About Pat Williams
When Patricia Lane Williams, CPA first became an accountant, she was fascinated with money, mainly how people managed their money or didn’t. Clients were reluctant to give her their bank accounts because, as one young man said, “I didn’t want you to know how I spend money.” She didn’t judge her clients on how they managed money. She simply needed their bank accounts to be sure she had all the information needed to file their tax returns. Clients often came to her after they had made a foolish mistake with money or circumstances had led to the loss of a great deal of money that resulted in bankruptcy.
She’s not judgmental because she too, has been well-off, some-times actually rich, and broke. Over the years she’s experienced the roller-coaster ride life gives us all: the highs of graduating from college with an actual job, a marriage partnership that led to wealth, her own small accounting firm, working at a prestigious association, and developing and teaching CPE courses for a well-known publishing company. Of course there were lows: divorce, medical bills, and really dumb decisions.
The highs and lows and really dumb decisions led her to establish Nitty Gritty Press, LLC dedicated to getting back to the basics. The first book from Nitty Gritty Press, YOUR MONEY: How to get Hold of Your Money Before Debt gets Hold of You! examines money: what it is, how it changes, and how you can understand and get control of your money before debt gets control of you.
Her first career was as a public-school teacher. On the way to a divorce she went back to school and got a masters in accounting which made it possible for her to become a CPA. She worked in a large regional firm before starting her own practice. She combined her teaching background with accounting experience to teach accounting in community colleges. This led to spending 8 years in New York City at the American Institute of Public Accounting (AICPA) in continuing professional education (CPE). After leaving the Institute she worked for the first company to make it possible for candidates to study for the CPA exam and take continuing professional education (CPE) programs by computer. When that company was sold, She decided to write and teach CPE. She has authored over 40 continuing education programs and now. She spent several years writing and teaching CPE and still writes CPE for CPAs.
