Accounting Alumna Fancies Life, Work in London: Olivia Fleck ’10 BSBA (Accounting) ’11 MAcc

Olivia Fleck ’10 BSBA (Accounting) ’11 MAcc may be in London for business, but she’s having plenty of fun. From attending the Royal Ascot horse races—complete with a Queen Elizabeth II sighting—to traveling extensively throughout Europe, the Peoria, Arizona native is living her best life across the pond.

Fleck’s overseas adventure began in September 2017 when she joined Deloitte’s London office. The opportunity came after her sixth year as an audit manager for the firm in Phoenix—and was something she dreamed about since day one of joining the organization.

“The Phoenix office is just a slice of a large firm, and about every two years they send people on a global deployment,” Fleck says. “You have to perform well and make connections in the office, and I always had my eye on the prize. This has been a life-changing moment in my career.”

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That career has been spent exclusively at Deloitte for the two-time University of Arizona alumna. Fleck even interned for the firm in Phoenix during the summer between her undergraduate and graduate school programs. But she admits she didn’t always know she was destined for a career in accounting.

“When I started at the University of Arizona I was undecided,” Fleck says, “and then at the end of my first year, I declared business. I took Accounting 200 and it all clicked. I liked accounting—it made sense to me and was logical, and so I started on my path.”

Her attendance at a Meet the Firms event held by Eller’s School of Accountancy was Fleck’s first introduction to Deloitte. Networking events through the student honorary Beta Alpha Psi, which merged with the Eller College of Management’s Accounting Student Association in 2018, sealed her interest in the firm.

“While I met tremendous people from various firms, it also helped to solidify that Deloitte was the right fit for me,” she says. “What I love about Eller is everybody is so passionate about going there. That passion, for me, has moved to working at Deloitte.”

In September 2018, while in London, Fleck’s professional dedication and enthusiasm earned her a promotion from audit manager to senior manager. She now oversees two to four audit teams at a time, manages their goals and deadlines and trains staff to ensure the quality and integrity of their work.

“We have auditing standards and an oversight board in the U.S. that have been prevalent for a while, whereas in the U.K. they’re just starting to get inspected,” she notes. “I’ve been able to provide value by trying to get the quality up to what it’s been in the U.S.”

Thanks to Deloitte sponsoring his visa, Fleck’s husband Jeffrey Cosper ’09 BSBA (Accounting) is also living and working in the city. The pair met as undergraduates. Experiencing other cultures has been one of their favorite perks of their overseas positions. They have been to more than 15 countries in their time abroad, including celebrating her 30th birthday in Greece.

“We’ve been trying to make the best use of our time,” Fleck says. “We do a lot of weekend trips. And London is such a melting pot of people from all walks of life who end up here and make a home—it’s great to experience the different cultures.”

When Fleck’s time in London ends in August 2019, she plans to return to Phoenix to be closer to family. But, she says, she and her husband will go back with a “little shakeup.”

“We see ourselves going back to Phoenix, but doing more traveling around the U.S.,” Fleck notes. “Living in London has really changed our mindset.”

Photos courtesy Olivia Fleck.