Lavon Johnson
FSO Financial and Accounting Advisory Services Senior
EY
New York City, NY USA
“You can’t let someone else tell you who you’re going to be.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationLavon Johnson
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
Growing up wasn’t easy—I grew up in foster care and was never given much guidance on educational or career paths.
No one wanted to take care of me and my siblings because there were so many of us, so my great-grandmother ended up taking us in.
When I was in high school I wanted to be a nurse, but my school shut down the nursing course, so my basketball coach pushed the whole team to pursue accounting instead.
Accounting clicked easily in my head and I was good at it, so I took an accounting internship at a foster care agency and then decided to major in accounting in college.
I got both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University—I ultimately chose to go to college because I wanted to leave my unstable, difficult past.
Advisors in NABA (National Association of Black Accountants) and MBS (Multicultural Business Students) gave me the insight and encouragement I needed to become disciplined in this field.
I found a mentor at Discover EY who helped me get a college internship with Ernst & Young, which then led to a full-time offer—he’s still my mentor to this day.
I currently work as a senior in the financial services practice at EY and am on track for a promotion to a manager position.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Certification/License
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Career
FSO Financial and Accounting Advisory Services Senior
I assist clients with complex accounting transactions and system implementation.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Numbers
Accomplishing Goals
Day to Day
A typical day for me means meeting with my clients for updates on how the projects are going and evaluating if there is anything we could do better. I work with my team to figure out how to meet clients' needs. Some days, I'll take a call internally to learn something new at work.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Network, network, network! Talk to as many people as possible in the field to get an idea of whether or not this is really something you want to do for a living. Also, by networking, you may meet someone who can help you get into a company you are interested in working for.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Teachers:
"You're not good enough and you should give up on your dreams."
Challenges I Overcame
Foster Child
Financial
Mental Health Issues
Interviewed By
Making it Balance
Paths in accounting and auditing
