Jean Rakich – 2014 Most Powerful Women in Accounting

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Click here to see the other honorees
of the 2014 “Most Powerful Women
in Accounting” awards.
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1. What advice would you give to female college students about the opportunities for women in the accounting profession? 

   The opportunities are limitless if you have a passion for your profession. It is very important to build a network of professionals that are male and female. The connections you build will become your strength and support system. I am a huge advocate of mentoring. I have had mentors and served as a mentor throughout my career. This has proved to be invaluable to me as it provides me with a trusted person to work with throughout my career and growth. I have also felt that serving as a mentor has helped my growth by continuing to learn from those I mentor. I think I often get much more out of mentoring than the mentee does!!!

2. What advice would you give accounting firms on things they could do to better retain and advance more qualified female staff?      

   I think diversity in the type of work that employees can become involved in so that staff can experience the tax, accounting and audit areas keeps woman interested so they can find their niche area. I also think flexibility in working hours is desirable to help obtain a balance in their lives. I believe that retention goes deeper by connecting with your employees professionally and personally.

3. How have you managed to balance your professional and personal life obligations, whether that includes family, etc?  

   Yes, I have. Thomson Reuters is a very diverse and flexible company. They are very open to a variety of different work schedules. My team is a mix of people located in Michigan and remotely. I feel that if you do your job and do it well, it doesn’t really matter where you work from. Thomson Reuters trusts its leadership team to manage their groups to maintain a good balance in their lives while insuring we provide a great client experience. 

4. How mobile are you regarding your work? How have mobile devices and apps impacted your productivity and work-life balance?

   I am very mobile. I use both an Iphone and an Ipad to be productive. I can use these devices to approve expense reports, time entry and many other day to day items that I need to run my department. We just rolled out a few more new features in our products at our Synergy 2014 conference that were a big hit with our clients to help them maintain a productive balance also.

5. What single piece of technology could you absolutely not live without, and why?

   My iPhone as it keeps me connected to the team. They travel across the United States and being able to connect with them while they are on the road to ensure they are where they need to be and they have the tools they need is crucial. I can also access my contacts, Thomson Reuters, business and personal apps all on my I phone. I use it equally for business and personal use.

6. What is your favorite professional mobile app, and why?

   I don’t have one favorite mobile app. I look at my favorite mobile apps like I do my group of good friends or professional associates. They need to be a well rounded and diverse group to help obtain the life balance we are always talking about.   I use a variety of apps on a regular basis. I use LinkedIn, Thomson Reuters apps, Workday, Fox News, Bloomberg, etc to keep up to date on the professional side of my life. I use facebook, twitter, cbs sports, the score, the weather channel, etc to keep in touch with the world and family around me. I use uber, urbanspoon and delta when I travel. My favorite newer app is Khan Academy. I am fascinated by their model and approach to learning. Salman Khan spoke at a TED talk in 2011 that was very interesting to anyone in the education field. I follow them with an eye to trends in the future. I love using apps as there is so much information inside of them.