My name is Lashonda Taylor, I am a wife and mother of three. Welcome to my journey to become a CPA. I am still in my thirties, so I feel like as long as I can pull this off before I am 40, I won't be one of those bitter old women who gave up on their dreams and blames their kids.
It started out fine, I interned at a local CPA firm, got hired on and fell in love with Tax Law and Financial Statements. A few years later, I actually fell in love again, this time with a wonderful Man. I got married and had my first child, priorities suddenly changed and I found myself leaving my love, the CPA firm. Maybe if I had thought to simply go on a break, instead of breaking up, this blog would not be in existence.
After my third child, I thought, I should be able to go back to working on getting my CPA license, easy, right? Wrong! I have worked as an Accounting Specialist, Medicare Manager, which is a fancy way to say Billing Manager, and a Bookkeeper. My dream of getting back to a CPA firm so that I could get my CPA license seemed fleeting.
Finally, it happened, my first interview with a CPA firm and I was stoked! The job would be with a very small CPA firm. I was interviewed by the owner. The fact that I had kids came up at the interview. The owner went on and on about how his wife was a stay at home mother, and who would take care of my kids when they were sick? Needless to say, I did not get the job.
My heart ached for about a month, no other call backs were coming from CPA firms. So I decided to go back to school to become a Hairstylist. HAHAHA! I know you didn't see that coming, and neither did I! Barber school was the best and worst year of my life. All I could think about was being in the business of helping my classmates understand business, accounting, and cash flow management.
That's when I realized Accounting was in my blood! I was actually a hairstylist for 2 years while working as an Accounting Specialist and Bookkeeper. As a hairstylist, I learned so much about business owners and interacting with people. I was able to translate that to the accounting world, I love training coworkers, talking with business owners and managers. I learned how to communicate with people to get the information I needed to serve them better. I also learned patience and empathy.
I am still a little envious of my colleagues who never stopped working, never took time out to raise kids, or try to find themselves. All of those things were pretty damn tough and heart-wrenching. Preparing tax returns, conducting audits, and trading jokes with coworkers are all I could dream about during those years.
It's been a little over 10 years since I have worked in public accounting. Today, I work as a Staff Accountant at a local not-for -profit organization. Accounting is like a breath of fresh air for me! I can work for hours and it only feels like a few minutes. What I love most about accounting is the search and the discovery, the application of the rules and regulations, helping my clients or employers get the most advantage from those regulations, and translating knowledge to others.
It's time for me to follow my dream of becoming a CPA. I know, it's not glamorous, but glamorous people do need their taxes done, right?
Until next time,
Lashonda
The Stylish Accountant
After my third child, I thought, I should be able to go back to working on getting my CPA license, easy, right? Wrong! I have worked as an Accounting Specialist, Medicare Manager, which is a fancy way to say Billing Manager, and a Bookkeeper. My dream of getting back to a CPA firm so that I could get my CPA license seemed fleeting.
Finally, it happened, my first interview with a CPA firm and I was stoked! The job would be with a very small CPA firm. I was interviewed by the owner. The fact that I had kids came up at the interview. The owner went on and on about how his wife was a stay at home mother, and who would take care of my kids when they were sick? Needless to say, I did not get the job.
My heart ached for about a month, no other call backs were coming from CPA firms. So I decided to go back to school to become a Hairstylist. HAHAHA! I know you didn't see that coming, and neither did I! Barber school was the best and worst year of my life. All I could think about was being in the business of helping my classmates understand business, accounting, and cash flow management.
That's when I realized Accounting was in my blood! I was actually a hairstylist for 2 years while working as an Accounting Specialist and Bookkeeper. As a hairstylist, I learned so much about business owners and interacting with people. I was able to translate that to the accounting world, I love training coworkers, talking with business owners and managers. I learned how to communicate with people to get the information I needed to serve them better. I also learned patience and empathy.
I am still a little envious of my colleagues who never stopped working, never took time out to raise kids, or try to find themselves. All of those things were pretty damn tough and heart-wrenching. Preparing tax returns, conducting audits, and trading jokes with coworkers are all I could dream about during those years.
It's been a little over 10 years since I have worked in public accounting. Today, I work as a Staff Accountant at a local not-for -profit organization. Accounting is like a breath of fresh air for me! I can work for hours and it only feels like a few minutes. What I love most about accounting is the search and the discovery, the application of the rules and regulations, helping my clients or employers get the most advantage from those regulations, and translating knowledge to others.
It's time for me to follow my dream of becoming a CPA. I know, it's not glamorous, but glamorous people do need their taxes done, right?
Until next time,
Lashonda
The Stylish Accountant
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