Assistant Managing Partner, Indianapolis & Bloomington
Forvis Mazars

7:15 A.M.: First alarm goes off. I am NOT a morning person. The struggle is real. During the school year, my daughter’s schedule forces me out of bed earlier and on time. Snooze at least twice and resolve to roll out of bed by 7:45.

7:45 A.M.: Time to get ready. My daughter interrupts my makeup routine, and I pull her unruly hair into a ponytail.

8:15 A.M.: Hit the road. I try to go into the office most days because I believe a key part of my job is to be accessible to others; but I do love when I work from home as well. On the drive, I enjoy podcasts and rarely listen to anything related to my job. One of my favorites is 99% Invisible—their topics are interesting and fascinating. It often gives me that random fun fact to impress friends with at a party.

8:45 A.M.: Arrive at work, boot up my laptop. I like to take the first 15–30 minutes of my day to get into the right mindset and slam through some quick emails. This helps me understand if the day is off to a hair-on-fire start.

9 A.M.: First meeting rolls around, where I am working with one of our directors on her growth and development. One thing I love is connecting with people and helping guide their careers. We cover several topics, including family, her recent workload and the next steps in advancing her career. She has several questions about what her advancement path might look like, and we discuss options and opportunities for her to better understand her decisions.

10 A.M.: Next, I meet with one of my managers on two open projects. We discuss some complex tax matters and determine a plan for moving the work forward. We conclude the meeting and determine she will set up a call with the client to discuss a technical issue we are working through, and also meet with our internal resource manager to ensure we have the time dedicated to complete the project.

10:30 A.M.: I head to interview a candidate. I interview as many candidates as possible. Experienced hires are a growing portion of our new hires. It can be challenging to determine if someone will be additive to the team in a 30-minute interview, so we typically line up two or three interviews per candidate to gain multiple perspectives. I’ll meet with my recruiting manager and the other interviewers tomorrow to decide whether to move forward with an offer, continue the process or defer. My fingers are crossed this candidate will knock my socks off!

11 A.M.: First break in my day, and I catch up on emails. The company’s huge merger last June continues to have critical integration milestones to hit. I reply to a few messages regarding software conversions and review correspondence regarding an upcoming partner meeting.

Onsite visit to the new Forvis Mazars office in the Bottleworks district

11:30 A.M.: Today is an exciting day! Our office is moving locations next summer. Today, our general contractor has invited us (my managing partner, our office manager and me) to take a quick tour of the building. We drive over to the Bottleworks district (on Mass Ave. in downtown Indy) where our local interior design manager joins us. We climb up the five flights of stairs to see that the concrete floors are completed, but no walls or windows yet. I take some quick pics and videos to use in future social media posts, including views from our outdoor balconies. I chat with our interior designer and compare the floor plan layout. We are occupying over 44,000 square feet of space on two full floors. It has been a lot of fun looking at finishes, lighting, paint colors, and even things I never would have thought about, like the color and fabric of the ceiling tiles. It’s pressure-packed at the same time. I cannot wait to bring groups of employees and candidates for a tour. I make a mental note to coordinate with the INCPAS when they do their student tours to ensure our new office is on the rotation list! This new space will greatly benefit our recruiting and retention efforts. Our firm has always had a strong relationship with INCPAS, and our latest sponsorship is a tremendous opportunity to continue building that relationship and grant exposure to new candidates.

1 P.M.: We are back at the office, and I grab a quick lunch from the cafeteria. Lunch is one of my favorite parts of the day! I like to make my lunch hours dual-purpose. Sometimes I grab lunch with one of my partners or a direct report. Today, lunch by myself is a welcome reprieve as it allows me to decompress and think about nothing.
1:30 P.M.: A client calls, panicking about a lingering issue from the IRS. My clients often have no one else they can talk to about confidential business matters, so they call me to gain insight from our experience. We talk through questions and some misconceptions he has, and I suggest how he can respond to his CEO. I love helping clients and doubly when they appreciate and value the advice. One of my partners makes a quick pit stop by my office to chat about some things that cropped up overnight before we duck into more meetings.

2 P.M.: Log in to a Teams call with one of our newer clients. We have a weekly call with our internal team and the client’s team to review open items, discuss new matters and make sure nothing is lost in email translation. Especially critical in the first year is ensuring we understand our clients, their preferences, non-negotiables and how they do business. Managing a large team takes a lot of coordination and effort. We conclude the call with several action items from both sides, and assign responsibilities and a timeline.

