Get to know Stephanie O’Connor

Making family, volunteering, and serving clients work

Stephanie O’Connor is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Business Advisor in MNP’s Dartmouth office. In October of 2023, Stephanie was awarded the accounting profession's highest mark of distinction, the Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA) designation. This recognizes chartered professional accountants whose achievements in their careers and service to the community bring honour to the profession. We caught up with Stephanie to learn more about her and how she balances family, work, and volunteering.

Did you always want to be an accountant?

When I graduated from high school, I wanted to be an accountant or an orthodontist. I couldn’t imagine myself putting my fingers in people’s mouths for the rest of my life, so I chose the accounting route. I always liked numbers and found the accounting course I took in high school very interesting.

How has your career evolved?

I started with a firm in 1992 and got my designation in 1994. In 2001, I became the first female partner at the firm I was working for.

I’ve always been in the assurance practice and one of my roles has been quality assurance partner. That involves maintaining our file quality and training for staff to ensure we were keeping up with new and emerging standards. The firm I was initially with merged with MNP in 2017 and I became the regional assurance partner, handling quality assurance and training for the Atlantic provinces. Since we’ve merged, our presence in the Atlantic provinces has grown significantly and I’ve helped transition the new offices to MNP’s methodology and overseen training in the Atlantic offices to ensure we maintain quality files.

What did it mean to you to become the first female partner?

It was a big honour. Today there are four female partners in the Dartmouth office alone, so I think I’ve helped encourage women in our firm as well as in our profession. It’s not easy, especially if you’re a mother, as I am. But you can achieve it and maintain a good work-life balance.

I became a partner before I had children and people thought that was because I was very driven, but I just hadn’t met the right person yet. I did get married and had two sons after I became a partner.

Now you’ve received the Fellow designation. What does that mean to you?

It’s a huge honour to be recognized by my colleagues and peers for all the hard work I’ve put in over the years, supporting the growth of the firms I’ve worked for and my profession. It’s also recognition for all I’ve done for the community with my volunteer work over the years as well. It means a lot.

What do you enjoy about your work?

Many of my clients are owner-managed businesses, and that means really getting to know them and the intimate details of their business and lives. There’s a lot of variety in what I do and I get to be in contact with a lot of different people and play an important role in their lives. I’ve found that challenging and rewarding.

How do you juggle everything you’ve got going on in your life?

That is a great — and difficult — question. One of the reasons that I have been able to keep all the balls in the air is that I have a great support system. I have help at work with my partners and colleagues and at home with family, and a very supportive mother.

Contact Stephanie

To learn more about how MNP can help your organization, contact Stephanie O'Connor, FCPA, FCA, at 902.493.5459 or [email protected]