In the face of detours that might have caused others to pull over and curse the road, Emily Klyachman simply mapped a new route. As life took her down many a winding path—from relocating to the United States from Russia at age 17 to false starts in medicine and law to miscarriages—she remained flexible. “I’m definitely a planner. That’s what makes it work for me,” says Emily, 36, who speaks perfect English with just a hint of a Russian accent. “Sometimes I’ve needed to come up with a Plan B, even a Plan C, and that’s okay.”

Today, a senior manager at KPMG, she’s been married to Alex for nine years, is still amazed that she “gets to keep” her 3-year-old daughter, Gabriella, and is expecting a son this month—on tax day, which for an accountant can only be called fortuitous. “I don’t give up,” she says. “Just because something doesn’t work in the beginning doesn’t mean you can’t make it work. Effort is a virtue.” Emily learned about perseverance from her parents, Yury and Maya, who today live nearby and serve as frequent backup care. To give their only child the best in life, the couple left Kiev in Ukraine for Brooklyn, NY. “My parents had tremendous faith in my abilities and left everything behind for me,” says Emily. “They wanted me to have more opportunities for an education and a career.”

Starting Over

Settling in Brooklyn was more than a culture shock to Emily, who didn’t speak a word of English; it was a profound life change. “I had mixed emotions,” she says. “Life as I knew it and all my friends were in Russia. I needed to start over from scratch.” Emily entered a public school in Brooklyn as a senior. “I was the strange new person,” she remembers. Her classmates virtually ignored her, so she became best friends with a dictionary: “I had to translate my homework. It took a really long time.” Her hard work paid off. She graduated with honors while holding down odd jobs in a retail store, an ice cream shop and a dental office. “I understood the sacrifices my parents made, and I felt a tremendous responsibility,” she says. “I didn’t want to disappoint them.” Initially, Emily planned to be a doctor— she’d make her parents proud, and she’d make serious money—and she was accepted to Brooklyn College. But in her first biology class she realized medical school wasn’t meant to be. Given a pig to dissect, she discovered she’s allergic to formaldehyde. “I didn’t want to give up,” says Emily, “but my professor made me realize there were other choices for me.” Plan B was to be a corporate lawyer, so Emily transferred to Pace University. She studied hard for the LSAT, but her score wasn’t high enough to land a top law school. “I had to think of a Plan C,” she says. She started studying for the CPA exam. This time, she passed with flying colors and was invited to interview with the Big Four accounting firms. She chose KPMG and started working there the September after graduation. “KPMG is a people-oriented company—a natural choice for me,” she says.

Opposites Attract

Uprooted and making her life as a transplant, Emily wound up finding true love with another Russian. She met her husband 16 years ago, and they married in 2000. Born in Moscow, Alex moved to the United States when he was just 4. “I grew up in the American culture,” he says. “Maybe that’s why I’m an entrepreneur. I live the American dream. I’m not a nine-to-five person—I work all the time.” Over the years, Alex has swung from one successful venture to the next: He worked in trading and eventually owned a brokerage house, which he sold in 2000. Now he runs a home furnishing and decor store in Brooklyn. The couple is a prime example of opposites attracting. “We absolutely have different styles,” Emily says. “His pursuits change all the time, unlike me, who sets a goal and goes after it step by step.” Alex enjoys being his own boss and believes that the real classroom is outside the classroom walls. Emily, a devoted student, loves working for a big corporation. She’s been with KPMG for 11 years, where she provides audit services to national and global clients. Currently finishing a three-year rotation in the firm’s national office in New York, she says, “I know that when people think of accounting they generally think of numbers and income taxes. Boring,” she acknowledges. “But I have interesting assignments, and there are changing regulations. I’m working on some difficult issues with teams from around the world. I’ve been fortunate to work on diverse projects.”

“She’s a great role model,” says Roger O’Donnell, the KPMG partner who has supervised Emily for six years and is her mentor. “Her work ethic is outstanding, and she has a real commitment to the assignments she works on and the people she works with, both up and down the team chain.” Emily’s loyalty to KPMG grew even stronger when she was pregnant with Gabriella. “It was a high-risk pregnancy and put tremendous strain on me,” she says. “I was able to share my concerns, and the firm and my team allowed me to have flexibility with doctors’ visits.”

