Women’s History Month Interview #2: Lauren Fenner and Kim Yordy
March is Women’s History Month. Throughout this month, Brown Plus will be featuring interviews between our women mentors and mentees on various topics, including life balance, mentorship and career growth.
This week, Lauren Fenner, CPA, Audit Principal (mentor), and Kim Yordy, CPA, Audit Senior Manager, (mentee) discuss balancing a career with family life.
Meet This Week’s Mentor: Lauren Fenner, CPA, Audit Principal
Lauren is an Audit Principal at Brown Plus with 11 years of public accounting experience. She is responsible for planning, performing and supervising audit, review and compilation engagements for nonprofit organizations, governmental entities and school-related entities. Lauren also has experience with Single Audits and provides tax services tailored to nonprofit organizations.
Meet This Week’s Mentee: Kim Yordy, CPA, Audit Senior Manager
Kim is an Audit Senior Manager at Brown Plus with over 13 years of public accounting experience. She specializes in providing audit and review services to a variety of industries, including nonprofit organizations, agricultural entities and construction companies. Kim is primarily responsible for the planning, fieldwork and wrap-up of the attestation services she provides.
Kim: How have you managed to balance the demands of a high-level career with family responsibilities?
Lauren: First and foremost, I have a wonderful support system! I have an incredibly supportive husband, who also has a demanding job, but recognizes that my career is just as important as his. Balancing both of our schedules isn’t always easy, but we both find a way to make it work and step up when the other has pressing work demands.
We are fortunate enough to have parents who are willing to babysit our kids during the day while we work. Each parent steps up to help me with whatever I need to help balance work responsibilities and family life. Whether it be babysitting the kids while I have an evening client meeting or being able to drop them off early to make it to a morning meeting, I know that between my husband, parents and in-laws, I will be covered. I owe them all a great deal of gratitude for helping me balance my career and role as a mother.
My kids are probably a little too young at this point to understand that mom has to work, and some days might be longer than others, but I know my daughter is watching me – she often has to ‘take a call’ or ‘do some work’ on her laptop. I recognize that I also need to be present when I am with them, and at certain times of the year, that can be hard when deadlines are looming and my computer is sitting in the other room. The last three and a half years with my daughter and the last year with my son have flown by, and the reality is, I won’t get this time with them back. I can’t say I am perfect at it, but I do my best to make it a point that when they are home, I am with them. If that means that I need to log back in to do some work after they are asleep at night, then that’s what I do.
Secondly, I work with an awesome team! They have all embraced and understand this season of life that I am in, and work with me and my schedule to keep client work moving. We communicate regularly, and they hold me accountable to my tasks, which I think is key to our success as a team. I’ve had some fantastic mentors that supported me along the way and showed me that having success in your career and having a family is possible.
Additionally, the Firm is supportive and understanding of these demands, and the flexibility they offer makes balancing work and family life possible. Life balance is one of the cornerstones of our culture, and our Firm leadership has truly embraced that. The ability to work from home, flexible schedules when needed and investment in technology are crucial to making flexible work a reality. The other thing I have to remind myself of, and would remind other women of, is that you need to give yourself some grace. It isn’t easy being a mom, let alone a working mom. There are going to be bad days or weeks on either side of the coin (work or family life), and that’s okay. Both work and family are important, and, in the end, you always find a way to make both work. It might feel like the scales are tipped one way or the other during certain times of the year, but they always come back in balance.
Lauren: What advice would you give to younger women trying to manage both career ambitions and family life?
Kim: I would encourage younger women to take managing both career ambitions and family life one season at a time. Each season or time of year may look different, depending upon family schedules or work deadlines. I am thankful to have a supportive husband and family members who help whenever we need it. It would be hard to do this job without those in our ‘village.’ Additionally, our team at Brown Plus offers the flexibility to understand the demands of having toddlers who may be sick often or older children who have varying sports schedules.
Sometimes during the year, it can seem like you are leaning one way more than the other, but at some point, it changes throughout the year and can feel more in balance. At the beginning of each season or school year, I evaluate how it will look for myself and try to plan my schedule and expectations accordingly. I would also encourage younger women to reach out to those who have been through those seasons. I often get through the busier times with encouragement from working women who have been through this before!
Kim: Have you noticed differences in how male and female colleagues approach leadership or teamwork?
Lauren: The stereotype is probably that women are more understanding and caring than men. However, that has not been my experience at Brown Plus. A big reason for that is our Firm culture and everyone embracing it. Since I joined the Firm, the leadership of my team was always made up of men, but not once did any of them ever tell me I couldn’t have a career and be a mom at the same time. In fact, the response was always, ‘What can we do to make this work?’ So, from a teamwork perspective, I believe the men on my team, in particular, have always realized that their success is tied to the team’s success, so why not embrace working together? I would apply that to Firm leadership as well. Regardless of gender, they recognize that the Firm needs everyone to succeed and that everyone’s situation is different. They are willing to meet people where they are to help them achieve their goals, both personally and professionally.
Lauren: How do you encourage and empower the next generation of women in accounting?
Kim: I encourage the next generation by being transparent in how I balance my family and career. I strive to create an environment with an open-door policy, whether the topic of discussion be work-related or family-related. If I can help them achieve their goals and sometimes think outside of the box to solve a problem, that is a win. I understand what works for me may not work for all women, but if we invest in the next generation and share our experiences, it will impact them greatly!