Going to School to Become an Accountant: Meet Shannon Healy Donahue

How did you get your degree as an accountant?

Shannon tells me, "In high school, I was good at math so I figured I would go for an accounting degree in college. I had hopes to become a CPA and go into private practice or work for a public accounting firm. At the time, I thought to myself, what are you going to do with a history degree, or a degree in science? I could see that having a degree in finance would give me options with a job in a lot of places."

What was college like pursuing an Accounting Degree?

Shannon started her BS in Accounting with a minor in Finance, at Boston University right out of high school.

"The first two years," Shannon says, "were focused on the basics, such as literature, psychology, history, basic math like algebra but then the junior and senior years became decidedly more difficult. There were at least 8 courses in math, and these included Intermediate Accounting I and II." Shannon said, "During that time period, I watched a lot of people quit those courses and elect some other facet of business as the higher levels of the accounting degree included Business practice and Theory, as well as accounting rules, the treatment of revenue and rules around depreciation and such - and they were tough. There were other courses such as auditing, and cost accounting and advanced accounting."

"During my junior year, the college brought in recruiters where they evaluate your grades and sometimes make you an offer of employment. I was lucky and was offered a job at a CPA firm in New York City. I worked there, and graduated after passing the CPA exam. The problem was, I hated New York City and missed my family, so I decided to move back to Connecticut. The hours that I was working were really long, and I did a lot of the grunt work at first."

"When I moved back to Connecticut, I had some family issues to deal with, and unfortunately I never got my license in Connecticut. I didn't do the reciprocity process and I'm not sure how my credits would stack up now. I would really like to have my MBA but I decided to have a family, and I could never get back to school, work full time, and manage my family."

With a BS in Accounting and minor in Finance, where did your career take you?

Shannon tells us, "When I came back to Connecticut, I took a job at Aetna as a Medicare Auditing Specialist. Later, with some on-the-job training and experience under my belt, I became an audit manager. My team would travel to various hospitals and look at their cost reports to ensure they were applying for federal and state funds properly and not doing anything fraudulent. In the end, I specialized in health care finance and reimbursements. Some people go into insurance and work for staff, other work for commercial firms doing internal reporting. I liked being out on the road."

"After Aetna got bought out I went to work for a few hospitals: Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT, New Britain General in New Britain, CT, and Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MA. I was doing some accounting and financial analysis for the internal hospital operations. Had I been an active licensed CPA I would have had to have logged 40 hours annually for ongoing education credits for professional accreditation but I chose not to pursue that path."

"I've been in business for over twenty years now, and was an accounting manager for a home health agency. Then I got a job as a controller in a community health care center ($3M) operation. I reported to the CFO regarding acquisitions, expansions, banking relations, and was responsible for producing monthly statements which he would provide to the CEO. At that time, I had accounts payable and accounts receivable staff accountants doing the details, and I would put it all together."

Would you have done anything differently, pursuing an accounting degree?

When asked if Shannon would do anything differently, she replies, "If I had to do it over again, I would choose the same paths but I wish I had finished with my MBA when I was young and carefree. With two children, 12 and 10 now, it is hard for school at this point. I'm currently unemployed and with the health care debate in congress, no one seems to know what is going to happen with health care. I have had a few interviews and have a few more lined up, but it is tough out there right now. I've had some luck freelancing and doing temporary to permanent work but I really would love to find the ideal place that allows me to spend time with my family and pursue my career."

Author's note: I am pleased to report that after doing contract work and looking for employment for almost a year, Shannon has recently found a full-time position near her home and is very happy to be working again.