The Accountant You Can Understand®

Cecily Welch, CPA, CFP®, PFS, brings clarity, humor, and heart to the complex world of money. Whether she’s breaking down tax law or connecting the dots between finance and real life, she makes sure you leave smarter and never talked down to.

FEATURED IN

Cecily Welch Isn’t Your Average CPA. And That’s the Point.

Cecily Welch is a CPA, Certified Financial Planner (CFP)®, and Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) with more than 30 years of experience helping people understand their money. She’s licensed in both Georgia and Illinois and has guided clients through everything from personal finance decisions to business tax strategy.

Cecily is known for her ability to translate complicated topics into conversations that actually make sense. She blends deep expertise with warmth, humor, and a practical, real-life approach. Her mission is to empower people to make smart financial choices with confidence, without ever feeling talked down to.

"The world cares about money, I care about people, so I figure, the more people who know about money, the better the world will be."

- Cecily Welch, CPA, CFP®, PFS

Professional Associations

30+

Years of Experience

10+

Awards

10+

Engagements

The Mission

Cecily is adept at helping people understand how their financial decisions help them meet their life goals. And because no financial decision should be made in isolation, she is dedicated to educating others on the impacts of tax policy as an advocate for taxpayers, earning her the moniker as “The Accountant I Can Understand®."

Upcoming & Ongoing Appearances

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Vanguard Leadership Academy’s Unlimited Possibilities Panel

Cecily Welch has been invited to speak at Vanguard Leadership Academy’s Unlimited Possibilities Panel, sharing the real story behind her journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur. While her career may appear linear from the outside, she speaks openly about the unexpected opportunities, hard work, and preparedness that shaped her path.

This conversation focuses on helping students understand that careers are rarely straightforward and that success is often built through persistence, adaptability, and being ready when opportunity arrives.

This event is an opportunity for young people to hear an authentic perspective on leadership and entrepreneurship.

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AICPA Not-for-Profit Industry Conference

Let's Get Political? Political!

Do you understand the difference between advocacy, lobbying, political, and voter registration initiatives? Conducting certain of these activities could prompt additional filing requirements and/or a tax liability. This session will help clarify the differences between these activities and the rules applicable to the different types of exempt organizations (§501(c)(3), (4), (5), (6), and 527) with a focus specifically on political activities. All too often organizations have reporting requirements relating to political activities and don’t know it. We will also discuss tips and tricks for setting up new organizations to avoid IRS penalties and missed reporting requirements in the future.

Date: June 15 - June 17, 2026

Location: National Harbor, MD

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Annual Wellness Summit

Real Talk: How Wellness Professionals Can Address Financial Stress and Why We Should

A major predictor of health and wellness is money, yet it is rarely addressed directly in wellness spaces. The industry often places responsibility on individual mindset, behavior, and discipline, even when outcomes are heavily shaped by financial and tax policy. In this session, Cecily Welch challenges the idea that wellness exists in a vacuum and explores how financial stress shows up as burnout, anxiety, and disengagement. Attendees will examine how systemic financial pressures influence health outcomes and what wellness professionals can do to acknowledge and mitigate these realities in their work.

Date: July 28 - July 30, 2026

Location: Nashville, TN

See Where Cecily’s Been

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Taxes, Money, and Health (You’re Not Depressed, You’re Broke)

In this workshop, Cecily Welch, CPA, CFP® pulls back the curtain on how taxes and money can affect your well-being. It’s about getting real on what’s draining your energy and how you can start making confident, informed choices that actually move you forward.

Hosted on: December 4, 2025

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Ready, Set.....Close! Non-Profit Year-End

Are you managing multiple entities—a 501(c)(3), a 501(c)(4), maybe even a PAC? Let’s make 2026 start strong with clean books, fewer surprises, and real growth.

Join Cecily for a high‑impact 2‑hour webinar where she goes beyond theory and gives you the tools you actually need to close the year with confidence.

Hosted on: December 5, 2025

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The Lab: Building Your Compliance Blueprint

Welch Financial Advisors, in collaboration with the Georgia Alliance, created The Lab to help nonprofit operations teams build confidence around tax and accounting compliance. Cecily Welch teaches practical, real-life solutions for non-accountants working in multi-entity nonprofits, making the IRS expectations, QuickBooks, and financial reporting easier to understand and act on.

Through a mix of in-person retreats, live webinars, and working sessions, The Lab offers hands-on support designed to meet you where you are, no matter your tools or background.

