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There's nothing quite as satisfying as finding your niche in life. Some careers start early, as if pre-ordained. Others evolve and unfold later in life-allowing themselves to bank real life experience before finishing college or choosing a profession. In the end, it doesn't really matter which road you take, says Catherine Skiles, a Pikes Peak region CPA who opened her own private practice a year ago after fifteen years in public accounting. She must be right: In her first year as CEO of her own private practice, Skiles has already discovered that professional skills plus passion and focus leads to financial success.
That philosophy may be heartening to hundreds of Colorado Springs employees facing recent layoffs from large corporations. "I just talked with one of my clients who lost his job due to down-sizing at age 40," said Skiles. "He still has 40 or 50 years of his life ahead-he can do anything he wants if he sets his mind to it." Those are not empty words from a woman who found herself considered almost "over the hill" as a thirty-year-old when applying for a job with Big Eight accounting firms in the 1980s.
Skiles, who spent the first ten years of her career as a manager in the insurance industry before moving into public accounting, discovered that her preference for statistics and analysis enabled her to set up and manage the firm's audit and collections operation. At the same time, she also decided to finish college, getting her B.S.B.A at Robert Morris College and an M.B.A at Duquesne University-all while serving as her family's breadwinner.
Following two years with a private accounting firm in Pennsylvania, Skiles moved to Colorado in 1988...