Scott Steffens was on a DePaul Board of Trustees retreat when he got the call that he had been chosen for the Illinois CPA Society’s (ICPAS) Lifetime Achievement Award.  

One of the first things he did was look for DePaul connections among past award recipients.

Steffens has a decorated career in accounting: not just as a partner for major firms like Deloitte and Grant Thornton but also as an advocate for diversity and a volunteer on numerous nonprofit boards.

Throughout it all, though, the DePaul community has been a constant for Steffens, a red thread running through a distinguished career.  

An education tailored to first-gen students  

A lot has changed since Steffens was a DePaul student. But when he comes back to campus today, the environment still feels familiar.  

"When I go back to campus, it still feels very recognizable,” he said. “The faces have changed, and some of the architecture has too. But you’re still going up and down an elevator to get to class. You’re still surrounded by the business community.”

For Steffens, a first-generation college student, DePaul opened up a path into the world of business. He joined one of the first cohorts of the Strobel Honors Program. There, he met professors and peers who became lifelong mentors and friends.  

DePaul also showed Steffens the power of a community designed specifically for first-generation students like him.  

One moment from his junior year stands out. The program took students down the street to the Palmer House for dinner. The menu was “complicated by design”: multiple courses, unfamiliar dishes, multiple sets of silverware. Over the course of the evening, faculty walked students through how to conduct themselves during a business dinner.  

“As a first-generation student, that was so important,” Steffens said. “I didn’t have parents who taught me what fork to use. It was this experience where we were all in the same boat. It was programming that was tailored to who we were. And that attention to what students needed stuck with me.”  

A profession driven by problem-solving — and people  

After graduation, Steffens entered public accounting. Early on, he helped a partner with a major project for a not-for-profit client. The experience piqued his interest; over the years that followed, Steffens specialized in working with nonprofits.

He describes working with nonprofits as equal parts challenging and rewarding. Well-crafted accounting can play a vital role in helping nonprofits celebrate milestone successes or demonstrate to potential donors that they will steward gifts responsibly.  

Accounting, done right, can also put the raw numbers into context. This is especially important, Steffens said, when nonprofits are inevitably impacted by global crises or economic downturns.  

He recalls working with a large professional sports organization right when Covid-19 shut down live events, which the organization had relied on as a significant revenue source.  

“It was about helping them craft disclosures that accurately described what happened,” he said. “And, at the same time, it was also about describing what management is doing to address the situation. And it’s about doing all of that within the confines of our professional standards.”  

One of Steffens’ most memorable experiences was working with the Field Museum when it purchased Sue. The museum worked closely with corporate sponsors to purchase the iconic T. rex fossil.  

“It was a very large purchase for them,” Steffens said. “But under the accounting standards for museums, acquisitions like that are only recorded on the books for a dollar. They’re one of a kind; they’re impossible to value. Obviously, they paid more than a dollar for it. But, even for the Field Museum, that’s hardly an everyday transaction.”  

For Steffens, the Sue purchase exemplifies the two things he loves most about his work: solving problems and forming relationships.  

“Problem solving is what we do. It’s not just debits and credits. And you get to meet so many great people,” he said. “There are so many people I’ve met who are lifelong friends to this day.”  

A career driven by giving back

Today, Steffens serves on numerous nonprofit boards.  

“I really enjoy helping and connecting with these organizations that I’ve spent a long time with,” he said. “I really enjoy trying to help them succeed now but also lay the foundation for a good future.”

Steffens has worked with the Big Shoulders Fund, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and the National Immigrant Justice Center, among many others. In February 2026, he joined DePaul’s board.  

“It’s a great culmination to be invited to join the board,” he said. “I really am excited to give back all that the university has given me over the past 30, 40 years. I really like all the things we’re doing in the community. I’m really excited about what we’re doing around athletics. And I’m very hopeful that the investments we’re making will yield great things for the university for years to come.”  

Athletics is another passion for Steffens, and part of what excites him about DePaul’s future. It’s been a constant since his time as a DePaul student, when he worked as a manager for the women’s volleyball team and cheered on the men’s basketball team at the Rosemont Horizon.  

Today, he lives just a few blocks away from Wrigley Field, where he is a Cubs season ticket holder; he regularly takes former clients or mentees, now friends, to games.  

As a trustee, he especially cherishes the chance to be on the ground with DePaul athletics: to meet coaching staff and players, to see the future unfolding brick by brick. And it’s sports, perhaps, that best sums up how Steffens has approached his career. It’s a team effort: driven by individual expertise and persistence, yes, but undertaken in the service of something larger than himself.