A day in the life of a CPA: Haley Lyons

Haley Lyons was recently elected Pacific regional director for the 2024-25 National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). She was also appointed as chair of NASBA’s Communications Committee and as a member of the Relations with Member Boards Committee. Lyons is a partner at Kernutt Stokes LLP and has been with the firm since 2007. She is very active in her profession and community through her service on the Oregon Board of Accountancy, as president of the board for the Alvord Taylor Foundation, and as a school advisory committee member for Saint Paul Catholic School.

We asked Lyons to take time from her busy schedule to share what a typical workday for her looks like.

Morning routine
6:30 a.m.
The day begins with a chorus of "Alexa, cancel!" as my husband Greg and I try to silence our alarm clock. Our kids, almost 7 and 9, follow suit at 6:45 AM, and the morning rush begins. It's a whirlwind of gathering school bags, lunch boxes, and the occasional missing sweatshirt or coat before we hit the road for school drop-off at 7:45 AM. Greg is taking them today so I head right to the office.

Commute to the office
7:52 a.m.
My commute to the office is just long enough for two songs. I arrive ready to tackle the day's challenges…after I get some coffee.

Reviewing client’s cash project
8:00 a.m.
As the leader of the firm's Virtual Accounting (VA) Department, I start the day by reviewing a client's cash projection and year-end forecast. The client needs guidance on how much to award in annual bonuses. Today starts this way but no two days are alike. The daily work depends on the flow of our clients’ businesses as we are their accounting departments. Sometimes there are wires that need to be approved or board packets to finesse. Today it was projections (one of my favorites).

Brainstorming with a client
10:00 a.m.
I meet with a client tracking all their parts inventory in an Excel spreadsheet. (No shade to Excel because this girl loves a good spreadsheet) but this client has truly outgrown the ability to effectively and efficiently manage the tracking process this way. Together, we brainstorm how to implement a cloud system to streamline the process and make their lives easier.

Meeting with the VA Director
11:00 a.m.
Time for my bi-weekly meeting with the Director of the VA department. He lives in Detroit so I ask my obnoxious set of questions about the time zone, the weather, and the success of the Detroit Lions. We move on to review staff utilization for the last month to determine who has too much work and who has availability. We look ahead to new clients we are onboarding to figure out the right teams to service those clients. The meeting ends with both of us glad that we have interviews later in the day. The team is busy!

Lunch and more caffeine
12:00 p.m.
Lunch time! I grab a bite and drink more coffee to keep my energy levels up.

Interviewing for new team members
1:00 p.m.
The leadership team conducts interviews for a couple of open positions. The candidate pool is great, and we end the interviews feeling optimistic about the direction the team is heading.

Email triage time
3:00 p.m.
I spend the next hour triaging emails, sorting them into what needs immediate attention, what can wait, and what can be delegated.

Reviewing financial statements
5:00 p.m.
Realizing I never hit send on the email about bonuses (real talk here), I groan and send it out. Then, it's time to review a monthly set of financial statements that landed on my desk ahead of a Board meeting in a couple of days. The Executive Summary needs a few edits, but otherwise looks great for wrapping up and distributing to the client.

Wrapping up
6:00 p.m. Time to head home. As I do every day, I hope my husband got there first and started dinner. Remembering he had a business meeting, I take the kids to McDonald's for Happy Meals.

Catching up
8:00 p.m. The kids are in bed. Generally this is the time I catch up on a show, listen to a podcast, or pretend to read a book while scrolling through social media.

The “Elf alarm”
9:30 p.m.
It’s December, so the "Elf alarm” goes off, and Greg and I play rock, paper, scissors to decide who will deal with it. Elfie is successfully transitioned to a new spot.

Final reflections
10:00 p.m.
Bedtime. I reflect on my day, feeling incredibly grateful for the motivated, smart humans I work with and the opportunity to collaborate on shared goals. I love this profession and am proud to serve and to help my clients, giving back to a field that has given me a challenge and lifestyle that I love.