WATERLOO - Emily Nolting says her family "just has numbers in their genes."

Nolting is a Certified Public Accountant with Bergan, Paulsen and Co. in Waterloo -one of three siblings who followed the accounting path laid before them by their grandfather, Ross King.

King practiced public accounting for more than 40 years in Sioux City. He served clients from all over the country and was a partner with his firm, King, Reinsch, Prosser and Co., for 33 years. But none of his three children chose to follow in his footsteps.

It never bothered King that his children, David, Robert and Susan Lantz elected to follow different paths. "I think young people should do what they want to, and if they like accounting, that's fine," he said. But he was happy to encourage his only three grandchildren to pursue the career.

"I told them that accounting was a good background, and they didn't have to necessarily go into public accounting with that degree," said King. All three grandchildren followed King's advice, and all three pursued their accounting degrees at the University of Northern Iowa.

Emily, the oldest of the three, graduated in 1999 and passed all three of the rigorous CPA exams on her first try in 2000. Although King told her she could pursue a career in any field of business with her degree, she chose the same career path as her grandfather as a public accountant.

"I just thought, he was a public accountant, and after graduation I just decided, 'why not give that a try?'" said Emily.

As the family's only accountant before he retired in 1988, King did his family's taxes every year. Now that he has retired, that torch has been passed on to Emily.

"I used to do the taxes for my boys and Susan, but Emily's the tax expert in the family now," said King.

Steven, who is two years younger than Emily, received plenty of advice from his older sister. Along with asking Emily the standard accounting questions, he even job-shadowed her a few times at Bergan, Paulsen and Co.

"When he was in school, he would ask me if he should do it, and what jobs he could pursue after he graduated," Emily said.

Steven decided not to follow the public accounting route and instead went to work for AEGON USA in Cedar Rapids. Meanwhile, Andrew is finishing up his degree at UNI, but has not decided what path he will follow. But he said he is planning to take the CPA exams and get his certification, just like his older siblings.

Emily said she has grown closer to her grandfather since entering the world of public accounting.

"He's definitely proud of us, and whenever I see him, the first thing he asks me is what kind of projects I'm working on," said Emily. "And he's always given me insight. We can sit down and talk about accounting forever."

Andrew said his grandfather actually tried to talk him out of going into accounting at first. He told Andrew that his personality might not be suited for a career in accounting, but once his grandson passed the challenging Intermediate Accounting I and II courses at UNI, his grandfather conceded. In fact, after it was clear Andrew would be the third accountant in the family, King tried to draw him in even farther.

"He always talked about accounting. He even tried to get us all to read some accounting magazine," Andrew said with a chuckle.

Even if Andrew does not follow the exact path that his grandfather walked, King's legacy as an accountant will live on. But it might be too early to tell if King's great-grandchildren, Emily's sons Jack and Avery, will also inherit the numbers gene.

Contact Drew Andersen at (319) 291-1418 or drew.andersen@wcfcourier.com.