FORTY Under 40: Michelle Duda
Michelle Duda, senior audit manager, Crowe LLP.
Duda brings more than 15 years of experience serving the insurance industry. She is a CPA with extensive expertise auditing traditional insurers, risk retention groups, cell and “pure” captive insurance companies as well as insurance agencies and brokers. Her experience spans both GAAP and statutory reporting frameworks.
Duda leads complex audit engagements from client relationship management through planning and execution, while also advising organisations on technical accounting matters and evolving reporting requirements. She supports clients, including Fortune 500 companies, to implement new accounting standards and insurance industry regulations, serving as a trusted adviser in an increasingly complex landscape.
Beyond her client service work, she is actively involved in firm and industry leadership. She participates in Women Leading at Crowe, delivers continuing professional education programmes and contributes to firm recruiting initiatives. She also serves as treasurer and board member of the Connecticut Captive Insurance Association.
Looking back at your journey over the past year, what accomplishment are you most proud of and how has becoming a FORTY Under 40 finalist influenced your perspective on that achievement?
I’m most proud of leading several complex insurance audit engagements during a period of continued change while helping clients navigate evolving reporting requirements. Seeing our teams deliver high-quality audits under tight timelines was especially rewarding. It required strong technical expertise, thoughtful planning and close collaboration. Watching our staff grow in confidence and capability was just as meaningful as the client's results.
Being named a FORTY Under 40 finalist gave me the opportunity to reflect on that achievement more broadly. In a profession focused on the next deadline, the next engagement or technical issue to solve, the recognition reinforced that leadership goes beyond strong audit results, it’s about building trusted relationships, mentoring future leaders and contributing to the broader insurance community. The experience has strengthened my commitment to leading with integrity, investing in others and continuing to elevate the impact of our work.
What key challenge did you face in your work this year? How did you overcome it and what did it teach you about leadership at this stage of your career?
One I faced this year was balancing increasing technical complexity in the insurance industry with developing and supporting my teams. Addressing this required a focus on proactive planning and clear communication. I invested more time upfront in engagement strategy and identifying high-risk areas early. I emphasised mentoring and real-time coaching, breaking down complex issues into learning opportunities and creating space for teams to ask questions, even under tight deadlines.
This experience reinforced that leadership at this stage is less about having all the answers and more about creating clarity, confidence and accountability. It also underscored the importance of resilience, adaptability and embracing volatility as the insurance landscape continues to evolve.
Seeing our teams deliver high-quality audits under tight timelines was especially rewarding.
In what ways have you tried to push innovation or rethink traditional approaches within your sector, and what impact has that had on your team or organisation?
As an AI ambassador within our firm, I’ve focused on finding practical, responsible ways to integrate AI into our daily audit workflows. Rather than viewing AI as a future-state concept, we’ve encouraged teams to use it today, whether that’s assisting with technical research, summarising complex guidance, drafting planning documents or helping organise large sets of information more efficiently.
In the insurance sector, we have emphasised thoughtful use, ensuring outputs are validated and aligned with professional standards, so AI enhances quality rather than replaces professional scepticism.
The impact has been twofold: increased efficiency and stronger engagement from our teams. AI has improved how we work and equipped our teams with tools that allow them to be more strategic, agile and forward-thinking.
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