In a league of their own
Two CPAs share how they built a successful firm on their own terms
From the outside, Tope Roth CPA, CGA and Meagan Schroder CPA, CGA were originally an unlikely pair when they started working together in 2008. The only thing they seemed to have in common was their jobs at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). If they’d been told back then they would one day co-own a business, they might not have believed it.
“Tope has a very vibrant personality. I was a quiet little mouse,” remembers Meagan. “Her desk was close to mine at CRA, and she would come over to my desk to chat. She kept coming back, and eventually, she invited me to hang out, so I decided to go.”
Tope and Meagan are now co-owners of Roth Schroder Professional Corporation (Roth Schroder PC)—“an accounting firm like no other,” as stated on their website—where they hang out regularly and provide their clients with the personal attention they deserve.
Both women discovered they were naturally quite good at accounting after coming to it from other interests. Tope initially wanted to be an environmental chemist because she loved math and chemistry. “I did a year where I tried things out, and I took one accounting class, but I was struggling because I wasn’t paying attention,” she says.
After realizing her grade was in jeopardy, Tope pulled it together, passed the class, and made a pleasant discovery along the way. “When I actually started studying, I realized I was really good at [accounting],” says Tope.
Similarly, Meagan entered NAIT’s business program intending to study marketing. “It’s funny because, in high school, all I knew was accounting had something to do with numbers, and…I thought, ‘No way. I will never touch that,’” she says.
After she took an accounting class, however, she discovered marketing wasn’t the best fit for her, and it “just didn’t feel comfortable.” Luckily, accounting did.
What also felt comfortable and natural was Tope and Meagan’s desire to create a business built on mutual respect and understanding. “Having a business partner really made opening my own firm a lot less scary because Tope is someone who can relate. What I’ve learned is not a lot of people can relate,” says Meagan.
It’s no secret the accounting profession has historically been male-dominated, and though strides have been made to close the gender gap, the profession still has work to do when it comes to diversity, inclusion, and equity—especially for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour. However, Meagan is Indigenous and Tope is Black Canadian, and as Women of Colour in the accounting profession, they are breaking new ground and challenging people’s expectations of what owners of a professional corporation should be or look like.
The significance of their firm’s existence didn’t occur to either woman when they first started Roth Schroder PC; however, their experiences—both good and bad—have validated their decision to own their business and work with diverse communities.
“I don’t fit in the standard accounting world. I stick out like a sore thumb and beat to my own drum. I’m just not a person who conforms,” says Tope. Tope is originally from Winnipeg, which boasts the largest Indigenous population of any major Canadian city, and her upbringing informs her work with Indigenous communities and gives her a sense of belonging. “I like that I fit better,” she says. “In the Indigenous community, I’m able to be exactly who I am and do what I love.”
Meagan is used to the comments she receives when people realize she is Indigenous. “‘You’re Indigenous, and you have a business? Wow!’ There’s always the ‘and,’” she says.
Meagan is proud of her heritage, but she hopes for a day when comments like that are not the norm. “I want it to come to a place where me being Indigenous doesn’t matter and doesn’t play a part,” says Meagan. “I want people to realize that we are just like anyone else.”
While they’re breaking barriers, Meagan and Tope are also leading a prosperous business and are more than happy to share their secret to success. “I’m sure some of it is luck, but Tope is a really great business partner to have. I never could have gone into business with any other person. We call ourselves business besties,” says Meagan.
She explains their relaxed but professional atmosphere is another thing that sets them apart from other firms. “We don’t judge each other; we don’t make each other feel uncomfortable,” agrees Tope. “We built this firm being exactly who we are.”