Though she doesn’t have blonde pigtails, a lisp, or 1970s clothes, Cindy Brighton Andersen’s husband once confused her with Cindy Brady.
Cindy and Jay Andersen both attended a recruiting luncheon when they were accounting students—she was earning her BS and he was earning his MAcc. Monte Swain, an associate professor of management accounting, had arranged the event, and a few days later Cindy stopped by his office to meet with him about it. Swain wasn’t in his office, but his research assistant, Jay, was.
Jay asked for her name so he could leave a message. Although she said “Cindy Brighton,” Jay somehow heard “Cindy Brady.” Months later Jay called his brother, Jon Andersen, also an accounting major, looking for Cindy Brady’s phone number. Jon responded, “There’s no Cindy Brady, but there’s a Cindy Brighton. Do you want her number?”
Jay graduated in 1998, and Cindy graduated in 1999—a few years later they got married. Cindy now works as an associate accountant at KPMG, LLP, a public accounting firm. She previously worked for Arthur Andersen. Jay is the owner of Valley Venture Properties, a real estate development company. He previously worked for Deloitte and Touche.
Their first son was born in February. Although he may have accounting in his genes, Cindy says there will be no pressure for their son to follow the same career path. They reside in Mesa, Arizona.
