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THE L AST W ORD
THE LAST WORD / Tanner Johnson, CPA, CGMA

Tanner Johnson, CPA, CGMA, is
vice president of global finance
operations at Nike, working out of
its Beaverton, Ore., office.

Favorite food: Pizza — I have a
passion for making it at home.
Favorite leisure activity: My two
teenage daughters play soccer and run
track and field, so my favorite activity
is spending time at their sports events.
Favorite travel destination: Any
mountains. I love the feeling of sitting
on top of a mountain and being
reminded how beautiful the earth
truly is.

‘When you set goals, aim for the stars’

A passion for accounting: I was drawn to math and business I, along with some of my teammates, recently had din-
in high school. After my first accounting course, I was hooked ner with Nike founder Phil Knight, and just being in his
and there was no turning back. Today, my passion for account- presence and learning about his experiences, and how he
ing continues to grow. built a brand like Nike that is recognized around the world
I started my career in public accounting. Today, I lead was amazing. Nike is all about limitless potential, achiev-
finance operations at Nike, and I have learned that leadership ing your dreams, how sports can unite, and the crazy power
characteristics in both public and corporate accounting are of team. Those are all ideals that apply in a professional
similar. You should be curious, innovative, strategic, proactive, career as well. It fits my leadership aspirations and my value
inspiring, tenacious, and patient. Having integrity and a risk system perfectly.
mindset are the bedrocks of leadership.
Here at Nike, one of my responsibilities is to stand up the Key advice: As a young CPA, I was told, “you own your
organization and set us up for future success. What motivates career.” I’ve always anchored onto that statement because I
me and gets my heart beating and my blood flowing is when believe everyone must figure out what their passion is and how
I am asked to lead a team to face challenges such as accom- to develop their own career as opposed to following someone
plishing things that have been tried in the past and have never else’s template. Today, I tell younger professionals to set short-
come to fruition. term goals and use them as steppingstones to longer-term
We have a saying at Nike that there is no finish line. We’ll goals. And when you set those goals, aim for the stars because
always have room for improvement. For me, standing up you need to constantly stretch yourself and grow.
means making sure this organization continues to be one of I would also say the most important thing you can do as a
the world’s leading corporations. leader is inspire your team to high performance. Just give them
a common goal or a problem and empower them to solve it. By
A dream come true: When I was in high school and college, recognizing their potential, it’s amazing what you can do and
I sold footwear at JC Penney in Minnesota. It is almost like what your team can accomplish. PHOTO BY CRAIG MITCHELDEYER/AP IMAGES
I harbored a long calling to come to Nike. And it has been a
dream come true. My job hits all the aspects of the kind of — As told to Teri Saylor, a freelance writer based in North
workplace I was looking for — an innovative, international, Carolina. To comment on this article, contact Courtney Vien at
growing company. Courtney.Vien@aicpa-cima.com.

40 | Journal of Accountancy February 2023