Career Profiles

Amanda Cagwin, CPA, CFE, AGA Springfield Chapter
 

Amanda Cagwin, 27, is a member of AGA’s Springfield Chapter, and the chief accountant for the City of Springfield, IL.

 

Amanda Cagwin had tried working for a local CPA firm and a private business before turning to city government, in part because of the enthusiasm of a professor of governmental accounting.
 

“If you had asked me early on if government was ever an option I probably would have said no,” Cagwin said. “Government has historically gotten a bad rap.”

 

Cagwin had her eye on an accounting career as early as high school. She attended Blackburn College and then went to the University of Illinois at Springfield, where she earned her master’s degree. In her last year at grad school, she took two classes on governmental accounting—by that point, she had had little exposure to it. “It’s a drastically different type of accounting. It’s almost a whole different field,” she said. “It really sparked my interest.”

 

Her professor, Dave Olson, is active in AGA’s Springfield Chapter, and a booster when it comes to working for government. Olson also encouraged his students to attend AGA educational events and to meet professionals in the field. “He facilitated the networking, he was great at that,” Cagwin said. When she was hired by the city of Springfield, Olson came calling and reminded her to get involved in AGA again.

 

Now, she’s been working as the city’s top accountant for more than two years. She finds the work environment fast-paced and varied. “There’s never a dull moment,” she said, and at the end of the day, she said she feels fulfilled.

 

As a resident of Springfield, as well as an employee who understands the inner workings of its finances, Cagwin said she developed a feeling of ownership and loyalty to the city. But that’s not to say that she’s not interested in one day moving to the federal government or even starting her own firm. Cagwin has also worked for a small CPA firm and a private construction company. She believes her variety of work experiences will only help, no matter what direction she decides to take.

 

Cagwin has also followed her professor’s advice, attending the chapter’s monthly meetings and educational events. She hopes to take on a leadership role in the chapter in the future. For now, she is enjoying the networking the most. Accountants who work in other governments face similar challenges, and they can discuss solutions. The chapter also brings in a diverse roster of speakers. Two FBI agents, for example, spoke about accounting at that agency. “It opens up your mind a little bit. It goes beyond your everyday world,” Cagwin said.

 

She also gives the chapter high marks for involving students. “I have respect for how they bridge the gap between the professionals and the students,” she said. Cagwin is involved in her university’s Alumni Association and stays in contact with her professors, talking to groups of students about accounting now and then. Students who work for the city of Springfield seek out Cagwin for her perspective on government work.

 

“I do encourage students to consider government. I lay it out there—at that age it can’t hurt to try it and expand your knowledge base in that area because it’s a whole different world, it really is.” Her advice is the same, even for students who eventually want to end up in the private sector. “A broad knowledge base is a good thing,” she said. “You may get in there an absolutely love it.”