Stevie Dennis
Senior Manager
RSM US LLP
“Be sincere, be you. Everyone has strengths...find ways to play to yours.”
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I thought I would always stay in Indiana, where I grew up, until I met my future husband. After college, I followed him to North Carolina, transferring from an Indiana office to a NC office.
The financial crisis in 2008 led my husband to reconsider his career path. He went back to school to get a PhD, and we moved to Wisconsin. I transferred to an RSM office in WI.
Moving to WI set me back a year in being promoted to manager. I also decided to switch to serving clients in a new industry, hoping for more opportunities.
I had my first child in WI and reduced my hours. I worked more than I expected to that first year and so changed my work arrangement to increase my hours. I still keep that same schedule.
During my last summer in WI prior to my husband's graduation, I did a rotation in RSM's national office and loved it. At the end, they offered me a permanent position.
We moved to Kentucky. RSM didn't have an office there, so I switched to working remotely but increased my air travel. Being in a new city w / o an office to go to was hard, but I found ways to network.
Traveling as the mother of infants has been challenging, but being able to work remotely has been critical for me to taking care of my family and keeping up with my work.
We moved to Florida (noticing a theme? :) ). After years of deciding between the partner or senior director path, I decided that becoming a senior director is the right move for me.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
R. Nelson Snider High School
R. Nelson Snider High School
Career
Senior Manager
I develop policies and tools for financial statement auditors.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Technology
Helping People
Day to Day
I work about 8 hours a day from home (even before the pandemic). I have meetings with colleagues over WebEx. I normally travel about once a month to a team meeting or to attend or deliver training. My tasks include drafting policies and guidance, drafting and designing audit program forms and tools for our audit software, reviewing and providing feedback on work done by others, architecting our audit manuals and guidance internal site, and coaching team members.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Be sincere, be you. Everyone has strengths, and find ways to play to yours. People can tell if you aren't being authentic, so if you find yourself trying to force excitement over a new opportunity, it probably isn't the right one for you. At the same time, don't be afraid to try something new, even if you're nervous about it. You might be surprised by what skills you pick up and what you learn from that experience.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Peers:
"Working in public accounting is very stressful and requires working a lot of hours. Most people do not last in the profession more than a few years."
