Chris McKee

Chris founded Venturity in 2001 after holding accounting leadership roles with several different organizations in the Dallas – Ft. Worth business community and currently serves as Venturity’s Board Chairperson. The firm grew out of a perceived need among small and growing companies for an alternative to a traditional in-house accounting department.

What I’m Passionate About

I’ve learned over the years that one of my greatest passions is teaching, especially in a classroom setting. I’ve  had the opportunity to teach classes regularly at Venturity through our Monthly Accounting Topics classes and through on-going training classes or one-on-one training with our team members. I can teach a two or three hour class and be more energized at the end of that class than I was at the beginning. And it’s a big piece of the reason I started Venturity, to provide a place for accountants to continually learn and grow not just as an accountant, but as a complete professional.

I’m also pretty passionate about the work we do for our clients. It’s so difficult for our typical clients to attract, train, and retain accounting professionals in house. I love that we can bring high quality accounting to companies that need it the most, smaller enterprises that need accurate, timely accounting information in order to not just survive, but to be more successful. We can really have an impact on our clients, in a way few accountants can, which makes for an incredibly rewarding experience for all of us at Venturity.

Where I’ve Been

After graduating from Ole Miss in 1989, I spent the early part of my career in public accounting at Arthur Andersen. You couldn’t ask for a better way to start out a career in accounting. It was an incredible learning experience, both in terms of the breadth of accounting and business knowledge I gained, and much needed personal growth and maturity as well. After about five years at Andersen, I realized that I wanted to be more hands on with accounting. I left in 1994 to work in accounting for several companies, including The Bombay Company and BusyBody Fitness Warehouse.  During this time I learned what it took to work in an accounting department day-to-day and eventually lead accounting teams. I “freelanced” for a couple of years prior to founding Venturity, helping clean up accounting messes and improve processes at various companies. That was a fun time, and Venturity really grew out of what I was seeing during that time, a lack of quality accounting options for small businesses.

What I Do in My Spare Time 

I love me some camping, especially with my kids. For the last several years, I’ve been participating in High Adventure Treks for Dads and Daughters with each of my daughters. It’s camping and other outdoor activities that you do as a Dad/Daughter team, and weaves in elements of leadership while you build your relationship and communication together. It’s been such a great experience that I joined the board and now head up the Finance Committee. I enjoy serving on non-profit boards, and I’ve served on several over the years, including The Notre Dame School of Dallas and the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas (my son Bennett has Down Syndrome), as well as EO (The Entrepreneurs’ Organization).  Mostly I just enjoy anything with my wife Lori and our kids Bennett, Regan, and Sarah Catherine. Lately I’ve been getting a big kick out of the garden we started a couple of years ago in our back yard.  One thing I learned is that five tomato plants produce more tomatoes than any family could possibly eat.