3 tips on how CPAs can integrate work and life

The accounting profession has often been associated with long hours and a harrowing busy season, but CPAs assert that accounting roles increasingly allow for flexibility and a better work-life balance.

“I have always felt this job had a lot of flexibility and that public accounting in general gives people the autonomy to make their schedule the way they want it as long as they get their work done,” said Michaela Bellefeuille, CPA, audit principal at Wolf & Company, P.C. “I also think the profession is going to be changing in the coming years because we're seeing a big push to have even more of a work-life balance.”

Meredith Piotti, CPA, CIA, advisory group principal at Wolf & Company, P.C., prefers the term work-life integration to work-life balance because “balance” implies there might be some mathematical equation for achieving perfect equilibrium.

“When you think about work-life balance, you think you’re going to find this perfect schedule and everything is going to be copasetic, but work-life integration actually involves constantly evaluating what's on my plate personally and professionally and figuring out how I can align those things to achieve what I want.”

Whether you’re a current accounting professional or aspiring to become one, here are tips for achieving work-life integration:

Seek firms and roles that offer flexibility.

When Bellefeuille first started working in public accounting 14 years ago, she remembers frequently having to skip important family events for work, but she explained that things have changed quite a bit since then.

“Back then, there was just this expectation that you work, and you didn’t even ask if you could do family-related things because that was just a no,” she said. “That would be very uncommon now — that people would feel that way or say you should miss out on things.”

If you’re searching for a firm or organization that offers flexibility, Piotti recommends talking to a senior at the firm before or during the interview process to get a more accurate idea of what the day-to-day is like.

“If you're only talking to managers and principals and not people who can answer your questions, I think that's a bit of a red flag,” she said.

Bellefeuille suggests asking people who work at the firm whether they have ever had to skip an important family event due to work. She added that you should also ask what the benefit package looks like, including how much paid time off (PTO), CPA Exam study time, and parental leave they offer. Another way to get an idea of the workload is by asking what the typical number of charge hours is for the role.

It’s important to note that different accounting roles will have different schedules and busy times of the year.

“The consulting side of things has a little bit more flexibility compared to tax and audit, but that's not to say that tax and audit don't provide the flexibility when people communicate their needs to do other things,” Bellefeuille said. “It's just that tax and audit have more deadlines, and more of a traditional time of year that's busier. My summer is a lot less busy and that's when I enjoy the generous PTO.”

Figure out what’s most important to you.

Integrating your personal and professional life requires figuring out your priorities.

“The most important thing is finding out your priorities and what you need to be your best self,” Piotti said.

Both Bellefeuille and Piotti have three kids, so family obligations are nonnegotiables in their weekly schedules. When she became a parent, Piotti realized she had to do some self-reflection to figure out the times of day when she does her best work and how she could integrate her personal and professional priorities in a way that works for her.

“The great thing is any decision that you make, you can remake it at any point,” Piotti said. “So, I do think it's important to check in with yourself regularly.”

She added that work-life integration will look different for everyone.

“I think if you poll every CPA and ask what integration looks like for them, you’ll realize there's no cookie cutter,” Piotti said. “You have to find your building blocks and build your own path across.”

Communicate your needs and build trust.

Regardless of what firm you work for or what your role is, you need to communicate your needs if you want to achieve work-life balance.

“You have to be your own advocate and communicate the things you want because no one is a mind reader and no one is going to know what you need unless you ask,” Bellefeuille said.

Communication is especially important when you first start a job; if you want to build trust, you need to be clear about when you will be away from work or have outside obligations.

“With any job, you have to put in the time, and you won’t typically have complete freedom and flexibility on day one,” Bellefeuille said. “You have to earn trust at any company you go to work for before you can build your schedule the way you want it.”

Once you have built that trust, Bellefeuille and Piotti emphasize that you can and should communicate your needs and make time for your personal priorities.

“If there's something that needs to be a priority in your life, maybe it's that every Thursday you need to leave early because you're part of a soccer team, just communicate and make sure people can work around it and make that happen for you,” Bellefeuille said.

Get more insights by registering as a student member to join the free webinar Finding Work-Life Balance in Accounting on Wednesday, April 19, 3–4 pm ET. Bellefeuille and Piotti will discuss their pathways into accounting and debunk the myth of a work-life imbalance in the accounting profession.

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