Accountant Spotlight: Erin Dohan at Attivo Partners

Our Accounting Spotlights highlight inspirational leaders in the profession who are making a difference for their clients and community. Know someone who deserves to be featured? Submit a nomination.

In our latest Accountant Spotlight Series, we're thrilled to introduce Erin Dohan at Attivo Partners. Her story is one defined by leadership, intention, and connection.

Finding comfort in clarity

Some things in life just add up. For Erin Dohan, Assistant Controller at Attivo Partners, the clarity that comes with numbers gave her clarity for her career. As a highly organized person, Erin has always rejected the idea of ambiguity, gravitating instead toward the appeal of right or wrong. Doing the math, Erin arrived at a clear answer: accounting was her calling.

Beginning this path by moving up the accounting ranks, Erin soon found herself laddering up into team development. “I never really thought I’d get into team development,” shares Erin. “But training people, lunch and learns, new hire experiences; The Learning Journey has allowed me to take on a leadership role, which has been rewarding.” The Learning Journey, Attivo’s onboarding program for new hires, consists of two phases. Upon joining the firm, employees are assigned an onboarding mentor, helping employees get up to speed with best practices and operating standards, while encouraging personal and professional development.

Erin’s involvement in Attivo’s new hire onboarding, as well as the mentorship program, reflects her ability to guide and lead. “Seeing my mentees succeed was in some ways more rewarding for me than my own accomplishments,” Erin expresses. Whether it’s sharing in the joy of other’s annual feedback, or celebrating small wins, Erin is an accountant that makes a difference in everything that she does.

A steward for success

Attivo’s client base is venture-backed, resulting in companies at various stages of maturity. Similar to the excitement Erin experiences in witnessing her mentees’ growth, she also sees her client’s success as her own. “It's great to be able to be with a company from that starting point and watch them grow,” Erin reflects. “It’s unique in the consulting space, as you get to be a part of so many different industries, as well as see how companies are impacting those areas.”

While Erin supports new hires at Attivo, she also plays a critical role in welcoming new clients. As a lead on the client onboarding team, Erin is responsible for setting up clients for success from day one. Regardless of the client’s situation or stage, this process often invites a plethora of questions. Balancing the repetition and consistency that can be inherent to accounting, the onboarding team encounters a different goal with every new client. Whether it’s establishing a client’s foundation or cleaning up existing infrastructure, Erin gives clients a direct path to reach these goals, delivering valuable information and expert guidance.

Establishing a central source of truth

The team at Attivo is always looking for opportunities for efficiency, striking a balance between increasing output and maintaining detail. Central to this effort is reducing the number of technology solutions the company relies on, creating room for streamlined processes and collaboration.

Prior to becoming a Ramp partner, Attivo’s recommended tech stack was often focused on a separate accounts payable (AP) system, an employee reimbursement system, and a credit card system. “The issue is that some of these systems are not user-friendly and are a bit clunky. My favorite thing about Ramp is that it’s essentially three products in one and does such a good job making sure everything is user-friendly,” Erin expresses.

Having a centralized source of truth provides teams with increased efficiency, streamlining internal processes while eliminating low-value, manual tasks like data entry. By using automation to their advantage, Attivo is able to maximize impact while ensuring complete accuracy.

Providing tailored, custom solutions

Having brought many clients into the Attivo world, Erin has encountered many unique challenges throughout the onboarding phase. “I think the most common is not setting the foundation up from the start,” she reflects. “Accounting is one of the easiest parts of the business to neglect, and yet it often doesn’t become clear how important it is until it’s too late.” By starting with a strong accounting foundation from day one, companies avoid extensive backtracking and are much better positioned to grow and scale.

One of the key benefits of working with Attivo is understanding actionable insights. Clients previously often struggled to understand their data, lacking important information to make it feel actionable. While some of the founders within Attivo’s client base benefit from a background in finance, many others come from other professional backgrounds, such as engineering or biotechnology. Erin and her team maintain an awareness of these various perspectives, customizing reports to make data digestible and relevant to each client’s business plan. Attivo has a strong commitment to their client’s long-term growth and scalability.

Tailoring solutions to the unique needs of each client is central to Attivo’s approach. “We look at fundraising, analyzing benefits, insurance; it goes well beyond accounting and finance, even connecting them with insurance brokers,” explains Erin. Attivo's extensive network plays a crucial role in this, providing clients with a range of options. This not only fosters internal collaboration but also benefits their clients through their partners. “We’ve seen that this saves clients. I just had a client save a material amount on an insurance policy because the wider Attivo network provides various options,” Erin notes. Going above and beyond standard services, the team consistently provides tangible value.

The new guard of accounting

In an era marked by technological advancements, the number of software options available in the market can be overwhelming. From billing platforms for contract close to solutions that generate invoices and sync with tools like QuickBooks, the landscape is exploding with solutions. When it comes to small businesses, there is an increasing number of platforms catering to companies of this size. “Even a year ago it was hard to find solutions tailored to smaller companies," shares Erin. “Now, there are so many solutions that improve ease of use while removing human error.”

To identify the best fit for Attivo, Erin helps to lead a crowdsourced initiative through forums like the lunch and learns. “We’re constantly looking at platforms. When we find one that we think is valuable to a good percentage of clients, we ensure the entire team is able to weigh in,” she explains. In addition to the new wave of technology, Erin is always eager to connect with other thought leaders in the space. With a constant finger on the pulse, Erin and the team at Attivo are constantly staying at the forefront of the industry.

An accountant who makes a difference

Erin’s dedication to helping others grow, whether it is her teams or valued clients, is a unique quality that has allowed her to achieve an impressive career journey. As a leader who is eager to share and evolve, Erin has undoubtedly ended up in the right place. “Something I love about Attivo is how we have such an array of knowledge. Everyone here is humbly confident and willing to problem solve, and I think that is such a refreshing outlook,” she reflects.

When Erin isn’t showing up for her colleagues, she’s showing up for her family. Whether it’s enjoying live music, traveling, writing, or appreciating the joy of their 4-year-old son and golden doodle, she and her husband appreciate all of life’s wonders. This mindset has undoubtedly been informed by Erin’s personal health journey, one that has been marked with moments of gratitude and grounding. “I think this sense of perspective really came to light while I stepped into the leadership role at Attivo,” she expresses. Described by her loved ones as detail-driven yet creative and mischievous yet highly rational, Erin clearly embraces a balanced view on life.

As a changemaker who makes a real impact, Erin goes above and beyond her everyday accounting responsibilities, bringing new employees and clients into the fold with ease. At Ramp, we celebrate Erin’s capacity to connect and inspire, contributing to the growth of her teammates, company, and field.

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