Life at Equity Methods: Boxian

Boxian Kolb

Boxian Kolb

Associate Director, Financial Reporting Services

Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business
Master of Accountancy

"The beauty about working at Equity Methods is that there’s no limit to the learning and development opportunities here."

The beauty about working at Equity Methods is that there’s no limit to the learning and development opportunities here. If you’re interested, there are tons of opportunities for you to hone all kinds of skills—leadership, negotiation, and more. As a result, most people end up with a good variety of competencies.

Here at Equity Methods, you’ll use all of them. Early on, the focus is typically more on the analytical skills side of things. By that, I mean things like complex problem-solving and time management with multiple projects. And then, from my experience, you start to work on communication skills. That includes talking to clients, managing their expectations, and handling tricky situations. From there, you move on to mentoring people and helping them grow. That’s a whole other game, requiring a different set of skills.

And those are skills that are needed pretty much everywhere, whatever role you’re in, whether you’re working for a small company or a large company.

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Even in my personal life, I use many of the skills that I pick up at work. If I have an emergency, I don’t panic. Instead, I stay calm and logical. I focus on my next steps and the support systems I need. Taking care of my family is another example. If I need to travel or complete a challenging project, how do I let them know that work will take up more of my time while maintaining that they are still a priority? It takes patience and communication, capabilities I developed from work.

"There are times that I need to prioritize family, and if that’s the case I’ll let my team know. Equity Methods is always very understanding."

When I first started thinking about having a child, I worried about my career because the consulting lifestyle can be demanding. Raising children is just as demanding. I have to make a lot of important family decisions, and I’m comfortable doing so because I’m used to handling so many different situations at work, whether internally or in client service. There are times that I need to prioritize family, and if that’s the case I’ll let my team know. Equity Methods is always very understanding.

My schedule isn’t fixed, so I have the flexibility to handle ad hoc situations. If my daughter needs an earlier pickup during the day, I can usually do it. If she’s not feeling well, I can stay home with her. And if I want to spend time with her before she goes to bed, I’ll leave the office earlier. If there’s anything I need to wrap up at work, I’ll just do it from home later in the evening. If I have to travel or I’m heading into a busy period at work, I’ll let my family know so we can plan ahead.

"You have to want to be challenged, learn more, and accomplish more."

To succeed in consulting, you need a service-oriented mindset. Much of this job is driven by clients, their needs, and the problems they have to solve. If a client has a time-sensitive issue, we have to be ready to pivot to meet their needs. And by the way, that’s how we approach one another internally. Every one of us is serving others—our leaders, teams, direct reports, stakeholders in other groups and functions.

One more thing. It’s important to be internally motivated. You have to want to be challenged, learn more, and accomplish more. Between that and having the right mindset, you can be very successful at Equity Methods.

 

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