Teri Schaffer

About

Teri Schaffer ‘93 grew up in Eastlake, Ohio. She worked in her church’s office in her early teens, where she was responsible for posting parishioner contributions to their accounts, and produced annual statements at the end of the year. Later in high school, she worked in retail and was responsible for balancing the cash drawer and reporting daily results to the regional office. She took her first accounting class as a senior in high school, and was “hooked” on accounting.

As a student who anticipated paying her college tuition through summer work and loans, Teri put a lot of effort into the college selection process. Miami was high on her list, with a highly ranked accounting program. “I wanted a school with a strong accounting reputation, and strong career placement opportunities. When I finally had a chance to visit the campus on a beautiful October day, I knew that Miami was everything that I wanted my college experience to be, and chose to apply early.”

Teri currently serves as the office managing partner for the Northeast Ohio audit practice of BDO USA, LLP. She works with the office leadership team, overseeing talent management (recruiting, advising, matching resources with opportunities); operations (budget, forecasting); business development (building community relationships, matching opportunities with the right resources within BDO), and client service.

“The part of my role that I enjoy the most is the amount of teamwork involved. As partners, we work together to improve our practice on a daily basis: turning national and regional initiatives into local office best practices; driving to provide growth opportunities for our local team; building true relationships with our clients that bring value, not just compliance, to them; and building the BDO brand in Northeast Ohio.”