Leslie M. Currie, CPA, co-founder of Currie & McLain, now Integrated Tax Services, is starting 2022 as Emeritus Founder. After more than 40 years serving clients, Leslie announced her retirement, effective Dec. 31, 2021.
Born and raised in Clark County, Leslie has been in public accounting since 1980 and a CPA since 1983. After graduating from Ridgefield High School, she got married and dreamed of owning a home.. Knowing that logical things ‘just fit’ her, she decided to pursue a career working with numbers. She went on to graduate from both Clark College and the University of Portland with honors.
In the early 1980s, there weren’t many women in the tax and accounting profession in Southwest Washington. She gained experience working for a firm in Portland before working for a one-man shop in Vancouver. The two experiences taught her enough about what it took to run an efficient accounting firm, so she started her own in 1984.
While renting one of the first shared offices in downtown Vancouver, a client brought in a postcard put together by another female accountant in town. Eager to chat and brainstorm ideas with a peer facing similar circumstances, Leslie met Linda McLain. A year later, the two combined efforts to start Currie & McLain.
Leslie says partnering with Linda and starting their own firm was easy. They had the same goals, including how they wanted to structure their lives with flexibility to attend to family activities, like little league games. They also had the same philosophy on what clients needed ― not simply someone to do their taxes and bookkeeping work ― but a partner to listen their struggles and provide honest, clear communication about their tax and accounting situation.
As a lifelong resident of Southwest Washington, Leslie has a broad understanding of the local economy and business community. For 28 years, she owned and co-managed a convenience store with her brother. In addition, she served on many boards and non-profits in a variety of finance and accounting roles. They include Partners in Careers, Mt. Hood Council of Camp Fire, Camp Opportunity, Inc., and The Hardy Plant Society of Oregon.
In retirement, Leslie is looking forward to reengaging in non-profit work, tending her two-acre garden at her home in Woodland and keeping her hands busy with quilting projects.
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