A Cup of Coffee with Francis Custodio

Francis Custodio is DKC’s newest partner, bringing with him years of experience and a passion for the profession. We asked him Five (or so) Questions. Here we go:

Q:  Congratulations on the promotion to partner. What does that mean to you?

A:  This is a new chapter in my career, a new beginning. It means I’m a part owner of this business, one of the decision makers, problem solvers, and revenue generators. The way I see it, I no longer measure the amount of hours I work. Now it’s about the amount of value I bring to my clients.

Q: You’ve been at DKC since the beginning. What makes this a great place to work?

A:  When I talk to people outside of DKC about their jobs, some don’t seem excited. I look forward coming to work. We have a great group of people that I enjoy working with. Sometimes accountants are stereotyped as being square and boring. That’s not really the case here. We have fun, and we work really great as a team.

Q:  What’s your specialty?

A:  Many of my clients need individual tax planning and strategy, estate planning, and I work a lot with partnerships and corporations.

Q:  So, how did you come to accounting? Did you study it at USF?

A:  Actually, I started as a pre-med major. Basically, everyone on my Dad’s side of the family is doctors. I thought I wanted to continue that legacy and I volunteered for a year, but I didn’t like the environment. My sophomore year I decided to switch. My Mom suggested I try accounting. Everyone on my Mom’s side are accountants. [Laughs] So, I took some classes, and I really liked it. It made sense, and it came easily to me.

Q: What’s life like for you outside of the office?

A: My wife and I have three kids — 13, 8, and 2. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. We’re very busy with kid activities. I coach my kids’ basketball and baseball teams. We love to travel. We just returned from the Bahamas, which was awesome. When we were there, my son and I went swimming inside a tank full of sharks. That was really cool and scary.

Q: The question up there was like a half-question, so I’m going one more. Tell me about your movie stardom.

A: [Laughs] Oh, it was just for fun. We used to make movies with our friends growing up. I was in a B-type movie called “Lumpia” that we showed in theaters at colleges all over the country. It’s more well known in the Filipino community. They’re making “Lumpia 2” that’s going to be a lot bigger than the original. I was the main character in the first one, but I don’t know if I can commit that much time to the new one.