Accountful Advising

Accounting operations can be confusing and time-consuming for a new business owner, but don’t let an opaque view of your finances stall your business growth. You need an experienced accountant on your side to take the stress out of accounting.

Founder, Financial Accountant

NeuroLeadership Institute

Senior Accountant

Analyze and report on $30M+ annual revenue. Clearly communicate advice on revenue treatment to
streamline financial operations resulting in 3x reduction in reporting turnaround and greater cross-department alignment.

• Forecast $30M+ in annual revenue with keen accuracy by persistently staying  in clear communication with project management team leads.
• Prepare end of month reconciliations of profit and loss and balance sheet accounts including journal preparations; ruthlessly prioritize to lessen EOM closing times by the following business days:
           - Total EOM closing: from 15 to 7
           - Accrual: from 3 to 1.5
           - Deferred: from 1.5 to .5
• Prepare and analyze weekly cash flow reports to ensure healthy cash flow.
• Create new processes and procedures resulting in quicker reconciliations and  more efficient communication across teams.
• Perform complex analysis of financial data with extreme care and detail orientation to quickly produce accurate revenue forecasts for leadership.
• Complete routine calculations to produce analyses and reports as requested.
• Plan for new infrastructure investment and build new procedures within it to simplify and optimize processes.

Staff Accountant

Business Relationship Management Institute

Directly support strategic planning efforts by providing accurate reports, budget projections, cash flow statements, and financial analysis for executive leadership.

• Perform cash flow and variance analysis to determine data-driven decisions and implement new processes for solutions to deter further anomalies compared to plan
• Compose monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements resulting in timely, accurate reports
• Create and manage $1.5M in company budgets regularly keeping sheets up to date
• Balance and monitor five company bank and credit card accounts reconciling on a monthly basis
• Maintain and audit accounts receivable and payable on a continuous basis
• Assist in preparing and filing of appropriate tax forms by being the first point of contact with the outsourced tax team by researching and providing all necessary information for the forms
• Research lead for all things related to finance, researching and troubleshooting to find solutions in budget planning, on boarding, maintenance, reporting, taxes and any other accounting issues

Financial Accountant

Lake City Bank

Served as the first point of contact for bank customers seeking assistance with account transactions, loan payments, cash advances and other bank service questions in order to ensure a pleasant banking experience for the customer.

• Consistently delivered quality client experience by completing customer requests quickly, accurately and while always protecting the security of the customer
• Maintained very strong business relationships focusing on deepening client relationships and cross-selling of products and services
• Responsible for running a teller drawer, processing financial transactions and actively managed the on boarding of new clients
• Stayed informed and up to date on all bank products, processes and procedures; especially those that were most complex and maintained all operational and risk management standards

North-Central Regional Teller

I make it easy to understand your business' financial health // Accounting for B2B service businesses // Founder @ Accountful Advising

👋 Hi, I'm Kayla.

If I know one thing about business it's this: good decisions are backed by data.

I learned this lesson early in my career when I watched a promising business nearly self-destruct when an event drained their finances and they scrambled to make payroll. That experience burned into my memory the power of financial reporting & forecasting — and the cost of neglecting it. 

The truth is, financial headwinds are inevitable for growing businesses. But with clear, accurate financial data, those headwinds become manageable challenges, not insurmountable obstacles.

That's why I founded 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. I'm passionate about giving small and medium-sized business owners the same financial clarity that Fortune 500 CEOs rely on to steer massive enterprises with confidence.

𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. We're your financial co-pilots, providing:

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Crystal-clear reports that cut through the noise and show you what matters most.
𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Real-time insights into your financial future, so you can plan proactively and make informed decisions.
𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: We don't just give you numbers; we give you strategies to improve your bottom line and fuel your growth.

Our mission is to empower consulting business owners to make smarter decisions, scale faster, and achieve their ambitions. 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭.

Kayla Peña

Two duplicate bills. Two payments sent.
But only one was charged.

Want to know where the other one ended up?

A new client of mine recently had this happen:

🔁 Two duplicate bills were entered into their AP system.
Both were approved and paid (by their previous accountant). 

One payment was charged by the vendor.
The other sat on a virtual card… never charged… never refunded.

