Dominique Barr (BA 2008, MPAcc 2009) doesn’t just oversee accounting for one major company; she manages it across 10.
Barr is the Vice President of Accounting and Reporting at Fortive, a Washington-based industrial giant with a portfolio of companies innovating essential technologies that keep the world safe and productive. Its businesses span from Fluke, an industrial test and measurement company, to Censis, which provides surgical equipment tracking software. While each Fortive operating company has its own accounting department, Barr consolidates and analyzes results across the entire portfolio.
“At the corporate level, we are focused on driving overall organizational performance and delivering transparent, accurate consolidated financial reporting as a public company,” says Barr. “We are involved in projects that span the organization.”
It’s a dynamic and multifaceted role that makes full use of the skills Barr learned in the Foster School of Business Master of Professional Accounting (MPAcc). Her time at Foster, she says, accelerated her entry into the field, gave her a competitive edge, and laid the groundwork for a high-impact, strategic role at a Fortune 1,000 company.
“I came in thinking I was there to learn accounting—just numbers,” says Barr of her studies at Foster. “One of the biggest surprises was how essential business writing became, especially during my audit work. A business writing class opened my eyes to the importance of being clear and concise. That skill, refined at Foster, made a huge difference in how I documented and communicated my work.”
The Master of Professional Accounting is a full-time, comprehensive nine-month program. Its curriculum includes every aspect of accounting roles, bridging technical and analytics skills with ethics and communications development.
Foster alum Dominique Barr at Fortive headquarters, where her role spans compliance, strategy, and collaboration across multiple industries.
A collaborative and strategic accounting role
This holistic approach proved an ideal educational environment for Barr, whose position necessitates close collaboration with colleagues on strategic initiatives as well as ensuring compliance with SEC regulations. This was especially important as the company prepared for the spin-off of a new publicly traded company.
“I’m in a lot of meetings!” Barr explains. “There’s coordination across the board with legal, HR, corporate development, tax, facilities, and procurement. It’s a mix of strategic alignment and day-to-day project management, making sure we, as an accounting team, have all the right pieces in place.”
Barr also draws on over a decade of experience in the field. She spent 13 years at KPMG, one of the country’s largest and most respected accounting firms. Now in an in-house role at a global company, she’s developed a more nuanced understanding of accounting’s role across different business contexts.
“Moving from public accounting to a corporate environment was more eye-opening than I expected,” she says. “I thought I understood the difference, but living it day-to-day at Fortive gave me a new appreciation, not just for how companies view performance metrics and compile financial data, but for the sheer effort it takes to produce the information auditors rely on. I used to think, ‘Isn’t that report just available?’ But now I see the work behind the glossy package. Plus, I get to work much more closely with functions outside of accounting. It’s expanded my perspective in ways that would make me a different kind of auditor if I ever went back.”
Dominique Barr brings her Husky pride from the classroom to the corporate world and back to Husky Stadium on game days.
internships provide first-hand experience in accounting
Barr began her career at KPMG through two internships arranged as part of her studies at Foster. The MPAcc program integrates internships into the curriculum for all students, and Barr says hers were instrumental in launching her career.
“The summer internship was great for building relationships and getting exposure to different client engagements, but the winter internship is where I really got a taste of the job. It was peak busy season, so you were on audits, doing real work, keeping the same hours as the team. It accelerated my understanding of what it means to be an auditor. When I started full-time, I could see the difference. It was clear who had done a winter internship and who hadn’t.”
Barr enrolled in the Master of Accounting Program after studying Accounting as an undergraduate at the University of Washington. She always had a talent for mathematics, but wasn’t sure how she wanted to apply those skills. Her undergraduate accounting class proved to be a revelatory experience.
“I fell in love with it,” she says. “All the pieces fit, and everything was in balance. Accounting was like a puzzle to be solved, and I found my place.”
Having found her career calling, Barr’s choice of graduate programs was never in doubt. “It was always Foster,” she shares. “That combination of doing the master’s program plus the internship, where you are working like crazy, but you get a ton of real-world experience. It is just such a great program, I felt like there wasn’t even a decision to be made. Of course, I’m going to go with Foster.”
“Accounting was like a puzzle to be solved, and I found my place,” says Dominique Barr, Vice President of Accounting and Reporting at Fortive.
Serving on the accounting advisory board
Fifteen years later, she is still active in the school’s community. Barr serves on the program’s Advisory Board, helping shape curriculum direction in a rapidly evolving profession.
“The Board has a light touch, but plays a meaningful role,” she says. “We review the curriculum and provide feedback on what’s happening in the profession, whether it’s shifts around ESG, the rise of AI, or practical tools students need to succeed. The faculty genuinely wants to know: What’s relevant right now? What will best prepare students for the job? I value being part of that conversation.”
Barr, her husband, a fellow Husky, and their two sons are football season ticket holders, which brings her back to campus often in the fall. And in the future, Barr would like to return to the classroom as well, this time as a faculty member.
“I’ve always enjoyed teaching,” she says. “And one day I’d love to go back and share the knowledge I’ve gained with others.”
Learn more about the Master’s of Public Accounting here.