Bill Brause
Partner, Armanino Advisory LLC
Partner, Armanino LLP
- San Ramon
- 925-790-2624
Step back and enjoy the things you love.
Step back and enjoy the things you love.
Bio
Bill is a licensed CPA and the partner-in-charge of Armanino’s healthcare practice and has more than 25 years of experience providing services to healthcare clients. Prior to that, Bill was an internal auditor for Blue Shield of California. Bill performs audits of healthcare related entities including hospitals, FQHC’s, medical groups, assisted living facilities and several nonprofit entities working within the healthcare industry. Bill also performs feasibility analysis for hospital construction projects, as well he has been the acting internal auditor for several hospitals.
Active in many healthcare associations, Bill is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA). He also served as co-chair of the CAL CPA Society’s first ever healthcare conference and is a member of the Moore Global Healthcare SIG steering committee.
Experience
In college, accounting was the hardest degree in which to major. My friends and I all enrolled in it to see who could survive. You could say that the competition was my drive to succeed in it, but I found that I really liked accounting. I did well and got decent grades, plus I knew I would make a good living in the profession. I was the only one among our group to succeed in making it my major.
My dad. He taught me a great work ethic—to work hard to get the advantage; it's important to earn it. I feel like it gave me a leg up on those around me who don't quite understand that hard work usually pays off. Nothing is free.
Pass the CPA exam as quickly as possible. Also, remember to step back and enjoy the things you love.
Our managing partner at the time, Joe Moore, called me into the Conference Room. There were about half the partners there. He told me that they knew I had wanted to make partner and that before the news hit the firm tomorrow he wanted me to know that they had sold the firm to one of the Big Four and a partnership was not going to be available. My heart sank, then they laughed and said just kidding, welcome to the partnership, and we broke out the champagne.
One of my favorite clients is one of our oldest and biggest. They've been with us since 1977. I'm the lead partner on the account. While the client has experienced a good deal of turnover within their organization during our nearly 30-year relationship, Armanino has been a constant to which they can turn for historical perspective and knowledge. It's very gratifying to know their business, sometimes better than they do because we have this incredible base of knowledge.
