Her Story
About Sharyn
I have been in the accounting field for over 11 years, working across various sectors. I started my career at a CPA firm where I spent about 3 years, then moved on to become an assistant controller at St. Thomas University for about a year. After passing my CPA exam, I returned to public accounting for about 2-3 years overall. I also worked in private accounting as a senior accountant at Royal Seniors Care, which handles property management for senior living. I then spent about 8 years as a stay-at-home mom, during which time I also became a real estate agent and worked in that capacity for about 2 years. After my kids got older, I went back into the accounting industry, doing various public accounting and contract work. I also worked as a TurboTax live expert for Intuit for about 2 years recently. Currently, I am a team lead auditor at Watson Rice, where I've been for a little over a year. In my role, I oversee a few audits at a time on nonprofit or governmental audits from beginning to end, and I manage and oversee staff auditors. I've also done accounting work on the side for small businesses, including some small bookkeeping work and taxes. I'm proud to be a CPA licensed in both Minnesota and Florida, and my main areas of expertise are nonprofit and governmental accounting and auditing, as well as property management and real estate.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sharyn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say, mainly, my family. They've always encouraged me to reach for my goals and my dreams. And just wanting to make a difference in the world.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Just to stick to your goals, set your goals, and work as hard as you can to achieve them. Never give up, no matter how difficult it may get. Just to continue to be resilient, and you will reach your goals in life, and always go for what you desire.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's always definitely an excellent idea, if you can, prior to graduating, to pursue some type of internship to get into the industry. I think the exposure and experience is definitely worth it. And also, joining any type of local organizations relating to your field, as well as community. All of those have an influence of people who you meet in life that can help you or encourage you throughout your career.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The main challenge is balancing work life with my family, especially in accounting when you have long hours and you have to work during a busy season, and being away from the family when I have to travel. Those were the most challenging times for me. As for opportunities, there's always the opportunity to advance up position-wise in public accounting, and there's also the opportunity to take on your own clients, leading more to an entrepreneurship role. So you have flexibility to go either way, or juggle the two.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most valuable thing to me is making sure that whatever you do in life, career-wise or personally, it's something that you value and appreciate. For me, it's mostly to serve people and helping others.
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