Hilary Cyr: “I live my best life!”
In our Employee Spotlight series, we’re challenging the myths that often surround a career in accounting. Read below to learn about one of our unique team members!
Myth: Employment at an accounting firm is an all-work-no-play life.
Reality: We each have our own way to find balance.
It’s a Monday evening during the thick of auditing season. So as a senior accountant on our Assurance Services team, Hilary Cyr is spending a late night at the office. Right?
Nope. Hilary is happily at home watching the latest installment of “The Bachelorette.”
Hilary is a self-proclaimed TV junkie and particularly favors the reality TV genre. The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, Survivor, Keeping Up With the Kardashians… they all provide a fun diversion from the serious business of accounting. It’s part of her concerted effort to balance her career and her free time.
Since she prefers an earlier bedtime, Hilary rises early to get to work so that she can get home for dinner with her husband, two dogs, and their cat. “I’m against going home and working all night,” Hilary says of her post-workday routine. “I spend time with my husband and animals, make dinner, and watch a little TV.” She values the importance of a good work-life balance, which includes healthy sleeping habits; she always aims for an impressive eight hours of sleep.
Hilary has been with James Moore since July of 2018. Her audit work centers primarily on government and nonprofit clients, which means working through state and federal single audit regulations. It’s pretty detailed and complicated stuff—although as someone who initially planned to be a calculus teacher, Hilary relishes details and complications.
She also knows that, as a public accountant, long hours are sometimes part of the territory. So yes, she certainly burns the midnight oil at times. Her clients are her top professional priority, and overtime is unavoidable when a deadline comes into play.
Hilary explains that this makes it even more important to prioritize downtime when she can. “I’m really rigid and strict when it comes to work-life balance, because it helps me clear my head and allows me to serve my clients better.”
To further ease the stress that those hours can bring, Hilary leverages what she likes most about working at James Moore—flexibility. “I can take a few hours here and there to accommodate family or unexpected events without worry,” she says. The understanding that life happens is a hallmark of our firm’s culture. Allowing some flexibility for when hours are worked goes a long way in helping Hilary and others to fulfill both personal and professional obligations.
And of course, there are Hilary’s outside interests that give her brain a much-needed break. Lest you think she spends all her time on the couch watching television, she also enjoys riding her bike around her neighborhood and plays tennis two or three times a week with her husband and their friends. She and her husband love to travel. And she’s active in the community, serving on the board of Generation Impact with the United Way of Volusia & Flagler Counties.
Finally, she’s a sucker for all things Disney. The movies, the shows, and especially the theme parks hold a special place in her heart. She and her husband head to Disney World once or twice a month. It’s an appropriate destination when you think about it; what better way to counter the seriousness of her work than with a little of that famous magic?
“It’s not just about work all the time, even during busy season,” she says. “So yes, I make time to go to Disney on a Sunday. It’s a great place to step back and enjoy life. And I live my best life!”
