Beto’s passion: Helping nonprofits achieve their mission

Beto Arellano | Senior Audit Associate | San Francisco

We recently sat down with Beto Arellano, a Senior Associate in our San Francisco office, to talk about one of his favorite type of clients – nonprofit organizations.

Beto, a CPA and University of California, Davis grad with a master’s in accounting, primarily works with clients in financial services, with emphasis on private equity funds, venture capital funds and small business investment companies. However, Beto’s passion to help the community has also translated into a passion for helping nonprofit clients.

He said working with nonprofit clients has been quite rewarding and can be some of his most interesting work, such as when he did an audit for an interactive science museum. “Breaks consisted of playing pinball, walking through a fog bridge or playing snake with other museum goers. Not much can beat that in the audit world! It a very unique experience as not only do we get to interact with fun exhibits, but we get to work closely with management and understand how a museum operates. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that makes this such a special place for visitors and we got a front row seat on the whole production!”

It’s not just the unique and different clients Beto enjoys, but also seeing how his work helps the organization make a positive impact. “Another client I have the opportunity to work with has a mission to support conservation issues, education and community foundations. As part of our audit procedures, we examine grants and get to see firsthand how these funds are being used to help with all sorts of social issues, from water conservation to providing medical assistance. It has been quite intriguing to learn how they have grown over the years and see how they continue to raise funds in order to continue making a global impact. Due to our relationship with these clients, working on nonprofits has been quite rewarding. We see how our work is supporting their mission and vision.”

Trevor Wong reaches new heights with Ascend

Here at RSM, we place a heavy emphasis on year-round development to help our people build their skills and grow their careers. One way our people receive training is through our 11 employee network groups, part of our Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion program. Trevor Wong, an audit and transaction advisory services associate from our San Francisco office, recently had the opportunity to attend the Ascend conference in Houston, Texas, along with 50 other RSM colleagues and fellow InspirAsian employee network group members. Ascend is a non-profit organization that cultivates and trains Pan-Asian members and supporters as they navigate through related accounting and business fields.
We sat down with Trevor for a brief chat to discuss his experience at the conference and how it has helped him beyond his time there.

RSM: Prior to the conference, what were some of your expectations?

Trevor: I figured I would meet students and other professionals, and get to know what Ascend was truly about as my alma mater did not have a local chapter.

What sessions did you think were the most informative?

One of the sessions I found most empowering was a session hosted by Alfred Ko, an RSM risk advisory services director. It delved into how to ask for recognition and credit, which was a good way of understanding how one could approach that sensitive issue. Another was hosted by guest speakers Christine Ha and So-yeon Yi, and I got an understanding of what tribulations they went through in their careers, and how they used their experience to their benefit and always believed themselves. That was something as an Asian-American, I found to be helpful and informative.

Is there anything you learned or experienced at the conference that you have now incorporated into your everyday work life?

Networking for sure. Now I can talk to students and professionals, which translates into talking to your client professionally and being more outgoing. Now, I reach out to people in other lines of business in New York, Irvine, Los Angeles, Houston, etc. I’ve broken barriers and spoken with other people outside my group. I’m also now more adept at asking for feedback, to reach out and be proactive, and be more accepting of self-recognition.

What kind of fun things did you do at Ascend?

One night, we broke up into three groups and went to Indian, Korean BBQ, and Hot Pot for dinner, then met up for Karaoke after. We had a lot of fun!