2020 40 Under 40: Katie Fulp, 39

In addition to filing clients’ tax forms, supervisor Katie Fulp aims to make KPM CPAs PC a great place to work through her role training new staff and managing teams.

Fulp is a part of KPM’s Employee Engagement Council that solicits feedback from employees and develops internal programs to benefit them. She’s also a part of the firm’s Buddy Program, which is designed to provide new staff with resources to confer with during their first year of employment.

Outside of work, she takes pride in helping the Springfield community. She established Local Grace in her hometown of Crane, with the goal of meeting critical needs of local high school students. She says she’s helped students financially with gas cards, cellphone minutes and groceries.

After learning Spanish, Fulp also began volunteering as a second language tutor at Ozarks Technical Community College.

What was your first job? I was born and raised on a farm, so my first job was feeding baby calves. The pay was grit and work ethic.

What about your job would shock people? Being an accountant is very interactive and social.

What did you learn the hard way? Learning the value of my individual skills and talents. Not everyone fits in a box.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? My grandpa sent me a write up titled “Attitude is Everything” when I was 18. The title says it all. It was a game changer for me.