Karin Smith
University of Texas at El Paso
I was born into a family of accountants and bankers. Growing up in a family hotel in Austria , even as a middle schooler my mom would have me help her with the businesses’ books. One of my paternal aunts was the first female employee of the local tax office. One could say accounting runs in my blood. Not till I came to the U.S. as a young newlywed and took an accounting class with a very inspiring young teacher, was I convinced that accounting could also become my career. My husband’s career brought us to El Paso, and I ended up in Ms. Steven’s tax class who without any doubt was instrumental in my becoming a tax accountant and eventually manger.
Over the past twenty years I have served on various boards in the community: I have served as the CPE chair of the local chapter of the Texas Society of Public Accountants. Later I became the treasurer of a local not-for profit organization called Rebuilding Together and I am the past president of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA).
I have been a Texas CPA since 2000 and am proud that I passed the CPA exam’s four parts in one attempt.
I love my profession and my craft and would love to be an inspiration to another generation of accountants just as great teachers have inspired me. As such I am looking forward to teaching accounting and taxation.