3 P.M.: Last call of the day and it’s a heavy one. Leadership calls can vary widely across the board in terms of weightiness. The merger has significantly increased the number of changes in policy and new initiatives. These meetings allow managing partners to express our office’s perspectives on proposed changes. This feedback allows for more thoughtful decision-making. There is always tension when we have to balance firmwide policies that apply to everyone, while allowing local offices to remain as flexible as possible. Our firm values and respects the discretion each managing partner can exercise over their own practice. We cover strategic reasons for decisions made. The meeting ends, and I think about how our office will implement and respond to the information.

4:30 P.M.: I look at emails again and set up phone calls with clients for the upcoming few days. I include the client service team whenever possible. I also clear a few projects that require my approval and send corrections to the team.

5:30 P.M.: Pack up and head home. It’s my habit to call my parents on the way home, and we chat about their upcoming visit.

6 P.M.: Swing into the house and I’m warmly greeted by the dog and the sound of my kids racing over for hugs and kisses. It’s the sweetest 15 seconds of my day before they scamper back to whatever they were doing. They usually have eaten dinner by now. I look at the fridge to see what weekend-me meal-planned for tonight’s dinner. Evenings vary a lot, depending on what activities the kids have going on. Our household eats rice often, and about a year ago, I bought a fancy rice cooker that makes rice to perfection but takes an eternity. While it’s cooking, I prep the meat, and my son drags over a stepstool and “helps” chop veggies.

7 P.M.: Sit down for dinner with my husband. My son usually requires “second” dinner by this time and scarfs down two bowls. My husband and I chat about our days and whether the kids have behaved well. We are also in the middle of planning my first sabbatical! The firm provides a 30-day sabbatical to all partners and managing directors every five years. This will be my first, and we are planning a trip to New Zealand, Australia and Las Vegas!

7:45 P.M.: The kids take showers and start their bedtime routines.

8:45 P.M.: Bedtime for the kids. My husband and I rotate who puts which kid to bed each night. Tonight, I have my daughter. We read a book and talk about her day before I tuck her in goodnight. I stop by my son’s room afterward because he won’t go to bed without one more visit.

9:15 P.M.: I text a friend to meet for an evening walk. We walk around our neighborhood for some exercise.

10:15 P.M.: Return home and hop in the shower to begin my nightly regimen.

11 P.M.: I check my phone to see if any urgent emails came in. If there are pressing matters, I may reply or boot up my computer to look at things if needed. Otherwise, I flip on the TV to watch a show. I like to shop online or play a game while I watch TV—I always have to be doing something! I don’t watch much TV regularly, but the new season of Outlander is set to drop, giving me something to look forward to.

12 A.M.: I reluctantly flip off the TV. If I don’t go to bed now, there’s no way I can haul myself out of bed tomorrow morning!

JoAnna and her family	Ohio State football game
Over the Edge: Scaling a building in downtown Chicago to raise money for Chicago Youth Centers	JoAnna’s dog Finn

About Me

NAME: JoAnna Simek, CPA, MST

JOB TITLE: Assistant Managing Partner, Indianapolis & Bloomington

COMPANY: Forvis Mazars

COMPANY SIZE: 6,000 worldwide, about 300 in Indianapolis

MOST INTERESTING THING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO: Impacting people’s lives and careers and creating positive change in the community. I get to meet a lot of people and do a variety of non-accounting things, which brings a lot of fulfillment to my job.

PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Consultant at Ryan LLC. I also spent 12 years as part of the FORVIS Chicago practice before relocating to Indianapolis two years ago.

ALMA MATER: The Ohio State University (BSBA) and DePaul University (MST)

When I'm Not at Work

FAMILY: Husband, Drew, and two children, Ella (8) and Landon (5)

PETS: Maltese dog, Finn (10), who has arthritis, a bad back and two bum knees

HOBBIES: Traveling, enjoying wine and new restaurants, appreciating the arts

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: I am on the board of directors at Dimensions Youth Ballet, a small non-profit in Illinois. I also recently finished a three-year term as an at-large member of the Governance Council for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Advice for Students Considering the Profession

Accounting is one of the most dynamic and foundational professions for anything you want to do. Whether that is in public accounting, exploring private industry, or entrepreneurship—it is an incredible launching pad, and having a solid understanding of financial metrics gives you a massive leg-up on the competition. For those who enjoy accounting, you can impact your clients positively so your reach can be multiplied. It’s incredibly rewarding to get to work with so many intelligent, talented and thoughtful people every day.

Best Advice You've Ever Received

You are ready!



Do you think a day in your life would make a good addition to our series? Contact Katie Kirkton at kkirkton@incpas.org to find out how you can share your story.

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