Page 537 - JoFA_2022

THE L AST W ORD
THE LAST WORD / Ashley Fogle, CPA

Ashley Fogle, CPA, is a senior tax
manager at HoganTaylor and
co-owner of Ride OKC in
Oklahoma City.

Favorite food: Mexican — specifically
tacos.
Favorite music: A little of everything
— my favorite artist is Taylor Swift.
Favorite travel destinations: My two
favorites right now are Tuscany and
Mexico City.
Favorite place to ride your bicycle:
In my neighborhood. We have a little
seat for my baby, and we ride bicycles
to breakfast on the weekends.

‘My pleasure comes from interacting with people …’

Having an impact on the community: I graduated from set up automated processes to make Ride OKC run almost
Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. I was good at math seamlessly — from scheduling social media to setting up tech-
and majored in accounting and finance. When I graduated, nology systems that feed data into QuickBooks. We also keep
I wanted to go into business. As a senior tax manager at an inventory of bikes and add to our fleet as needed. The bikes
HoganTaylor in Oklahoma City, I focus on high-net-worth use belts instead of chains and come with puncture-resistant
individuals and nonprofit organizations. Working with tax- tires to minimize day-to-day maintenance.
exempt organizations in our community gives me a lot of joy. Owning and running my own business positively impacts
I enjoy learning the stories behind these organizations and the my career as a CPA because it helps me understand the ins and
impact they are making in our city. outs of being a small business owner. The skills and insights
In 2018, my husband, Ryan, and I started a bicycle tour- I’ve acquired and the problems I have help me relate to my
ing business called Ride OKC because our favorite way to clients because I understand what their world looks like.
see a new city is by bike. It’s a quick way to explore parts
of the city in a short time and provides a more immersive Striking a balance is challenging: Ride OKC started as a
experience than touring by bus tour or car. We are now in small side hustle. When we launched, we didn’t have a lot of
our fourth year, which is pretty exciting. In both aspects of time to spend on it. But we’ve adjusted and now that my hus-
my career, my pleasure comes from interacting with people. I band is self-employed, he has more time to spend on the busi-
think one of the biggest misconceptions about being a CPA ness. Also, I work a 90% schedule at my firm, and that helps,
is that we prefer sitting behind a computer, working alone. I too, especially now that we have a 2-year-old son. The most
enjoy my co-workers and my clients, both in accounting and challenging aspect of my dual career is juggling the details
at Ride OKC. of my company and the needs of my accounting firm clients,
while making sure my family has time to spend together doing
Starting a business requires passion: I have a passion for the other things we love.
both accounting and cycling. Ride OKC is a great outlet, and PHOTO BY BRETT DEERING/AP IMAGES
working in both areas provides balance. At Ride OKC, we hire — As told to Teri Saylor, a freelance writer based in
tour guides to lead most of the tours. My husband, who is a North Carolina. To comment on this article or to suggest
self-employed architect, does our advertising and social media another subject for Last Word, contact Courtney Vien at
and leads some of our tours. I handle the business side. We’ve Courtney.Vien@aicpa-cima.com.

46 | Journal of Accountancy December 2022