Accounting was his biggest challenge. Binghamton University helped him take it in new directions

There have been two constants Michael Fanelli ’03 has maintained throughout his career: a desire to explore new opportunities and a drive to ensure the best value for his experience.

He is, after all, an accounting professional.

But there was a time when his path certainly didn’t feel like it would turn out that way. In fact, as the Endicott, N.Y., native amusingly recalls, the college-level accounting course he took during his senior year of high school was “the only ‘C’ I ever got.”

Fanelli excelled in athletics, carrying his soccer and baseball talents from high school to Herkimer College, where he studied business and won two national soccer championships along the way. After two years, he transferred to Binghamton University to pursue an accounting degree from the School of Management.

“Accounting, even though it was the most challenging class I ever took at first, always intrigued me because it truly is the language of business,” said Fanelli, now in a leadership role with RSM, a top U.S. provider of assurance, tax and consulting services. “If you can understand how the various financial statements come together, between the income statement, the balance sheet, the cash flows and ensure that it’s accurate, you can understand any part of a business.”

As a School of Management student, he made it his mission to land a job with a major accounting firm. Binghamton’s strong reputation made it the ideal place for him to delve into a career concentration that had long challenged him in all the right ways.

“The decision to go to Binghamton was made because I knew the School of Management had such good job placement, especially from an accounting degree perspective,” he said. “With this being my hometown, I also knew that from a return-on-investment perspective, this is the place to be.”

Fanelli also took advantage of the school’s alumni networking events to get his foot in the door. By senior year, he was fielding job offers from each of New York City’s “Big Four” accounting firms. When a PwC representative offered him a job at the firm’s Syracuse office, he couldn’t resist a chance to cut his teeth in the accounting arena and remain close to home.

Two years later, Fanelli pivoted to join a friend’s family-owned transportation logistics business. “I had a blast,” he recalled of working as controller for that company, where he became involved in accounting and finance, human resources, sales and other operations. “I really got to see the inside of a business as opposed to just being from an outside accountant or consultant perspective.”

Never one to avoid a new opportunity to grow, Fanelli’s move to RSM in 2006 would define his professional footprint.

As a partner, one of his leadership roles is the private equity consulting and mergers and acquisitions co-leader. Fanelli leads strategy, go-to-market execution and integrated delivery across RSM’s consulting business to address the complex needs of its clients.

He’s also the $4 billion firm’s tri-state market leader, responsible for enterprise growth and culture throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. This involves more than 1,500 employees and 100 partners across the firm’s audit, tax and consulting practices.

No matter where you go, Fanelli said, the type of work you do isn’t worthwhile if you don’t enjoy it. That’s true of the accounting profession, mainly as new technological resources help it evolve. He advises the next generation of Binghamton students, whether pursuing accounting or some other form of business, to build a professional network and connections before they actually need them.

“During my career, I’ve come to realize that your EQ (emotional intelligence) is just as important, arguably more important, than your IQ,” Fanelli said. “In many jobs, you need to be able to sell, whether in an audit, tax, consulting or finance role. You need to learn how to develop good relationships internally and develop good relationships externally. That, to me, is the special sauce of how to really progress in your career.”