That money was now in limbo. 🫠

Here’s the difference a great firm makes:

✅ Flags duplicate bills before payment is sent
✅ Tracks pending payments to make sure the money lands where it should
✅ Follows up and escalates when something goes missing
✅ Actually recovers your cash

A not-so-great firm:

🚩 Misses duplicates altogether
🚩 Doesn’t reconcile payments to charges
🚩 Has no follow-up system and no idea the funds never returned
🚩 Quietly costs your business thousands

This client got lucky because now they have someone (hi, that's me! 👋) keeping a close eye on their cash.

This is what strong finance operations are supposed to do:

👉 Avoid preventable errors
👉 Recover lost funds
👉 Protect your cash

A missed refund isn’t a small mistake. It’s money off the table.

And for small businesses, that's a big deal. 

You deserve a partner who treats it that way.


#accounting #finance #smallbusiness

Need accounting? I deliver crystal-clear financial insights for service businesses & nonprofits ➡️ Make decisions with confidence

One of the hardest parts of growing a service business in the early years is figuring out how to talk about what you do.

Not just what you deliver—what your clients actually get.

I’ve been in business for 3.5 years, and the crazy thing is…
My services haven’t changed.

But the way I describe them?
That’s evolved over and over (and over) again.

And I think I’ve finally landed on it 👇

What my clients get when they work with me is this:

No surprises. 

No surprise cash shortfalls.
No surprise missed payments.
No surprise “Oh no, we can’t afford this hire after all.”

The truth is, most accounting firms don’t connect the dots.
They either miss things in the history—or fail to help you see what’s ahead.

But we do both:

✅ Accounting that’s fully reconciled every month—so you know what happened, down to the penny.

✅ Finance that delivers visibility—so you always know what’s coming next.

→ Is cash trending in the wrong direction? You’ll know.
→ Want to hire? You’ll know if it’s affordable.
→ Forecasting runway? Already done.

No surprises. Just clarity.

That’s what I deliver.

To my network, I want your help—

Does this messaging resonate with you? Tell me your thoughts below👇


#entrepreneurship #accounting #finance

Growth isn’t linear. Even when you expect setbacks, they still hit hard. 

I’ve had a lot of wins since starting my business.

I landed a great contract early on with high hours and a great rate. It gave me the runway I needed to get going.

But it still took me 6 months to land my first acquisition client.

Then I had to figure out:

▪️ Who I was really selling to
▪️ What I was actually selling
▪️ And what I needed to charge to grow sustainably

During this period I took on some not-ideal clients that made growing profit hard. 

All the while, that original contract? It was shrinking.

Then I lost my first major client. They were struggling financially and chose to find a cheaper option. 

The week they told me, I was onboarding my first employee...

More recently, I hit a stride and found some amazing ideal clients that I love working with at a rate that actually supports business growth. 

But then I took on a client outside of my ICP—a friend, no less. I completely underpriced the work, and now I’m feeling it. 😰


This is what building a business really looks like.

There are ups, downs, and gut punches in between.

But here’s what’s saved me every single time:


Forecasting.


Not just knowing my numbers. Having a living, breathing plan for:

✅ How much I can realistically pay myself
✅ How much debt I might need to carry short-term
✅ How to catch up on tax savings
✅ What to focus on next to get back on track

Because when the hits come—and they will—you need more than hope to get through them.

You need a plan.

And if you’re bootstrapping a service business, that plan is your lifeline.


#accounting #finance #entrepreneurship

Hiring is one of the biggest (and riskiest) decisions for service-based businesses.

But it doesn’t have to feel like a gamble.

A client of mine recently came to me while in growth mode—they were considering a new sales hire and wanted to understand the impact on their financials.

Here’s what we did:

✅ Opened their existing 12-month forecast which is updated monthly
✅ Refreshed it with the most recent revenue and expense data
✅ Layered in the projected cost of the new hire
✅ Compared profit and cash runway with and without the hire 

The result?

A crystal-clear picture of how this hire would affect their cash flow and profitability over time.

And when we spoke, they said:

“That forecasting helped a lot to be able to make that decision.
It was like, oh, great—we’ve got these four extra clients onboarding, here’s the rate…
it should outpace the cost for the new hire pretty easily.”

They made the hire.
Quickly. Confidently. Strategically.

That’s the power of finance ops that support growth.

📊 The bookkeeping gives you accuracy
📈 The forecasting gives you insight
💡 The combo gives you clarity to make smart moves

If you're thinking about a big hire—or already feeling the pressure of growth—this is how smart businesses grow with confidence.


