A Partner Eleven Years in the Making
On Episode #121 of CPA Career Paths, I had the pleasure of speaking with Charmone Adams, a Partner at Grant Thornton with eleven years at the firm under his belt. He walked me through every stop on the road from associate to partner, and some of what he shared genuinely surprised me.
What You’ll Learn From Charmone’s Journey
Charmone and I covered picking the right firm size, surviving the hardest promotions in public accounting, and why he believes AI is here to help you, not replace you. A few highlights before we dive in.
- He almost picked the wrong size firm entirely. Nightmare stories from friends at small firms scared him off, but he also worried about disappearing inside a massive one. Here’s the size that let him stand out instead.
- One promotion tested him more than all the others combined. Of every step from associate to partner, this single transition changed how he saw his own responsibility.
- Some of his best career advice came from the competition. He built a bench of mentors outside his own firm, and it paid off in ways he didn’t expect.
- He still isn’t worried about AI taking his job. Charmone has a simple philosophy for where technology fits into the future of accounting.
Why Medium-Sized Firms Are the Sweet Spot
Charmone told me he never wanted the extremes. Small firms scared him after watching friends get burned when a project didn’t work out. Big firms worried him for a different reason.
“If it’s a big firm and it’s too big, then it was like, hey, you would get lost in the sauce.”
— Charmone Adams
That fear of disappearing pushed him toward Grant Thornton, which he joined when it was a much smaller global firm. He got the international exposure of a large firm and the visibility of a small one, plus the room to feel, in his words, like a unique gem.
- Ask how many people you’d actually interact with day to day, not just the total headcount
- Weigh international opportunity against how easily you could get lost in the organization
- Talk to people who left a firm you’re considering, not just the ones who stayed
The Hardest Promotion: Senior Manager to Partner
Every accountant hits two rough transitions on the way up, senior associate to manager and senior manager to partner. For Charmone, the second one hit hardest, even though he had already been operating like a partner as a senior manager.
“The ball stops on me.”
— Charmone Adams
What got him through it was mentorship, and not just the internal kind his firm assigned him. He sought out partners at other firms too, including direct competitors, and leaned on those relationships whenever he needed a real answer.
- Find at least one mentor who is already in the role you’re targeting
- Look outside your own firm, competitors included, for a wider perspective
- Ask for specific, honest feedback rather than general encouragement
A Day in the Life, and Why AI Is an Enabler
Ask Charmone what a typical day looks like and he’ll tell you plainly, no two are the same. Sales calls, staff coaching, reviewing deliverables, conference travel, sometimes even golf. That variety is a big part of why he has no plans to leave the profession.
On technology, Charmone doesn’t see AI as competition.
“It’s going to enable us to unlock a lot of different potential.”
— Charmone Adams
- Use AI to handle repetitive review work, then reinvest that time into clients
- Get comfortable explaining how you use tools like ChatGPT in interviews and reviews
- Treat efficiency gains as time to add more value, not just time to relax
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