balanced act, The

For Chartered Accountant Nicola McLaren, it's the difference between a "balanced life" and "a balancing act."

"I'm trying for the former, not the latter," laughs the sole practitioner and mother of Shannon, 2. "And it would be so much easier if I didn't have to sleep!"

McLaren, a 1989 graduate of Simon Fraser University's Co-op program, credits her CA designation with her ability to combine parenthood with a solo practice.

"The CA profession has given me the option of working three days a week for most of the year," she points out. "That way I'm able to combine being with Shannon with maintaining my work with clients and my contact with the business community. And I've been pleased and surprised at how supportive clients are even though I am generally not available two days per week."

While completing SFU's Co-op program, McLaren worked at Yada Tompkins Humphries Palmer and Company, Chartered Accountants, which merged with Ernst & Young in iggo. She passed the UFE that year and obtained her CA designation in 1991. She also worked for Elliott Tulk Pryce Anderson, Chartered Accountants from 1993 to earlier this year when she struck out on her own.

"When I was in high school, I thought I wanted to go into corporate law," she recalls. "Then I took an advanced accounting course in grade 12 and really liked it! When I graduated from high school, I saw there was lots of work for accountants and not much work for lawyers. Plus I liked the idea of the flexibility the profession offered. I even remember saying to my Dad that I could see how I could combine having kids with working in accounting."

McLaren says she recognized that the CA designation is held in high regard and allows a wide range of career options.

"Personally, doing my CA gave me exposure to many businesses and provided me with solid credentials, a real foundation for understanding business," she explains. "Being in public practice gives you great access to so many businesses and I think that's what I like best. Every time the phone rings, it's a different question and you're always multi-tasking. And being able to assist other entrepreneurs is really interesting to me." McLaren says the variety is the best part of her job.

"You need lots of people skills to be a CA," she says. "That old stereotype of an accountant working in a back room with a bare light bulb and a pocket protector is so wrong! Nothing could be further from the truth. I deal with such a variety of clients and situations, I have to be able to talk to people and explain things to them clearly and in a way that is helpful to them and their businesses."

Before going out on her own, McLaren says she was fortunate to work for firms that really valued their employees and treated them well.

"There's no question that they expected us to work hard and we did," she says. "But they treated us like family and, in addition to making sure we got broad experience with clients, we were looked after. During my articling days, I was involved in a severe car accident and was in hospital for months. The firm's personnel partner told me not to worry about anything except my health. They kept me on the payroll and welcomed me back when I was able to return."

McLaren freely admits combining parenthood and a home-based practice is a challenge.

"It's hard to set good boundaries and some days it's tough to fit all the parent and work priorities in," she says. "I have to remind myself quite often that it's a balanced life I'm after; not a balancing act. It also helps to have an involved, supportive spouse."

McLaren's husband Gavin is a computer engineer and software developer at Glenayre Electronics.

Copyright Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia Oct 2000
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