Gordon Hawkins/KlixPix
Workplace MANAGEMENT AND THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT PROFILE
Meet Your Match
J
UMPING FROM ACCOUNTING to counterterrorism to wearable technology isn’t a typical career
path for a CPA — unless you’re MICHAEL KRAVSHIK. His unorthodox journey is what led the Toronto native to launch Luminari, an online service that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to match accountants with jobs that leverage their skills — whether they’re looking for traditional finance roles or leadership opportunities. The experiences CPAs get while earning their designation make them adaptable, Kravshik points out, and expand their abilities beyond crunching numbers. Just look at his career trajectory: aſter
receiving his designation at EY, he got a master’s degree in counterterrorism (“I’m a history and geopolitics nerd,” he says). Though he liked the profession, Kravshik wasn’t satisfied with his job. So he connected with a wearable technol- ogy startup where he soon became the CFO and COO. Those roles helped him realize that what he loves most is designing things that people love and can’t live without. Enter Luminari. Inspired by his own less-than-ideal experience dealing with recruiters and job boards, Kravshik helped launch the company in late 2016 aſter he and his cofounder spoke to more than 500 accountants to gather research. Here’s how it works: the system’s AI uses the information provided during sign-up (which takes less than three minutes) as a baseline for your job matches. As you interact with Luminari (applying for some jobs, not showing interest in others), it continues to improve your matches. Beyond job searching, the company also allows CPAs to volunteer for charities and startups, and it hosts
14 | CPA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
regular learning events. The service is free for CPAs (compan- ies looking to hire through the service are charged a comparably small posting fee) and Kravshik promises you won’t get spammed: Luminari only sends up to three postings per communication. In other words, he says, you’re not just “throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks” or spending five hours searching through online job boards. Kravshik, who recently joined CPA
Ontario’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Group, doesn’t know what the future holds for his career, but he’s grateful for
his CPA designation. Not only does it come in handy for building financials, it gives him insight into how Luminari’s target market feels. As for the future of the company, Kravshik says AI has a way to go before we can depend on it for everything related to job searching. “Computers aren’t able to make totally effective culture and fit determinations yet,” he says. “But they can take out 95% of the work. That’s what we should be doing: using AI for the repetitive work and saving our brain power to make the more creative and ultimate decisions.” — Lora Grady
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