Daniel B. Hobson
38 Manager, Minority Initiatives - American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York City
As a child, Daniel B. Hobson suffered from severe asthma, which caused him to miss school frequently. The hindrance proved a motivating factor, driving him to become a certified public accountant and an internal auditor, a profession he considers vital to the minority community.
Hobson, 38, is manager of Minority Initiatives for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is responsible for directing the Institute’s diversity efforts and developing and executing programs established by the Minority Initiatives Committee to integrate minorities into the accounting profession. It is a role he takes seriously. He shares his skills with numerous minority accounting organizations in preparing young people for careers in business. He has lectured to high school and college students, mentored youngsters and provided resources for programs. He also lectures in accounting at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Hobson says his work is an extension of his concern for young people and the impact of materialism on their values. While he is proud of the success of many of his protégés, it is those who lack direction that motivate him to push harder. In pushing harder, he has voiced his desire to create a program to work with college freshmen to better prepare them for the business world. He believes that students need a better understanding of the peers they’ll be competing with and of the perceptions they must overcome.
Planning is everything, he insists, arguing that the absence of a plan often keeps others from performing their jobs effectively and efficiently. The expression “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” is his mantra, he says.
Hobson says he owes much to his mother, Billie Ann Hobson, who encouraged him to overcome obstacles; to Joseph Iannini, CPA, his former director, who encouraged him to go for CPA status, a designation that opened many doors and which makes him credible when motivating young people; and to longtime friend, Michael Sherard, for providing “the friendly, competitive environment” that helped him identify and achieve his personal goals.
