Women in accounting are reshaping the profession through strong technical skills, strategic networking, and deliberate career planning. Jennifer Barnes, Director of Tax at Pease Bell CPAs, has spent her career delivering quality tax advice across personal, business, and state and local tax matters. Drawing on her experience, she has identified seven habits that set high-performing women accountants apart, habits that any CPA or accounting professional can adopt to accelerate growth.
Barnes originally shared these insights at an Ohio Society of CPAs (OSCPA) Women’s Initiatives Committee event in Cleveland. The presentation, titled “7 Habits of Highly Effective Women Accountants,” resonated with attendees because it addressed the real, day-to-day practices that drive long-term accounting career success. This article distills those seven habits into a practical guide for any woman building a career in the field.
Why Career Habits Matter for Women in Accounting
Success in accounting is rarely the result of a single breakthrough moment. Women who rise to leadership positions in the profession tend to share a set of consistent, repeatable behaviors. These habits compound over time, turning early-career accountants into directors, partners, and firm leaders.
The accounting profession has seen meaningful growth in female representation over the past two decades. According to AICPA reporting on accounting education trends, women have earned roughly half of new accounting degrees for years, and the talent pipeline continues to evolve. Leadership gaps still remain at the partner and executive level, which makes deliberate career strategies more important than ever.
Understanding and practicing effective habits for accountants, especially habits tailored to the challenges women face, can close that gap faster than credentials alone. The key question this article answers is straightforward: what daily practices actually move a woman’s accounting career forward?
Habit 1: Build Deep Technical Expertise Early
The first habit Barnes emphasizes is investing heavily in technical knowledge during the first five to ten years of a career. Women accountants who develop specialized expertise in areas such as tax advisory, audit methodology, or forensic accounting position themselves as indispensable resources within their firms.
Deep expertise builds credibility. When clients and colleagues recognize you as the authority in a specific area, opportunities for advancement follow naturally. Barnes herself concentrated on personal, business, and state and local taxes, which gave her a clear professional identity and a path to the director level at Pease Bell.
CPA career advice for women often focuses on soft skills, yet technical mastery remains the foundation everything else is built on. Specializing in a defined practice area, whether that is tax advisory or audit and assurance, gives early-career professionals a credible platform to grow from.
Habit 2: Seek Out Mentors and Sponsors
Mentorship is one of the most frequently cited career tips for women accountants, and for good reason. A mentor provides guidance, shares lessons from their own career, and helps you avoid common pitfalls. A sponsor goes further by actively advocating for your promotion and visibility within the firm.
Women in accounting benefit from having both. Mentors help you grow your skills. Sponsors help you get recognized for the skills you already have. The distinction matters because many talented women do excellent work but remain invisible to decision-makers.
Professional organizations such as the OSCPA Women’s Initiatives Committee and the Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance exist specifically to facilitate these connections. Attending their events, from breakfast networking sessions to annual conferences and local chapter meetings, puts you in rooms where mentorship relationships begin organically.
Habit 3: Invest in Professional Networking Beyond Your Firm
Networking outside your immediate workplace expands your perspective and opens doors that internal networking alone cannot. Women in accounting who participate in industry events, CPA society committees, and cross-firm study groups consistently report faster career advancement.
The OSCPA, for example, runs career-enhancing events throughout the year designed for women in the profession. These events bring together CPAs from different firms, industries, and career stages, creating opportunities for collaboration, referrals, and knowledge sharing.
Effective networking is not about collecting business cards. It is about building genuine relationships with people who understand your field and can offer perspective when you face career decisions. One breakfast event or conference panel can introduce you to a future client, a future employer, or a peer who becomes a lifelong professional ally.
Habit 4: Develop Client Relationship Skills Alongside Technical Skills
Technical ability gets you in the room. Client relationship skills keep you there. Women accountants who learn to communicate complex tax or financial concepts in plain language earn deeper trust from clients and are more likely to be assigned to high-value engagements.
This habit is especially important for women pursuing partner-track careers, where business development and client retention are measured alongside billable hours. Learning to ask good questions, listen actively, and anticipate client needs transforms a competent accountant into a trusted advisor.
Barnes’s career trajectory at Pease Bell illustrates this principle. Her ability to deliver quality tax advice is inseparable from her ability to communicate that advice clearly and build lasting client relationships. Professionals who deepen these skills across the firm’s accounting services and the industries it serves often find that client trust becomes their most durable career asset.
