broad became the youngest michigan resident to attain the credentials of certified public accountant (cpa), a record he held until 2010. broad worked as an accountant for two years and taught night classes at the detroit institute of technology as an assistant professor of accounting in 1956. wanting to work on his own, he founded his own accounting firm and was offered office space by the husband of his wife's cousin, donald bruce kaufman, in return for doing the books for kaufman's small homebuilding and subcontracting business.