Meet Wendy, your friendly neighborhood CPA!
My husband and me at the Washington County Fair.
It occurred to me recently that although this is my website and I’ve been blogging for more than a year, I’ve never officially introduced myself or talked about my own entrepreneurial journey in this space. So, let me close out 2019 by doing just that!
Hi! I’m Wendy Kane and I’m your friendly neighborhood CPA. The first thing you may notice about me is that I’m not your stereotypical accountant. When most people think of accountants, they picture either a fat, balding, old guy with a green visor sitting in a back room surrounded by receipts or a stern-faced lady with a stiff upper lip, angry eyebrows, and no sense of humor.
That is not me. At. All.
I’m a geek at heart and have proudly proclaimed Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back as my favorite movie since the first grade. I love clever puns and corny dad jokes. Some of my favorite comic strips are Fox Trot, Dilbert, and The Far Side. For TV, I enjoy The Big Bang Theory, The Office, and most recently, Silicon Valley.
I’m originally from North Little Rock and now I live in Fayetteville. I graduated from North Little Rock High School as Salutatorian, i.e. 2nd highest GPA in my class. I then attended Hendrix College in Conway and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics.
After working a couple of different jobs, I realized that I wasn’t enjoying my work. I thought about the accounting classes I had taken during my senior year of college and decided to go back to school and explore a second degree. I finished my coursework equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in accounting two years later and passed the CPA exam a few years after that.
I prepared tax returns and did bookkeeping and payroll for about nine years. I enjoyed it, but I never really found the right fit. By this point, I was not only married but had three small children. Working long hours during tax season was hard on all of us. The thought of doing this for the next 40 years did not thrill me at all!
So, I quit. I turned in my last tax return in September of 2015. Prior to this, I had prayed to God: “Ok God. I am quitting my job in two weeks. So, I need an accounting job that uses my skills, requires my CPA license, allows me to pick my kids up from school, and gives me the opportunity for advancement as well as a sense of purpose. Oh, and is located not more than 15 miles from my home. Go!”
It was a long shot and a stretch. But I told myself that my God is a God of miracles. Could he bring me my dream job in two weeks? Yes! Did he?
No. My last day of work came and ended. I went home feeling somewhat relieved but actually more defeated than anything. I had no idea what I would do next.
I took some time off. I found a resource online that helped me work through some of the personal issues I had had at work. I had already figured out, with the help of my wonderful friend and therapist, that I suffered from perfectionism. This book, along with a lot of prayers, helped me learn to let a lot of that go. I learned to forgive myself. Through the whole process, I felt God healing me.
While I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do with the rest of my life, I did have about five different avenues I wanted to explore. One by one, God gave me the opportunity to look into each option. Only one of them worked out, for which I’m thankful!
In my work at public accounting firms, I had seen countless numbers of small business owners bring in either large boxes of receipts, or worse, no records at all, and need their tax returns done. I always wished that I could help those business owners get their books and records in order. “If they only had us do their bookkeeping,” I thought, “it would make it so much easier on all of us!”
Thus, Kane Accounting and Financial Coaching was born!
I love serving my clients and helping them navigate the vast waters of financial reporting and compliance. I love hearing the relief in their voices when they realize that everything has been reconciled, filed, and paid, and they didn’t have to do any of it! I love hearing their stories, seeing their successes, and becoming their friend in the process.
Owning this business has given me everything I prayed for back in 2015. It took a little longer than two weeks, but God is faithful. He’s good. He continues to guide me and bless me so that I can guide and bless my clients.
Well, that is my story and I’d love to hear more of yours. If my story and skills resonate with you, I’d love to get coffee soon and discuss how we can work together.
Our family at Lake DeGray