Longtime resident becomes CPA partner

For most people, balancing a busy career with their personal life is a challenge all by itself. Some people are presented with a little more chaos to keep them busy, like Karen Stephenson.

But Stephenson doesn't seem to have any trouble balancing things. She likes being busy.

A 30-year Las Vegas resident, Stephenson became a partner at Fair, Anderson & Langerman in January after seven years with Nevada's largest female majority-owned CPA firm.

The chance to become a partner was never the reason why Stephenson stuck around so long.

"It was definitely the people here," she said. "One reason I stayed here was that they always supported me, and never made me feel guilty when I had to leave."

Stephenson had to leave suddenly in early 1996, when her husband Greg's medical condition worsened. Besides dealing with muscular dystrophy, Greg Stephenson had to be flown to Tucson, Ariz. where he was maintained by an artificial heart until he could benefit from a transplant.

"He was over at Valley Hospital and I was stopping in from work to say hi when he suddenly had to get on the Flight For Life and go," Karen Stephenson said. "He was attached to this machine for 30 days until he was stable and then he had a heart transplant.

"It was a hard time and (the firm) gave us a lot of support."

Her husband has since recovered fully, but the experience was just one of many that demonstrate the careful balance Stephenson practices between work and family.

"I knew I was in a very demanding business, and I chose to get into it," she said. "I'm always trying to find time to get that balance. At the end of each day, I go back through everything and decide what I was happy about that day and what I was not so happy about, and I do that stuff tomorrow."

For the last couple of years, Stephenson has had a little something else to divert her from the perils of tax season and long hours at the office: her son, Trevor.

"He's just the best thing that ever happened," Stephenson said. "The sun sets and rises with him."

The evidence of Trevor, who will be 2 in June, is all around Stephenson in her office, as no part of her desk is without a picture of him.

In a day when Stephenson might spend the hours from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. at work, she feels a little guilty being away from her family.

"You just try to compensate for it," she said. "This (job) can be very demanding but this firm is also very flexible. If you are giving to them, they will be very giving to you when you need it."