Voice of Experience: Leann Balbona, Managing Director, Tax – Global Mobility Services, KPMG

One of the best ways to enhance your career, according to KPMG’s Leann Balbona, is to speak up. “It’s important not only to demonstrate you can do a good job, but you have to tell people, too. Managers can’t read your mind, so you have to let them know what you’re interested in for the next step in your career progression,” she said, adding that otherwise, they might not know if you are ready or willing to move to a position that might be a perfect fit. “Tell them that if they see an opportunity for x or y, you’d like to be kept in mind.”

That has been key to the ascension Balbona has achieved in her career, which she describes as both interesting and rewarding. Currently a Managing Director with KPMG’s equity tax practice, she has traveled around the world and worked in five different countries on projects. “The ability to be creative has always been important to me because of my natural curiosity so it’s been wonderful to have had so many opportunities.”

One of those opportunities that helped shape her career was being asked 15 years ago to be a team lead on an important IT projectto help build a web application from the ground up. Web technology was just emerging, and this role offered the chance to learn more about using this new technology to automate international tax processes and assignment management. After developing the application, she was able to spend three years on the road, traveling throughout Asia, Europe and North America to meet with corporate clients and discuss how they could use it to enhance their businesses and better manage mobile employee populations. To this day, some of KPMG’s largest clients, as well as the internal KPMG teams, use this technology to manage their mobility programs and deliver services.

Now, as Balbona is one of the leaders in the rapidly growing Global Incentive Compensation Services, a business in KPMG’s Global Mobility Services Tax practice, she finds it particularly rewarding to build a team, create efficient processes and deliver a service offering that truly helps clients become more tax compliant in delivery of equity awards to their employees around the world.

A great way to give back is to serve on boards.Balbona has served as a leader of KPMG’s New York office’s Network of Women for five years. This leadership experience with one of the firm’s largest offices helped position her for her current role as a board member of the Global Equity Organization (GEO), a non-profit trade organization.In this position, she helps guide the organization, which serves the equity industry from an educational and trade perspective on best practices and industry trends. “The current regulatory pressure and enhanced emphasis on corporate governance means that companies must be ever vigilant and focused on mitigating risk, especially since the mobile workforce can create unintended liabilities and multiple tax obligations. It’s more important than ever to proactively address and properly report tax obligations in an efficient manner to avoid unplanned costs for the company,” she says.

Advice for Early Careerists

Balbona’s experience underscores that “Big Four” firms are a great place to start and build a career, with their emphasis on a strong foundation in accounting, tax and advisory with a focus on both classroom and on-the -job training and advancement. There’s also a high potential for challenging and unique assignments including international assignments or projects, which are important opportunities to take advantage of early in a career. “The skills you learn at a Big Four firm will pay dividends throughout your career.”

She also believes that while mentors are important, sponsors play an even more vital role as you move up the chain. “I can’t emphasize the impact of having someone watching out for you, offering opportunities and championing you when you are not in the room.”

Building a strong network is key and it doesn’t happen without effort. Balbona urges professionals to build personal contacts by getting out of the office for lunch, coffee or networking events. “Others are more willing to help you if they know you on a personal level,” she says.

A Progressive Work Force

Over the years, Balbona has seen an evolution in policies and perspective that has increasingly led to the retention of high-performing men and women. She has seen that achieving work/life balance is increasingly important to all professionals. “Here in the 21st century, where technology has allowed so much more flexibility in our industry for alternative work arrangements, such as working remotely, I don’t feel as though there are gender-based issues.”

Despite these advances, Balbona sees the value of women’s networks after spending five years leading the chapter in the New York office. “It was a great way to give back to the organization and mentor our women professionals while developing programs to help them become better leaders,” she said, adding that she was able to meet people she otherwise wouldn’t have met, who have served important roles over the course of her career.

While there, she helped pilot and roll out a program that is already having an impact on retention. Intended to help younger professionals manage their career and life choices, it provides a framework for evaluating their progress and then setting actionable goals and priorities.

She also recently completed a one-year program at the Executive Leadership Institute for senior women, which was led by an external coaching firm and attended by both KPMG partners and managing directors, as well as those from equivalent levels from other companies. She found that mix provided an interesting perspective and the skills she learned have already enhanced her leadership.

At Home and Around the World

Close to home, Balbona supports Harlem RBI and YWCA and enjoys walking her dog in Central Park. She also loves traveling with her husband and meeting people in other cultures around the world. “Journeys come in all shapes and sizes, and you can learn from all of them, whether you’re at home or abroad.”

By Cathie Ericson