The people, clients and culture at Armanino make it enjoyable to work here. I get to spend time and work with some of my best friends. I've developed deep relationships with colleagues, which helps to create strong teams that benefit our clients. The clients I serve are outstanding. They provide me with challenging projects, and are very appreciative of the assistance and expertise we provide.
In college, I had to decide between pursuing a degree in music performance and a degree in accounting. Music continues to be a passion of mine through my work with performing arts organizations, and the experience I’ve gained in accounting has given me skills that are beneficial to nonprofit organizations. So I’m able to give back to the community in ways I wouldn’t have been able to with a degree in music.
I spend a lot of time thinking about tax law and considering how it affects our clients. There are constant changes in laws and regulations, and each of our clients has unique needs, so I want to be forward-thinking about how they are impacted by those changes.
I prefer to approach things from a communicative and thoughtful perspective. I spend a lot of time collaborating with my clients and colleagues to ensure that everyone is working toward the same objectives. This lets us generate focused solutions that help our clients realize their long-term goals.
I trained for and finished two marathons. You can't wake up and say, "I'm going to run a marathon tomorrow." I set a goal to do it and spent six months dedicating myself to reaching that goal – getting up at 4 AM every day, getting dressed, and then just putting one foot in front of the other. Passing my CPA exam made me similarly proud. Preparing for it was hard work, but investing the time and effort to do so paid off, and it’s one of the most important things I’ve ever done for my career in accounting.
You don't have to let the circumstances in which you grew up – where, how or with what means – dictate who you become. Open your mind to who you want to be and what you want to achieve, and let your talent, energy and drive take you there.