Habit 5: Stay Current on Regulatory and Industry Changes
The tax code, auditing standards, and financial reporting frameworks change constantly. Women in accounting who treat continuing education as a genuine priority, not just a CPE requirement to check off, maintain a competitive edge.
Staying current means more than logging the required number of CPE hours each year. It means reading industry publications, following regulatory updates from the IRS and the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and proactively discussing changes with colleagues. Accountants who can explain what a new regulation means for a client’s specific situation add measurable value.
This habit also feeds directly into thought leadership. Women accountants who write about, present on, or teach emerging topics position themselves as experts. Barnes’s OSCPA presentation is one example: sharing knowledge with peers reinforces your own expertise while raising your professional profile.
Habit 6: Set Boundaries and Manage Energy Deliberately
Burnout is a significant challenge in accounting, particularly during tax season and audit deadlines. Women accountants who build sustainable work habits, including setting clear boundaries, prioritizing high-impact work, and protecting time for recovery, tend to outperform their peers over the long term.
This is not about working fewer hours. It is about working with intention. Effective habits for accountants include blocking focused work time, delegating tasks that do not require your specific expertise, and declining commitments that do not align with your career goals.
Firms increasingly recognize that supporting work-life integration is essential for retaining top female talent. Women who advocate for sustainable practices within their organizations benefit not only themselves but also the next generation of women entering the profession.
Habit 7: Pursue Leadership Opportunities Before You Feel Ready
The final habit is perhaps the most important. Women in accounting often wait until they feel fully prepared before pursuing leadership roles, stretch assignments, or public-facing opportunities. High-performing women accountants take the opposite approach: they volunteer for leadership positions, committee roles, and speaking engagements early and often.
Jennifer Barnes’s decision to present at the OSCPA Women’s Initiatives Committee event is a clear example. Sharing expertise publicly, even when it feels uncomfortable, builds confidence, visibility, and credibility at the same time.
Accounting career success tips frequently emphasize credentialing and technical skills, yet leadership is a skill that develops through practice. The more you lead, the more natural it becomes. Women who step into leadership roles early create a positive cycle, where each leadership experience makes the next one easier and opens the door to larger opportunities.
How Pease Bell Supports Women in the Accounting Profession
Pease Bell CPAs has a long-standing commitment to developing talent and supporting professional growth. The firm’s leadership encourages team members to participate in industry organizations, pursue speaking opportunities, and invest in their professional development.
Jennifer Barnes’s involvement with the OSCPA Women’s Initiatives Committee reflects the firm’s broader philosophy: investing in people, especially in advancing women in accounting, strengthens the profession as a whole. Pease Bell offers a full range of accounting services, including tax advisory, and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most effective habits for women in accounting?
The most effective habits include building deep technical expertise, seeking mentors and sponsors, networking beyond your firm, developing client relationship skills, staying current on regulations, managing energy deliberately, and pursuing leadership before you feel fully ready. These habits compound over time and drive career advancement at every level.
How can women advance their careers in the CPA profession?
Women advance in the CPA profession by combining strong technical skills with strategic relationship-building. Joining professional organizations like the OSCPA or the Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance provides access to mentors, sponsors, and peer networks that accelerate career growth. Volunteering for leadership roles and speaking opportunities also builds visibility.
Is accounting a good career path for women?
Accounting is one of the strongest career paths for women in professional services. Women earn roughly half of new accounting degrees in the United States, and firms are actively working to close the leadership gap at the partner level. The profession offers clear credentialing pathways, competitive compensation, and growing flexibility in work arrangements.
What networking opportunities exist for women accountants?
Professional organizations such as state CPA societies, the Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance, and the AICPA Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee all offer networking events, mentorship programs, and leadership development resources. Local events, like the OSCPA Women’s Initiatives Committee breakfast networking sessions, are especially valuable for building regional connections.
Why is mentorship important for women in accounting?
Mentorship gives women accountants access to experienced professionals who can provide guidance, share career lessons, and help address challenges specific to the profession. Sponsors, the mentors who actively advocate for your advancement, are especially valuable because they connect your work to promotion and visibility opportunities you might not reach on your own.
How do women overcome challenges in the accounting profession?
Women overcome challenges in accounting by building strong support networks, developing specialized expertise that makes them indispensable, setting sustainable work boundaries, and actively seeking leadership roles. Firms that prioritize diversity and inclusion also play a critical role by creating pathways, policies, and cultures that support women’s advancement.
