Accountant Spotlight: Holly Anderson at Burkland

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 Holly Anderson, Division Lead of Accounting at Burkland. Her story is one defined by curiosity, community, and creativity.

The penny that sparked a passion

Holly Anderson never imagined that her high school receptionist job would lead to a career in accounting. Every day after classes ended, Holly went straight to the local car dealership, a two-story building that housed the clerical office directly upstairs. “There were these sweet ladies who did all the accounting, payroll, and accounts payable and receivable,” Holly explains. When a part-time position for a title clerk opened up, Holly found herself joining them, the beginning of a rich and diverse learning experience.

Supported by a culture that valued cross-training, Holly was quickly introduced to multiple facets of accounting. “My boss at the time thought it was really beneficial for the company,” she explains. “That way, if someone needed to be out, the company wouldn’t suffer.” For Holly, the benefit was twofold: those years exposed her to all the different domains of the office, eventually leading her to a finance manager role.

Though her skills deepened on the job, Holly’s pursuit of formal education remained on hold until a move inspired her to commit more fully to the field. Once enrolled in an undergraduate program, her passion for solving the puzzle of numbers became the driving force in her studies. “Nowadays, it can be okay to be off by a dollar. But at this place, you had to be tied to the penny,” she reflects. “It didn’t matter if it was an $85,000 car or a $100,000 loan—if it was one penny off, I had to track it down.”

A rapid rise fueled by curiosity and connection

Holly’s introduction to Burkland mirrors that of her foray into accounting—driven by curiosity and connections with like-minded individuals. Several years prior to joining the startup-focused accounting firm, Holly and her husband moved to Germany, where she shifted into governmental accounting. When they returned to the United States, a former coworker connected her with Burkland’s human resources team, opening the door to what would become a growth-filled journey.

Today, Burkland partners with more than 800 venture-backed startups and small businesses across some of the fastest-growing sectors. Initially hired as an account manager, Holly has quickly expanded and evolved her role within the firm. “Within three months, the majority of the client work I was doing was controller work,” she explains. As new opportunities arose, Burkland encouraged her to extend her impact and deepen her expertise. Most recently, a strategic restructuring created space for Holly to transition from SaaS Lead to Division Lead, where she now works closely with SaaS, cryptocurrency, and fintech startup clients. “Our managing director of bookkeeping and accounting at the time reached out to me about the division lead role, which is where I am now,” she shares. “I’ve been heavily supported here with everything at Burkland.”

Where innovation meets integration

Offering a diverse menu of finance and HR services that help startups and small businesses scale, Burkland delivers solutions that blend strategic insights with cutting-edge technology. Central to the firm’s approach is the integration of AI, something that Holly embraces wholeheartedly. “A lot of people are fearful of AI and think it is going to take your job,” she says. “But it’s not; it’s just going to make your job easier. It’s a tool in your toolbox that you can use to be successful.” This mindset resonates with Burkland’s client base—fast-growing, tech-driven businesses that often mirror the firm’s forward-looking values. In fact, Burkland frequently collaborates with clients in developing new intelligent features, sometimes even testing products firsthand. “It’s amazing to see some of these clients and what they’ve come up with,” Holly reflects. “They’re reaching out to invite us to test the products with them; it’s really cool to see where they’re heading.”

This spirit of collaboration is at the heart of Burkland’s model, which embeds its team seamlessly within client organizations to provide holistic support. “We like to support them in every way,” Holly explains. “It’s nice when clients are having process problems and I’m able to quickly identify the tool, company, or intelligence to fix it.” For many early-stage businesses, however, scalability remains a major hurdle. “When clients are small, they rely on spreadsheets to track databases, customer information, or ARR,” Holly says. “But as you grow, it’s not sustainable; things will get lost and errors will be made.” Having seen the friction that accompanies rapid growth, Holly takes a proactive stance—encouraging clients to implement scalable processes early in their sales and revenue journeys. “Convincing them of the longevity of acting now is big,” she says.

Streamlining expenses to empower employees

Central to Burkland’s ability to deliver strong outcomes is the seamless integration of solutions like Ramp, which minimizes disruption to business operations. “With Ramp, it’s all going into the back end and directly into the books,” Holly explains. “You don’t have to take any extra steps.” Because it integrates effortlessly with popular platforms such as QuickBooks, Holly values Ramp’s full interoperability—especially when it comes to payments. “One thing that I like to recommend Ramp for specifically is employee reimbursements,” she adds. “It’s a manual effort when you have to reimburse employees through payroll, plus they have to wait longer for it; nobody likes to wait two weeks to get reimbursed for a plane ticket.”

For a firm steeped in growth, flexibility is equally important. “As you grow a company, you're going to have more employees, and the employees are going to have more needs,” Holly notes. At Burkland, expenses for categories such as home office, internet, and software are pre-approved, giving employees autonomy to secure the resources they need. “I use my Ramp card to pay for an application I use to do my job,” Holly shares. “I just swipe my card, and it’s there. I like that Ramp allows employees to do their job better and more efficiently.”

True to her innate curiosity, Holly also keeps a close eye on industry trends. Recent news and podcasts highlight cloud accounting as the next big shift. “I predict that your local brick-and-mortar CPA firm will eventually go away,” she predicts. “This industry can be fully remote, and people can support anybody from anywhere.” Powering this transformation is the convergence of AI and cloud solutions, with tools like Ramp enabling instant, on-the-spot access. “I like the direction that it's going,” she reflects. “And it’s just going to continue to expand.”

Blending art and science

Holly is a leader who brings order, clarity, and guidance to her team and organization, supporting Burkland’s mission of developing foundations built to scale. “I’m typically a type A person,” she reflects. “I like to have structure, a goal, and knowing exactly what I’m doing; that’s the best way that I can support other employees.” Outside of work, however, is where Holly’s creative and experimental nature comes to life.

An aficionado of cooking, Holly gravitates toward the freedom and artistic license a recipe affords her. “With cooking, it’s all about flavor and what you feel,” she says. “I can add a little bit of this and a little bit of that; it’s kind of a release.” While the exactness of baking may not be her forte, the blend of creativity and structure found in her personal and professional worlds finds itself in another craft. Growing up in a predominantly male family, Holly was introduced early on to the art of woodworking. “My dad showed me how to build furniture, and so all of the furniture my husband and I have is furniture I’ve built,” she exclaims. “We’ve been together 13 years now, so it’s survived a lot of moves and different changes.” Allowing for the perfect combination of preciseness and personal touches, Holly is able to channel her full self into her creations.

At Ramp, we celebrate Holly’s sense of curiosity, community, and creativity, and are proud to have her featured in this spotlight and as a Ramp Accounting Partner.

Nominate an accountant who you feel deserves a place in our Spotlight Series!