´╗┐NAME: Laura Gilchrist

SCHOOL: Queen’s University (Bachelor of Commerce)

COMPANY: PwC – 3 years

AGE: 24

DESIGNATION: Working towards CA

How did you choose this career path for yourself?

When I was in my second d year, I went to a presentation that was put on by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. The CA designation spoke to me because it seemed to offer a lot of flexibility and opportunities to work with different types of clients, and it really gave me the opportunity to see the inner workings.

Was a career in accounting something you considered prior to this experience?

I always had an interest in the field. When I did the business program I had a very basic accounting course that we had to take. But then, as I went to more presentations and realized the career opportunities that were there, that’s when I decided to pursue it further and really focus my classes on accounting.

As a senior associate, what’s your focus?

I work in what we call our TICE group (Technology, Information, Communications and Entertainment media). Within TICE, I am heavily focused on our ECSpractice (Emerging Client Services). These deal with start-up tech companies.

How important is it for clients such as these to have an accountant working with them?

It is critical for them in the start-up phase because they may not have a big budget to hire sound accounting staff. They require us to come in and guide them through the process, while helping the staff that they do have understand the rules and guidelines that they need to follow.

Do you have to break down best practices to your clients? Or do they generally understand accountant-speak?

We definitely have to break it down, and I would say that’s a wonderful skill that’s needed for this job — to be able to adapt the language you’re using, based on the client. If it’s a big, public client, you can tailor your language to them. But a lot of clients in our ECSprogram, for example, need to hear plain business English. They want to know, ‘How does what you said affect my business, and what changes do I need to make to ensure I’m following the right guidelines?’

What were some of the misconceptions you had before you entered this profession?

I had a misconception that I would be spending the majority of my day behind the computer, and not really having any client facing opportunities in the first few years. I found out quickly that it’s the complete opposite of that. The firm gives you exceptional training, and that gives you the confidence you need to go out there.

What’s been your biggest learning experience so far?

To never be hesitant to put your hand up. If there’s something you want to do, tell someone and get out there and do it. Everyone becomes supportive of you once you take the initiative. It’s your career and it’s what you make of it.

Do you feel this industry is drawing more females than in the past?

Since I started I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the balance of men and women, and with opportunities for mentoring and getting to know other women in the firm. One of the reasons I chose PwC was because of the senior women I had met. There were partners that had families and were able to balance a career and children. To me that spoke very highly about the company itself.