Michael Michelsen, CPA
Michael Michelsen, CPA
Michael Michelsen was born in Glendale, California, and later moved to Cottonwood Heights in Utah. After graduating from Brighton High School, he attended Brigham Young University where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He soon began working for Hansen, Barnett & Maxwell and became a partner in 2009. He remained with the firm after it merged into Eide Bailly LLP in September 2013. Michael volunteers with the UACPA’s State & Local Government Committee and is the board chair for the Utah CPA Foundation. Michael and his wife, Nancy, married in 1996 and have four adult children. He says, “we are looking forward to having an empty nest and to future grandchildren.”
What led you to become an accountant? My father was a CPA. He worked as the controller for a medical device manufacturing company, and I had the opportunity to help in the accounting department doing data entry when the accounting system was upgraded. I saw closely what accountants do, and chose accounting as my major. During my accounting program, visiting CPAs presented about their careers. I was impressed by a CFO who was reading a medical textbook. He explained that as CFO, he needed to fully understand the business to fulfill his position. I realized that accountants need to know more than just accounting. I was attracted by the necessity to continue learning as standards change and saw a career that provided an opportunity for lifelong learning.
What do you like about volunteering with the UACPA? I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know people I would not have met otherwise. With the foundation, it has been gratifying to see many of the things our association members do to give back to their communities. I especially loved hearing about the financial literacy task force when they were teaching classes at the prison. More recently, it is exciting to see the activities planned at local universities that are part of the association’s pipeline outreach.
What would surprise people to know about you? I learned to play the violin beginning in elementary school and played through junior high. I also took piano lessons for several years. I am currently teaching myself to play the ukulele.
What is your favorite book? There are too many good ones to choose. I was an avid reader of science fiction, and it is still my favorite genre. I recently reread the Dune series by Frank Herbert.
What do you like to do outside of work? For a long time, we chased our children to their activities. We have attended music and dance recitals, soccer and baseball games, musical theater, and robotics tournaments. Now that our youngest has graduated from high school, we are planning to travel more, starting with London and Paris this summer. As a family of Disney fans, we spend too much time at Disneyland or Disney World. Future travel plans include additional cities in Europe, more cruising to sunny destinations, and hopefully a visit to each MLB stadium. When I was four, my father took me to my first Dodger game, and I have been a fan ever since.
What are your goals both personally and professionally? Professionally, I hope to contribute to Eide Bailly reaching its revenue goal of $1 billion by 2030. Personally, we plan to travel more and hope to spoil any future grandchildren.
What advice do you live by? “Free advice is worth what you pay for it.” My father-in-law also used to say, “I’m going to give you some advice, and you can do whatever you want with it.” When people give advice, they mean well; however, the same thing does not work for everyone. These quotes also help me be careful about the unsolicited advice I give others. I will usually preface my advice with one of the two idioms.