Fertility Challenges

This pregnancy was especially precious because Emily had spent six years trying to have a baby. “When I get anxious, I get really anxious,” she says. “When we weren’t getting pregnant, we went to doctor after doctor, but no one could find anything wrong. Once I gave up trying and said whatever happens happens, I got pregnant.” However, Emily suffered three miscarriages. As a result, her pregnancy with Gabriella was considered high risk. Yet throughout her pregnancy she managed a two-hour commute each way to a client in Westchester. Emily worked until the week before she gave birth. “It’s easy to get up in the morning and go to work when you like what you’re doing and enjoy the people you’re working with,” she says. The 19-hour labor was worth every moment. “I still can’t believe Gabriella is mine,” says Emily, who painstakingly plotted a course for motherhood. She took a two-month maternity leave, then carefully scheduled her transition back, returning to work gradually, using flextime and vacation days, and building up to a full-time schedule.

As for child care—well, Emily had that figured out before she went into labor: She and Alex hired a caregiver to be there the moment Gabriella was born. “I wanted to feel comfortable leaving her when I went back to work,” Emily explains. After Gabriella’s first birthday, however, Emily decided to switch to a reduced schedule of 80 percent of her usual workload so she could spend more time with her daughter. When she returns to work this summer after a two-month maternity leave, she’ll pick up where she left off in her rotation, which she views as critical to her grand plan. “I hope to make partner one day at KPMG,” she says. “I’m trying to make sure that I get the best technical skills and can show people what I am capable of.”  

Dancing and Drawing

A typical day for Emily starts before dawn at 5:30 a.m. She wakes before anyone else and is out of the house by 6:30. She arrives in KPMG’s midtown office and is “at my desk with my coffee” before 8:00. Alex feeds Gabriella, dresses her, brushes her teeth and drives her to child care. “Emily leaves to-do lists for everyone—a list for me, for her mother, for Gabby and for the nanny,” says Alex. At 5:00 p.m., Emily’s parents pick up Gabriella and drive her home, where her caregiver prepares her dinner and plays with her until Emily gets home around 7:00. Next come her favorite two hours of the day. From the moment she steps through the door until Gabriella drifts off to sleep, they have exclusive mommy-daughter time. “We read, dance, draw—whatever Gabby wants to do,” Emily says.

At 8:30 p.m., they prep for bedtime; Gabriella is tucked in by 9:00. At 9:30 or 10:00 p.m., it’s on to a quiet dinner for Emily and Alex. “I often joke that my husband has no idea what I do,” Emily says, “because we leave work behind when we’re together.”

Despite their different approaches to life, they have many common interests, including travel. They’ve already taken Gabriella on eight vacations. They also make sure they spend a lot of time together without Gabriella. “We believe it’s important for her to grow up seeing that her parents love each other and enjoy doing things for each other,” Emily explains. Emily’s amped-up schedule requires lots of support from her parents— who are only too happy to lend a hand. “Gabby is with my parents almost every Saturday night. It’s Alex’s and my evening together,” she says. Though she crams a lot into a day, Emily says there’s still one thing missing: a regular exercise routine. “It’s one of my New Year’s resolutions. Has been for the past six years,” she says.

Adapting to Change

When it comes to the new baby’s care, Emily not only has a plan—she has a seven-page caregiver application. Her detailed nature can reach amusing heights, says her longtime friend Anna Danchak, who remembers a lunch date when Emily was pregnant with Gabriella. “Right after we sat down, she pulled out a two-page list with questions that she’d prepared to ask me,” recalls Anna, who had two children at that point. “But they weren’t simple, like ‘Which crib should I buy?’ She asked me why I bought a particular crib. I tried to give her my reasoning, but it wasn’t enough. She came back with, ‘I’ve done research and it shows that the rods of a crib should be no more then two and three-eighths inches apart.’ It was a lunch to remember,” she laughs. Despite Emily’s love of planning, she admits that having kids means surrendering to the unpredictable. “I like to have control over everything,” she concedes. “Before I had Gabby, I said my baby would never eat dinner while watching TV. Well, each child is different, and we need to adapt to our kids.” Since Gabriella isn’t a great eater, and watching TV gets her to eat more, Emily allows mealtime and TV time to coexist. “Once again, I’m adapting to the circumstances,” she says. “That’s the beauty of having children.” No matter how bumpy the road may be.

Styling: Sarah Shirley and Gay Empson. Hair and makeup: Sheri Darlyn Terry/Artists by Next.