Lisa Cines is one of the few female managing partners among the country’s top 100 accounting firms, but that’s not the job she set out for. “I took an accounting class in high school, and I enjoyed it,” she says. “I was also thinking about being a teacher, but I decided that the really good teachers were the ones that made teaching their lives. I thought accounting would give me greater flexibility. I didn’t go into this to be a partner. I went into this because I thought it was something I could do part-time and have kids.”

Nearly three decades later, Cines, an expert on government contracting, focuses exclusively on the business of managing Aronson & Company. In 2005, the Washington Business Journal named her one of their “Women Who Mean Business,” and, in 2006, the University of Maryland, her alma mater, appointed her to the Robert H. Smith School of Business Accounting Advisory Board. She is a 1981 graduate of the University of Maryland, and joined Aronson in 1982.

Recently she talked with Mary Westbrook, for Bisnow on Business.

Mary Westbrook for Bisnow on Business: Ironically, you became an accountant because you wanted a part-time job that you could balance with a family. When did your professional goals change so that you dove into it full-time?
When I let go of thinking it would ever be less, if that makes sense. It was when I saw that my baby-sitter was doing things with my kids that I didn’t have the patience to do – the most simplistic things, pointing out the plane in the sky and sitting still long enough to do that.

Has being a woman ever presented any barriers?
No, but I’m also not one to look for them. I look at how I relate to people first and foremost, and so maybe, when there was something, I didn’t notice it. There’s group I was a part of where at the first couple of meetings, it was very apparent I was the only female, but over time, as you form relationships, you don’t feel it anymore. When I was named the firm’s first female managing officer, I didn’t even think about the “woman impact” of it all until after it was announced.

How many female colleagues do you have?
As a firm, we are probably 50/50, but at our partner level, it’s 25 percent female.

Why so few?
I think the number of female partners is reflective of the choices that women make at the upper levels as they relate to family versus career. Many women feel that they only have a limited set of options. We respect these decisions, but also try to make them aware of choices that they might not have realized they had through alternative, flexible work arrangements. We even have one partner who fits into the alternative work arrangement program.

Do you think you’ll see more and more managing partners who are female in the next decade?
The landscape will be different in 10 years. Close to 60 percent of the graduates in accounting today are female. How those stats play out over time is still a great concern because women are not going to stay at the same rate as their male counterparts, but we’ll continue to see more women as managing partners. It’s not about the opportunities being available; it’s about women wanting them and choosing them.

60 percent is striking. Do you think young women are studying accounting because they think of it as a work-life friendly career?
On the contrary, I believe more women are studying accounting because of its opportunities for a long-term profession, rather than just a job. I believe they look more at the professional advantages it affords them, rather than the personal ones, but I am certainly pleased when they come to the realization that it can offer them great balance as well.

What hours do you work? Do you mark off time specifically to be available to your family?
Day to day hours vary, but apart from the busy season, I stay out of the office on weekends. As far as family time goes, I don’t have a schedule where I allot certain times or days. One thing any parent of teenage children can tell you is that there is no such thing as a typical schedule. It changes from day to day and year to year. When we were a young married couple, our schedules and demands were different than they were when we had young children and different from how they are now as our children get older.

What was the most difficult period?
Probably my kids’ elementary school years, when they needed more help with homework and organizational skills. They’re a little older now—17 and 14—and they respect what I do. For me, it’s also about having an extremely supportive spouse. My husband’s schedule is more flexible during the day than mine, and he is extremely helpful when it comes to taking a sick child to the doctor’s office or accomplishing those irksome tasks that can only be done during work hours.

You say it’s not about women having opportunities in accounting, it’s about them choosing to pursue them. What are firms doing to attract and keep female executives?
The most effective initiative is to let a woman decide how her career needs to work for her and her family: Get her to be honest about what she is capable of, and then make it work. It’s hard for women not to just model themselves after someone. I always say, “Don’t look at what I’ve done. That won’t work for you.” The best thing I can do is encourage dialogue and help women understand that all these different factors are pieces of the puzzle.

Do you have a role model?
Dick Weigel, a manager when I joined the firm. When I became pregnant with my first child, I went to him with my concerns about what having children would do to my career and he gave me some very sage advice. He told me not to change my work goals just because I was growing my family. He said, if making partner was my goal, keep it as a goal and figure out how to make it work. That’s what I did.

Do you mentor others now?
There’s a least a handful in the firm that would see me very much in that role.

How do you find them? What do you do with them? Have lunch once a week?
They find me! My mentoring style is based on the foundation of mutual respect. What works for one relationship won’t work for another. It’s important to tailor your style to the individual and find the best way to reach them.

What advice do you give them?
Never say never because then you may actually have to come through on that. Stay open minded to the possibilities.

How do you recharge?
I read broadly, a huge spectrum.

Recommendations?
“Chasing Daylight” by Eugene O’Kelly, the former chairman of KPMG. He was diagnosed with a tumor and died in less than six months. He wrote the book as he was dying. It was quite inspiring, and it gets into life priorities.  :)

[This interview conducted by Mary Westbrook for Bisnow on Business.]