The CPA MOMS Podcast

Have you seen the latest statistics for women-owned businesses?     The US has 12.3 million women-owned businesses. US women-owned businesses generate $1.8 trillion a year. 40% of US businesses are women-owned. There are 114% more women entrepreneurs than there were 20 years ago.    Over the years the growing trend of hard-working female entrepreneurs, who also happen to be moms, has warranted  th...

Whether you are in public or private accounting the accountant's mantra is "Get more done in a shorter amount of time", whether it's busy season or not.  When you add your accounting career to your job as a mom, having a 26-hour day would be super helpful in order to get everything on your to-do list done.   When I practice what I'm about to share with you, this is my typical day - wake up early,...

As a CPA and a mom, you have a lot on your plate both at work and at home.   Unfortunately we aren't taught how to create a system that makes it easier to get it all done and are often tossed into the deep end of the pool with other working moms, struggling to stay above water.  Without an easy to use system, you can become stressed, overwhelmed and easily experience burnout.   If your current sys...

If you work in the corporate world, you are probably no stranger to receiving and possibly giving year-end reviews.  If you are a mom, you are also no stranger to molding and shaping your children with expectations, feedback and critiques.    Whether you are on the giving end or the receiving end, feedback and criticism are unavoidable whether it's personally or professionally.  Hearing potentiall...

So before you ask your family for their holiday wish list and start trying to squeeze trips to the mall into your hectic schedule, I first want to help you out with the best gift you can give them this year.  This gift is what they want and need more than anything else but probably don't realize it. What your family wants and needs is a mom: who knows how to be happy who loves herself and her body...

Did you know you that you can be a perfectionist and not have a perfect life? It's true! If you know the difference between a debit and a credit, you just might be a perfectionist. This week you'll learn that: The accounting profession is a breeding ground for perfectionism.   Perfectionism isn't about arrogance or a lack of humility, it's about the fear of not doing enough or being enough. Whethe...

Did you know that you can actually misuse gratitude?  I didn't either. Because of the self-help movement as well as the science to backup the power of gratitude, more and more people are becoming aware of the impact that gratitude can have on them professionally and personally. However, with all the wonderful ways that gratitude can be used to create a happier life, it can also be misused.  Gratit...

Author Richard Bach famously said "Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours".  Repeatedly saying "I can't" can create such a strong habit of thought, even when faced with the possibility of "Maybe I can".   The more you practice believing that things ARE what you believe them to be, the more evidence you will find to back up that belief.  Before you know it, you are in a cycle of...

While the conversation about mental health is becoming less and less taboo, it's still an issue for many people, especially in the accounting profession.  The subject of workplace well-being is being addressed more because it's becoming an even bigger issue in the accounting and finance professions.   In one study, 30.4% of accountants admitted to suffering from mental health issues and 51% admitt...

Women have made incredible strides professionally and personally in the past century.  We are all benefiting from the positive changes women before us fought for, whether it's the right to vote, to be educated or to work outside the home, among many other things. As a female accountant in the 21st century you are among the most educated and skilled women on the planet yet… You may still be settlin...

Someone dying too young, senseless crimes and innocent victim's stories are in the headlines on a daily basis.  It appears to be getting more and more difficult to stay positive in a world that seems so out of control. When bad things happen to good people it can make you question why things seem to be so unfair.  Even seeing someone get an advantage over someone else can trigger a reaction that "...

As a woman balancing your work life with your family life, you probably have your hands full with many different relationships to nurture and manage.  But whether it's with a romantic partner, your mother, your child, or someone you work with, relationships can be challenging.   Between movie scenes where you get the message that someone is supposed to "complete" you, the pressures of the modern-d...

One of my favorite authors, Eckhart Tolle, is quoted saying "Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose".  The first time I read that statement I was confused and excited at the same time thinking things like:   As a mother, isn't part of my job to worry? Isn't it naïve to assume everything will be fine and that there's no need to worry? If it's true that worry isn't necessary the...

If I put a bubble on top of your head so everyone could read the thoughts you have about yourself, what would we see?  If you are like most women, your inner critic probably says things like: You really have everyone fooled, don't you Here you go again, not following through with what you said you were going to do Honestly, when are you ever going to figure this out No wonder he/she behaves that w...

It's almost unavoidable - there are going to be times when you need to have difficult conversations.  Even though it's unavoidable you still may be tempted to dance around something or avoid it altogether because you are uncomfortable with confrontation or conflict.   Whether you have to deliver some unpleasant news, discuss a delicate subject or talk about something that's gone wrong, almost ever...

Since you spend so much of your time at work it seems like a good idea to try to work in the best environment possible.  You most likely spend at least 40 hours a week at work so it makes sense that you would want to make it a place that inspires and nurtures you, that makes you feel valued and happy.   However, what can you do if you aren't happy with your current work environment?   If you are a...

Do you ever feel like the day just got away from you and feel even more frustrated and overwhelmed than you did the day before?   Distractions could be the culprit.   When you are constantly being driven by distractions it feels like you are the adorable dog named Doug in the 2009 Disney movie "Up".  Whenever Doug saw a squirrel, regardless of what he was chasing, he'd immediately be distracted an...

As humans we all desire to have the feeling of hope sometimes.  Like when there's been a tragedy somewhere in the world and you hope everyone affected will be ok, then hope can be comforting.   The word hope has such a nice ring to it. So if the feeling of hope indicates something positive, then when is it not helpful?  Aren't we taught at a young age to wish upon a star and hope for things?   The...

Many women believe they need to either hire an accountability coach or partner with someone in order to take certain actions. They have a certain goal in mind that they haven't yet achieved, they don't feel motivated and they look to work with someone else to hold them accountable for reaching their goal. In essence, if it wasn't for someone or something else in the equation, they would feel less...

While the term Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD may be familiar, the less familiar term Intention Deficit is something I believe we all suffer with to certain degrees without knowing it.  Intention Deficit is when you are living your life unconsciously as opposed to living on purpose; when you aren't clear on the direction you want to go and are stuck focusing on what you don't want rather than o...

In the last few decades more employers see the idea of offering to meet their employees need for more work-life balance as a win/win situation.  They believe that if they create an environment that their employees are happy working in, they will stay longer and be more productive. It sounds like a no-brainer from the employee's and employer's point of view.  Achieving balance seems simple – the em...

Why is that you can make certain decisions all day, every day yet agonize over making other decisions?  Some decisions are a no-brainer like deciding to not roll through stop signs on your way to work but then some decisions seem tortuous like whether to eat what you brought for lunch or order in with everyone else.   Have you ever gotten so caught up in the fear of making the wrong decision that...

One of the most challenging and rewarding roles you can have in life is being a parent.  I have yet to meet a parent who wasn't surprised at what parenthood required of them.   With each new stage in your child's life it seems like you have to learn a whole new language.  There's the language of early childhood, of toddlers and adolescents, of the teenage years and of adulthood.  Each stage offers...

According to Wikipedia the definition of the term compare and despair is "to distress oneself by comparing one's own situation with others who are more successful" however I believe it's more far reaching than that.  When you compare and despair you can be judging yourself, your situation, your choices or your worth as a woman, mother, employee, friend, spouse, etc.   The tendency to compare yours...

In 2013 the Chartered Accountants Benevolent Association (CABA) reported survey results showing that around 30% of accountant participants admitted to a drinking problem.  The key is the word "admitted"; if 30% admitted to having an issue, imagine how many were unwilling to.   Unfortunately this isn't just an issue for accountants.  In a 2016 study of lawyers, nearly 3 out of 4 participants report...