Her Story
About Shefali
I've been in my field since 2022, starting at PwC in their data audit division before switching to my current role as a senior profitability analyst at a law firm in January 2026. What inspired me to get into this work is that I really like numbers - I've been really good at math my whole life, or at least I like to think I am. I really enjoy the analytical side of bridging data analytics with auditing and bringing them together to come up with solutions to help companies achieve their financial goals. My specialty is mostly profitability thinking, creating scenarios for different types of companies and clients to ensure that they're running in a smooth manner financially, and providing advice for future years and months. My day-to-day involves maintaining reports that are monthly, weekly, and daily - it's very different depending on the workload - and collaborating with other team members and senior members to come up with any types of new reports that we have to do. One of my biggest achievements was when I was at my first firm and we had won a case to audit a company. I wrote a white paper on it, even though I had no idea what I was getting into, but I'm really good at research - that's one thing my team always tells me. If I don't know something, I will read on it heavily, which is something I've done since college. I was placed on that project for 2 years until I left, and I kept being called back, which was really nice. People knew who I was at the end of the day, and I think that was my biggest achievement because in a company where I started being a small fish and having people recognize you from higher up and know who you are - in corporate America, you are a number, and whatever chance you get, you take it.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shefali
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's more about making an impact. That's really important for me - if it's always me, myself, and I on a piece of paper or a report that goes out, and I'm not satisfied or happy, I just feel like I haven't made that impact. I always want to do the best and put my best foot forward every day. Whether it's starting the day with some solutions that I learned from a previous report that I worked on, or talking to team members and other team members not even in my team to gain insight, I'm always looking for ways to make that impact and do my best work.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
When I was thinking about switching jobs from my first firm to my second firm that I'm currently in, a senior at my previous job told me to be content with whatever decision you make, because at the end of the day, no one person knows you better than yourself. That advice really stuck with me and helped me make the transition with confidence.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think always keep an open mind. Every day is a new day, and every day is a learning day. I'm still learning in the field that I'm in - I've been in the workforce since 2022 and I'm still learning, I know others are as well. So always keep an open mind, and there are going to be road bumps, but if you tell yourself that every day is a new day and you keep pushing yourself to do the best you can, I feel like that's all you can do, and always the best you can do.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge is always trying to be heard. Everybody has great ideas, and I think making an impact is really important, but also listening to other people's voices is really important too, because sometimes I haven't been in my field for a very long time and others have, so they might have come across something similar. It's about finding that balance between speaking up and learning from those who have more experience.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Transparency is one of the most important values to me. I'm always transparent with whatever I do. If I don't know something, I always ask whether I have done it a million times or I've never done it before, because I never want to send out a report or a financial report thinking I knew what I was doing but I had no idea, and I could have asked ahead of time. Another value is just being true to yourself. You know in your heart whatever you're doing, you're doing the best you can. And if you think it's the wrong way that another person is approaching it, speaking up is really important, because I think if you don't, it could go sideways, and if you knew that somebody was in trouble or something was wrong and you didn't do anything about it, it kind of could bite you in the future.
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