Profile

My primary responsibility is to audit the financial statements of companies. A financial statement audit includes understanding the client’s business and validating transactions. For example, if I am auditing a construction company, then I may visit the job site to validate that a project is being built and that the costs incurred by the company on the financial statements are appropriate. If I am auditing a chocolate manufacturer, I will validate the inventory balances by observing and counting the quantities of the inventory (chocolate). I also understand a company’s processes and controls and help the company identify areas of improvement.

I work in teams with very kind, qualified professionals. We have a very fun office. We have an ice cream machine, a foosball table and pool table. We work hard and play hard. We have great management who want to motivate us to improve but also reward us for doing a good job.

I work within a CPA Firm and therefore, most people within the CPA Firm are CPA’s. This means that they have a college degree in accounting and generally a master’s degree and have passed the CPA exam. Everyone is professional, respectful, motivated and qualified.

When performing an audit, we do our work on the client’s site. As a senior manager, I have several audits going on at once. Therefore, I may start my day in the office and then visit different clients to see how my teams are doing. I will visit the clients and address any issues or questions that my staff may have. I also oversee the progress of the job and review the work performed by my team. We are always working with different companies. This allows us to learn about different industries and get to know a lot of people and companies.

Communication and team work. Because we work so closely with our clients and team members, it is important to openly communicate and work well with others. Additionally, the accounting profession is constantly changing. As laws change, we must also change and modify our procedures. Public accounting is a very dynamic profession and one must be able to adjust to change.

Because many of our clients have deadlines between January – May I work more hours per week during that period than the rest of the year. Generally, during the “busy season”, I work 60 hours a week. During the rest of the year, I work 40 hours a week. In public accounting, one has a lot of flexibility. I love to run, bike, swim, etc. and it is very important to me that I get to do these activities every day. Therefore, I generally exercise in the morning and get into the office between 8:45 – 9:00 am. During the summer months when I am not busy, I may leave at 4 pm to go on a bike ride. I love this flexibility.

Yes. I have traveled to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Germany, England, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden for work. Additionally, I did a two year rotation with our office in Paris, France. When performing an audit, if a company has significant international operations, the auditor is required to visit the location and perform audit procedures. I have had the opportunity to do this several times and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about different cultures and meeting new people.

I love the people and flexibility. Everyone is very respectful, kind and motivated.

Honestly, nothing. I consider myself extremely lucky to enjoy the work I do, enjoy the people with whom I work and continue to be challenged.

The desire to continually improve myself.

My office managing partner, Gordy Haycock.

Believe in yourself and work hard and you will be successful.

Have confidence in yourself and develop a skill set so that you are competent and qualified in whatever you choose to do. Leave your future up to no one but yourself. Set goals. Make every decision with the awareness of the consequence and the intent that it will bring you close to your goal.

No.

I compete in marathons and triathlons. I also love to cook.

Running and spending time with family.

I don’t have children. But, my Firm has several great opportunities to help people maintain a healthy work life balance. We have a flexible work arrangement where anyone (male or female) can work a flexible arrangement (i.e., 75% of the time and receive 75% of the pay). We also have a Women’s Initiative to help promote women within the organization. We also have a healthy lifestyles initiative which involves participating in running races or triathlons as an office.

My family struggled financially when I was a child. I realized at a young age that if I wanted to achieve something I had to work for it. I have always worked very hard and tried to be very respectful and kind to others.

I knew that my passion was in athletics. However, I also realized that to have the lifestyle I wanted, I needed a college education in a field where the average salary was good and the likelihood of getting a job was high. Accounting was the perfect degree. Public accounting has been the perfect industry for me to work in because I can constantly be challenged, but also have a lot of responsibility and work with great people.

I felt that growing up in a poor family was a disadvantage. I worked harder because I knew that I would not have the same opportunities as other kids unless I made the opportunity happen. I wanted to participate in several activities such as Cheerleading, X Country, Track, dances, etc. In order to pay for these activities, I worked 2-3 jobs while attending high school. I was able to graduate with a 3.7 GPA and participate in all activities.