By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

It may be unusual for a fashion major to find work in the accounting industry, but that's exactly where Emily Alexandria Burns finds herself these days.

The 31-year-old newlywed and fashion school graduate was hired by Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC in early 2010 as the firm's e-marketing and communications specialist. Burns, who grew up in Getzville, spent a decade in New York City, going to school and working for firms such as Avon Products North America and Christian Dior Couture.

She eventually returned to Buffalo, got a job with the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and founded the Buffalo Dachshund Club. Earlier this year, her efforts at Freed Maxick earned recognition from the Association for Accounting Marketing, which named Burns its 2011 Rookie of the Year. Now, Burns has found a way to mix fashion and accounting, writing a fashion blog for Accounting Today, an industry trade magazine.

Business First: So what does an e-marketing and communications specialist do?

Burns: I have a unique position at Freed Maxick that blends traditional public relations duties along with having to execute many of the firm's marketing functions and help to customize unique and innovative digital media strategies. My position requires me to wear a PR hat, a marketing hat, a special events hat, a copywriter hat, a graphic design hat, a teaching hat, a client and community relations hat and a spokesperson hat. It's great though, because I love fashion, so having lots of hats to choose from keeps me stylish and my job interesting.

BF: Why does social media matter, especially at an accounting firm?

Burns: Social media matters because it allows our firm and our employees to connect with clients, the community and even prospective job candidates in many different ways, in real time. It also allows us to showcase our corporate culture and pass along relevant and newsworthy information quickly to those who may need it to stay informed and aware of how it could affect their business or their finances. Social media has become an amazing tool for our firm, not only for marketing purposes, but especially for the way we interact with our local community and the world. Social media also matters to our firm because staying educated about it is a new aspect of our employee's professional development, networking skills and business acumen.

BF: You have a background in fashion. How did you find your way to Freed Maxick?

Burns: I lived down in New York for 10 years where I attended F.I.T., a fashion industry oriented college, and cut my teeth in the fashion world for the first part of my career. I had always been inspired by this amazing art form and global industry, and will always be a slave to what's on the pages of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. After ten years in the city I decided I really wanted a change of lifestyle and wanted to invest the next part of my life adventure in my hometown. A position with the Buffalo Niagara Partnership as their communications manager brought me back to Western New York in 2008, and a few years later a door opened up at Freed Maxick for someone with a unique blend of skills in public relations, marketing and knowledge of the Web. They gave me a great opportunity and I have really enjoyed learning more about the financial sector.

BF: Tell me about your fashion blog at Accounting Today.

Burns: My boss and I thought it would be cool to pitch the idea of my taking my surprising blend of fashion and accounting experience to Accounting Today for a blog about what to wear at the office and how to make an often very conservative field more stylish. I love taking questions from Accounting Today's Facebook wall to answer in my upcoming posts, and try to cover everything from men and women's apparel, accessories and footwear, to jewelry, beauty and even interview tips. Writing this blog allows me to really enjoy my passion for fashion, share my thoughts and suggestions with readers, all with a bit of an accounting twist to it.

Burns' blog is available at www.accountingtoday.com/blog/acto_blog/.