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Tim Cook, ’92, is the new CEO and president at Katz, Sapper & Miller, Indianapolis’ largest certified public accounting firm, and the first non-CPA to lead the 78-year-old firm.

Cook, who assumed the role on January 1, will draw on both his training as an attorney and his experience growing two highly successful practices within the firm—the State and Local Tax Group and KSM Location Advisors, a national site selection and incentives practice, for which he’ll remain an advisory partner.

Previous positions include seven years at Ernst & Young as the Indiana leader of business incentives and controversy services and five years with the Indiana Department of Revenue as legal counsel of policy and legislation.

Cook joins what has become a growing trend of non-CPAs leading accounting firms, and at a pivotal time in the accounting industry. A variety of factors have converged to remake the profession, which has impacted how firms conduct business and serve clients, beyond tax and audit, Cook says.

While a student at IU McKinney, Cook took a summer job at the Indiana Department of Revenue, the first of many career experiences in which he might have lacked experience, but was willing to learn, he says.

“When I took on something beyond my means, it was usually a case of not knowing any better and diving in,” Cook says. “Fortunately, I had bosses and employers who didn’t mind mistakes, but viewed them as learning experiences.”

In law school, Cook enjoyed moot court competitions, which allowed him to use his public speaking skills and think on his feet. “That skill set has been pivotal in my career,” says Cook.

With his wife, Denise, Cook has continued to polish those skills through improvisational comedy, rising through three class levels with IndyProv and performing live before a house packed with friends and KSM colleagues. “You just have to develop this fearlessness and learn to play off each other,” he says.

Cook plans to build on KSM’s long history of community engagement by making community involvement, and diversity, inclusion, and equity focal points of his tenure.

“I believe meaningful progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion is pivotal to the firm’s success and vital to the community as a whole,” he says. “If we’re going to make a difference, change has to happen everywhere, both in society and inside the walls of businesses like ours.”