The Hougham Herald: KPMG: A Decade to Remember!

10 years! Holy moly, how did that even happen?! I mean, when I graduated college at the end of ’04 (yikes!) and started at this place, staying for 10 years was definitely not on my radar. My plan was to stay a couple years, and then use my experience to get a job in industry. My first busy season was the first year of implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley reform, so it was definitely a ummmm………shock as to the workload right away. But somehow, one busy season led to the next. The off-busy season times always seemed to make it worth it to stick it out 'just one more year'. "Okay, I’ll stick around to be a senior." "Okay, looks like we’re staying til Manager now." Hmmmm. Next thing you know, boom and you’ve been here a whole decade! And I'm the last (wo)man standing of my entire start class!

I have met so many incredible people in my 10 years here. Some of the most brilliant minds, that I have had an opportunity to learn so much from. And some people along the way who have become a few of my favorite people in my life today. So many mentors along the way, encouraging me, inspiring me, listening to me vent, and talking me down from the ledge at times. It hasn’t always been smiles; there have definitely been times when I’ve absolutely hated my job. Wondered if it was all worth it. Times when I wondered if we were all insane thinking that it was ‘normal’ to be working til 2am, only to return at 8am for another long day. It’s definitely been about the people and that’s how I respond when we talk about why we continue to stay. The people and the relationships you develop are what have kept me going all these years.

I don’t know what I get for making it this long. I’m sure I’ll get to pick a ‘prize’, similar to the luggage set I received at 5 years. But I think what I’ll enjoy the most is the pride of saying that I have worked at a place like KPMG for a decade. I come from a very humble upbringing where nothing was ever extravagant. I went to a small school in a very small town. I was the first person on both sides of my family to go to college, let alone graduate with a Bachelors degree and an MBA. I worked my butt off during college and will likely be paying off my student loans until my own kids start college. Having this kind of a job, making this kind of money, is still kind of surreal to me. And the traveling that I’ve been able to do has been a bit crazy. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d travel to India for work, and now I’ve been 3 times this year!

While I started in Audit, my career path has taken a slight detour to a different role these last couple years. But I think it provides a great balance, both professionally and personally. I still get to work with the great minds of the Firm, while doing different things behind the scenes and constantly working on new initiatives. I have been exposed to so many groups and people whom I would never have had contact with in my previous role and it’s actually pretty refreshing. There’s always something new around the corner to challenge me and keep me interested. The team I work on now is so amazing and we all bring different talents and perspectives to the table. I’m honored to be a part of that team. And from a personal perspective, who wouldn’t want to work from the comfort of their own home office most days in yoga pants?! It has allowed me to be able to take my kids to school in the mornings, pick them up in the evenings and have dinner, go on field trips, go for a spontaneous lunch w/Austin in the middle of my day, and even volunteer for various projects at his school. Yes, I do have to make up for that time in the evenings after the kids go to bed, but the flexibility to be able to do those types of things is so important to me. I never wanted to a be a full-time stay at home mom; that just doesn't fit into my personality. It’s crazy for me to say (and for outsiders to often understand), that I truly do love my job!

So thank you to those of you who have supported me, mentored me, and helped me be successful in this journey so far! I have been blessed beyond belief.

**I was not compensated by KPMG for this blog entry. It’s straight from the heart! :)