Katie Thomas
President, Honkamp Krueger & Co
Katie Thomas is an influential leader in a traditionally male-dominated field.
As president at Honkamp Krueger, Thomas is responsible for the operations of the firm. She also is active in client relationships, provides tax and financial planning as well as business consulting.
“At HK there are a lot of females in management roles and I never really gave a lot of thought to the fact that business and accounting specifically is traditionally male dominated. I had confidence in myself, worked hard and tried to continually learn new things to improve my skills,” Thomas said.
Thomas said that she wants young women who are interested in an accounting career to know that accounting is not all math as many people think.
“It’s actually very much a relationship and people business and it’s something that women can definitely excel at,” Thomas said.
She joined HK as a college intern in 2004 and went full-time as a staff accountant after graduating magna cum laude from Loras College with a degree in accounting and finance.
“In her 17 years with HK, Katie rose through the ranks of management quicker than most, becoming one of the youngest partners on record at age 29. Today, Katie is president of HK and one of the tri-states’ most influential female executives,” Greg Burbach said. Burbach nominated Thomas for Rising Stars and is the CEO of HK.
“Katie is passionate about finding creative and unique ways to improve the firm and plays an integral role in many initiatives making HK a Top 100 CPA firm in the country,” Burbach added.
Thomas is the co-creator of HK’s customer service program. She gained knowledge by attending education by Disney and Ritz Carlton, two businesses known for exemplary customer service. She also did a lot of research about customer service best practices.
Thomas is committed to maintaining a workplace that keeps employees at the forefront.
“My goal for my staff is to make them even better accountants and advisers than I am. I delegate work I know they can do and support them along the way when they need assistance. Sometimes that means making staff do things they think they aren’t ready for, but I think that’s important for development,” Thomas said.
Thomas and her husband Andrew Thomas have two sons, Jack 11 and Ben, 6. When Jack started school at St. Columbkille, Thomas became involved in the parents’ association. She’s been treasurer at the school for several years and is treasurer at the Dubuque Montessori School.