#accounting #finance #smallbusiness

Truckstop

Truckstop brings carriers, brokers, and shippers together, so they can move freight confidently and make more money.

Focused on increasing net revenue retention through operational excellence and sales enablement within the strategic accounts segment.

Strategic Accounts

Mo Lang Coaching LLC

Inspires and motivates executives and business owners to lead transformation efforts with their organizations, business units, and teams.  

Specializing in coaching and consulting services related to developing new and improved skills and expertise in areas such as: B2B strategic sales, leading high performing teams, coaching and feedback, emotional and social intelligence, dynamic and effective communications, social styles, and higher productivity.

Owner/Founder

Our Vision: Transform Leadership Through Neuroscience

The NeuroLeadership Institute is a leading global research organization and the pioneer of bringing neuroscience to leadership. Since its inception the Institute has united the world’s foremost neuroscientists, leadership researchers, and organizational practitioners to help organizations understand the impact of the brain on productivity, motivation, and decision-making. We then use that information to improve organizational performance.

Vice President, Corporate Solutions

Lee Hecht Harrison

SVP, Global Sales

Gartner

Managing Vice President, Sales

CEB, now Gartner

Accountable for the North America Sales and Account Management business serving all of CEB's medium sized and emerging growth members within the HR, Finance, Legal and Procurement verticals. 

Leadership of 11+ senior management team; high growth division with 3,400+ customers and 23+ products, including alliances and reselling across North America. 

Recruiting, hiring, on-boarding, sales operations, sales training curriculum development, define customer experience, cross-sell, upsell, and renewal. 

CEB Leaders as Teachers Faculty Member

Leadership council member for Women at CEB, a workplace diversity group comprised of more than 500 staff members. Together, we are dedicated to the professional development and impact of female professionals, across the firm and the world.

Senior Sales Director, Middle Market

•	Co-office lead for third largest office at CEB. 
•	Management of day to day operations, delivery of firm employment value proposition, brand and culture.

Regional Office Co-Lead - Chicago

Manage a team of 10 Account Managers and 6 Inside Account Representatives for CEB HR Leadership Council; an advisory network serving 1300+ HR Executives at mid-sized organizations.

2013 Graduate of CEB Leaders - an 18 month program for high potential employees. 

Annual Goal Achievements: 

110% of 2012 Annual Sales Goal & Top 10 Manager For Annual Goal Attainment
112% of 2011 Annual Sales Goal & President's Circle Winner

Senior Director, Middle Market HR Practice

Director, Middle Market HR Practice

•	Build and maintain client relationships with seniormost supply chain and procurement executives through consultative selling techniques. Discuss cutting edge strategic initiatives with an executive-level audience of Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies. 

•	Oversee 120+ global client relationships with ultimate responsibility for approximately 3 million in total revenue.

•	Based on performance, elected as the sole Account Director to staff Corporate Executive Board’s second annual China executive meeting series. Pioneered first in person client 
meetings for our business in mainland China. 

•	Expanded the Supply Chain Executive Board & Procurement Strategy Council’s new emerging market footprint.

•	2007 Annual Plan: Achieved 104% of annual goal

Account Director

Align products, resources and services to meet the strategic needs of 110+ executive level supply chain clients across industries and manage superior client service through collaborative presentations, surface level research solutions and networking opportunities.  

Delivered 2.7 million in annual revenue

Account Manager, Client Services

Working with small team to drive sales opportunities with Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies to meet both monthly and quarterly revenue goals.

Partnered directly with sales executive to schedule and secure sales meetings with over 130 companies within the Fortune 500, Global 1000. 

SKILLS______________________________________________________________________________________________

Sales Training: 
•	Shapiro Negotiation International – 15 hours of Negotiation and Coaching Training 
•	Miller Heiman – 18 hours of Strategic Selling Training & Blue Sheet Coaching  

Salesforce.com, Insidesales.com, iContract, Xactly Incentive Software, ConnectandSell, Siebel (Delphi), Tableau, Bloomberg, Access, TGA proprietary trading system, Microsoft Office XP, Microsoft Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel

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Kayla Peña

Maureen Lang, ACC

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The Battle

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Maureen Lang, ACC

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Kayla Peña's LinkedIn Performance

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