Being an Accountant Means Balancing More than Just the Books

When she’s in town, Amy likes to wake up and spend time with her daughter, take her to daycare, and come home in time to play at night. When she has to be away, she’ll pack as much work into a day as possible, waking up at 5 a.m. and often working in her hotel room until 10 p.m.

“With every fiber of my being, I believe I am serving my purpose on this earth. It’s important for women, even stay-at-home moms, to achieve beyond their kids, to be true to who they are as a person,” she says. “I am happy looking in the mirror every morning and knowing that my daughter is going to daycare.”

Amy’s success doesn’t come as a surprise to those she works with.

“She is an incredible leader who always puts people first when making decisions at work or at home. She focuses on developing the professionals in our firm into true leaders,” says Robert Thorburn, the managing partner of the Raleigh office who delivered the news last year that every accountant dreams of hearing.

Like most days, Amy was out working with a client when she received a phone call summoning her back to the office.

“Welcome to the partnership,” Thorburn told the thirty-one-year-old when she came through his door that day.

The downside of the offer: Amy had to be willing to relocate to Charlotte. That would mean uprooting her husband Britt, who works as a chemist at Bayer, and the life she’d built during the past decade.

To further complicate matters, both sides of their family live nearby, including Amy’s identical twin who works as a lawyer. While the three-hour move would still allow for frequent visits, Amy would lose the casual dinner companions and babysitters who lived just five minutes away.

Although it was one of the most difficult decisions she’s had to make during her career, it was one she arrived at peacefully, she says. With her faith in God and Britt’s support, she agreed to make the move.