Lisa Culverwell, Founder & CEO

With over 13 years in accounting, Lisa has gained a reputation for cleaning up companies and finding money companies didn't know was lost.

How did I come to owning my own Accounting Practice?

In year 2000, I was hired as a receptionist for an architectural firm where, after six months of my employment, I was promoted to accounting, Accounts Payable Specialist to be exact.  I had thought about accounting in the past but wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted to do.  Once I was promoted, I fell in love with the profession, making it my career.  Leaving the company was a questionably smart decision, given it was the same year as 9/11.  In my quest to continue in accounting, I took contract jobs where I could back-up the accounting department (companies back then wanted a minimum three years of experience and I had about 1.5 years).  After taking those small, odd jobs, I quickly discovered how far I could take my career.  I went from auditing sales for retail to bookkeeping to assisting the controller.

My decision to create my own bookkeeping/outsourcing company was not a lite one.  I had been thinking about this day for nearly five years.  I knew what I wanted to do but I was questioning myself.  I asked myself if I was smart, talented, or strong enough to do something like start a bookkeeping company.  I decided that the timing simply wasn’t right for creating a company, especially when I was so unsure of myself.  In the meantime, my husband and I decided to move to Napa and work for the family business.  At the three-year mark of my employment at the family business, I started having that thought about owning a bookkeeping business again.  Instead of questioning whether I could do it, like I did before, I began doing research online.  I discovered a website that stated that you should have one specialty in your business.  Suddenly a light bulb lit bright!  What if there was a small, local firm that could handle the Accounts Payables and Receivables for another company, since that is my specialty.  I searched for “Accounts Payable Outsourcing” and suddenly I came across a dozen corporations across the world doing what I wanted to do!  The thing about it was that half are overseas and the other half are scattered across America.  I finally discovered my niche… outsourcing in Napa!

*Please note that Lisa Culverwell is not a licensed CPA.