In Person: Sept 21–23 & June 22–24

Live Webinars: Oct 24 & Nov 14, 2025

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Atlanta Black Chambers Black Health Wellness Weekend

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering whether you’re burned out or just broke, you’re not alone. Financial stress has a way of creeping into everything. Your relationships, your focus, your health, and most of us were never taught how to deal with it.

Cecily talks real-life money decisions, tax facts no one ever explains, and how to stop beating yourself up when the numbers don’t add up the way they’re “supposed to.”

Date: November 15

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My Business Is Booming, My Books Are a Mess

Hosted live at Home Depot Backyard in Atlanta, this free workshop was designed for entrepreneurs whose money is moving, but their systems aren’t. Cecily broke down what counts as income, how to start tracking it (even if you’ve been avoiding it), and what the IRS actually expects from small business owners. Just the real deal for people ready to clean up their books and get serious about their business.

Hosted on: Aug 25 & Oct 8, 2025

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2025 ANHC PRO Business Mastery Series

Getting your beauty business finances together shouldn’t come with shame or confusion. If you’ve fallen behind or never quite figured out where to begin, this class is your reset button. I’ll show you what the IRS is really looking for, how to track your income and expenses without a degree in accounting, and how to stay on top of your tax responsibilities without losing your peace of mind.

Hosted on: Sept 15, 2025

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Moving Beyond Survival

This powerful event gathered experts across wellness, finance, and mental health to help attendees reset and rebuild with purpose. Cecily led the conversation on financial health, bringing her signature clarity and compassion to help people rethink their money stories and take actionable steps toward stability. With honest discussion, community energy, and practical advice, the event was a chance to pause the chaos and start making moves that matter..

Dates: Feb 1 & April 19, 2025

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New Money Summit

Cecily Welch joined a diverse panel of tax and accounting professionals for a candid conversation on incorporating financial planning into a firm.

Sharing her own journey, she offered practical insight into building high-value relationships, creating year-round income, and expanding beyond traditional tax services.

Date: December 2023

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GSCPA 2021 Annual Convention

Cecily VM Welch, CPA, PFS, CFP® of Welch Financial Advisors delivered an CPE session covering key tax updates, including unemployment guidance, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Georgia’s Conformity Bill, and the American Rescue Plan Act.

Dates: June 13-16, 2021

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Financial Empowerment Conference – Building Your Business Foundation

Cecily led a straight-talking session to help entrepreneurs strengthen their financial foundation with real-world tools and clarity, not complexity. She broke down what business owners need to know to make confident decisions, stay compliant, and build something sustainable.

Date: January 30, 2016

Full List of Engagements

Speaker:

  • New Money Summit, Panelist – Getting Started in Financial Planning

  • Power Rising Summit, Panelist – Protecting your Legacy, Building and Planning your Estate at Every Age

  • Cobb County Grant Webinars – Created the content, wrote script, presented the webinars

  • 3-time guest, Georgia Public Radio/NPR On Second Thought with Celeste Headlee

  • “Protecting Your Legacy” Power Rising Conference

  • “CPE Instructor: Fiduciary Income Tax Workshop, Foxmoor Continuing Education

  • The Business of Running a Business, Financial Empowerment Conference

  • Running a Financial Household, multiple young adult and millennial programs

  • Business Fundamentals 101, Turner Chapel Church, Panelist

  • Tax Update, 2021 GSCPA Annual Convention

  • “What’s the Definition of Contemporaneous Records”, GSCPA IRS Solutions Conference

  • “The Examination Process for Employment Tax Returns”, IRS Webinar

  • “Investment and Finance”, American Association of University Women

  • Minding Your Money segment, Jazz 91.9FM, WCLK-FM, Atlanta, GA

Published:

  • “Voices: On Working with a Surviving Spouse”, The Wall Street Journal

  • "CPAs: An Undervalued Profession”, GSCPA Publication Current Accounts

  • “Centennial Celebration: What Can I Do to Mark the 100th Anniversary of the First Black, CPA”, GSCPA Publication Current Accounts

  • “Can I borrow a personal loan to invest money?”, Loans.org

  • “Spring Cleaning, Get Your Finances in Order”, Online Fox Business

Quoted:

  • “IRS flagged these tax returns for ID theft and 2.5 million people just didn’t respond”, Detroit Free Press

  • “Marrying after 50? Tackle these money issues first”, Online Market Watch, WSJ

From Cecily’s Desk: Smart Money, Straight Talk

Listen to the Latest Podcast Episode

Financial Clarity Without the Confusion

Cecily Welch, The Accountant You Can Understand® actually speaks your language. With a gift for breaking down complicated tax and financial topics, she helps people make smart decisions that align with real-life goals.

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