Michael Horsey
Horsey, Buckner & Heffler, LLP
Philadelphia, PA USA
"You’ve got to take your own action. You’ve got to make stuff happen. You can’t sit back for things to fall into your lap."
Career Roadmap
Michael's work combines: Business, Entrepreneurship, and Accomplishing Goals
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Find good mentors to guide you in the right direction. If you see someone you relate to who has been successful in the field you're wanting to get into, get to know them, seek their guidance, and cultivate that relationship. My mentors have played a huge role in my road to success.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Economics, General
University of Pennsylvania
Certification
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I grew up in Philadelphia around a lot of gang violence, but my mother was a huge positive influence and pushed education as a way to break away from that environment.
2.
After high school, Carnegie Mellon University offered me scholarships to go to their school, so I went for industrial engineering because it was the closest major to business at the school.
3.
Ended up transferring to the University of Pennsylvania for economics after one year—it was an all-around better decision for what I wanted to do.
4.
One of my fraternity brothers, who worked for Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC), helped me get an interview with the company—I worked there for six years.
5.
It was hard for African Americans in Philadelphia to get commercial engagements, but I was able to get a job in Johnson & Johnson’s internal audit group.
6.
I went on to join Mitchell & Titus, which is the largest minority-controlled accounting firm in the U.S.
7.
After 27 years at Mitchell & Titus, I’m now CEO and chairman of my own firm, Horsey, Buckner & Heffler.
8.
I serve on several boards, including the African American Museum of Philadelphia, and founded The Phoenix Club of Philadelphia to support academic and athletic achievement in high school and college.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
African Americans can't have the same success.
How I responded:
There have been a variety of instances in my educational and professional experience in which I was the only (or one of a few) African Americans. For example, I wanted to branch out and gain corporate commercial engagements, but those entities were closely held by predominantly white businessmen. I didn't let that stop me, however. I worked hard, made connections, found mentors and put in the effort to gain the experience I wanted and accomplish my goals.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I grew up in Philadelphia where there is a lot of gang activity and violence, but I worked hard to grow away from that and accomplish my goals. I now speak to students, many of whom come from similar situations, to inspire success.
When I was younger, African Americans weren’t given commercial-related engagements because they were mostly small, closely held entities run by white businessmen. I finally got a job at Johnson & Johnson to gain that commercial corporate experience.