Straight Talk
Janet Brocklehurst was promoted from senior manager to partner at the accounting firm Goodman & Co. Brocklehurst is the first female partner in the company's Richmond office. She also is treasurer of the Richmond National Association of Women Business Owners Foundation. Title: Partner
Professional designations: Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner
Organization: Goodman & Co.
Previous position: Associate
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce with a concentration in Accounting, the University of Virginia
Career turning point: "It's been more of a career journey. Going into public accounting is where it turned because before that I was in the private industry." The novice accountant
"I went to the School of Commerce at UVA and graduated with an accounting degree. I went back to the bank I worked at during the summers while in college. Basically they had me working in the summer and during school vacations, so I had worked for them at an intern capacity for a couple of years. I went back and worked in their accounting department [after graduation] as a staff accountant in the investment department.
"In private accounting you do the internal accounting work for that company. I got really bored with what I was doing so I decided to go into public accounting. It turned from wanting to get experience to wanting to make it my career. I never got bored, and I never left. In public accounting you're not limited to working with one client in one particular area. You work on different types of projects be it tax work, or audit work. It's always changing and it gets you out there working with different clients." Firm evolution
"I went into public accounting 15 years ago. I went to a small firm, Charles M. Terry & Co. It grew into Terry Hagen & Atwood. They merged with Goodman in 1999.
"Essentially, I've been with the same firm, but it has gone through a lot of changes and a lot of growth. The merge with Goodman provided a greater knowledge base. Goodman is now statewide with nine offices in Virginia. Right now we have the expertise in this firm on any subject matter that we need to tap in to." The promotion
"It feels great to finally have achieved the title. I grew into the aspiration. Having the promotion makes me do my job better. It allows more freedom to go out there and be my own entrepreneur in the sense of getting new business.
"It obviously has added responsibility at the client level. The buck stops with you. I've already had a lot of client responsibility. It's just that last step. Public accounting has not been an easy profession for women to move up in. As far as my career, it gives me the ability and the credibility to move forward and do what I like to do."
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