Bernadette L. Harris is an award-winning Tax and Forensic Accountant, bestselling author, podcast host, and highly sought keynote speaker committed to “Keeping Small Business in Business.” As President of By The Book Accounting, she has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs across the country start, operate, and grow thriving ventures.
Bernadette, a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), earned a B.S. in Accounting from the nation’s oldest HBCU (Historically Black College or University), Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, and later earned her MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management and an MS in Fraud and Forensics from Carlow University.
Before launching her company, By The Book Accounting, in 2001, she taught Algebra and Geometry and led a high school basketball team to a district championship during her first year of coaching.
Bernadette has conducted workshops for the U.S. Small Business Administration, The Urban League, SCORE, Access to Capital For Entrepreneurs, Dress for Success, and other non-profit organizations. She has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, and other nationally known media outlets speaking on entrepreneurship and fraud prevention. She also serves as an Adjunct Instructor at the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media. She teaches Accounting and Tax Essentials for Entrepreneurs. She will give her first TEDx Talk on September 19, 2020.
A native of Miami, FL, she now resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband, Anthony.