MVP” and sincerely appreciate my contributions to the case.
On the other hand, I feel that I do my best work when the legal team is capable of both critique and enforcing my claims. Therefore, my ideal client is a larger firm of well-educated attorneys with deep experience.
We also love corporate clients, such as film studios and music companies, who leverage our expertise for their outbound royalty and/or profit accountings as well as audit defense.
In any case, I like to have a mix of clients (e.g., audit vs. litigation, plaintiff vs. defense, individual vs. corporate, etc.). While Boschan Corp. does not often provide services on a contingent basis, we do know certain litigation and audit financiers who are clamoring to help our clients fund their audits and litigation. If this interests you, please call our office for more information at (424) 248-8866.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.boschan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auditrix/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoschanCorp/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/boschan-corp-
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/boschancorp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSxscJyn8VpUDGABy2v8YRg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/boschan-corp-culver-city
- Other: https://blog.auditrix.net
