I perform financial statement audits of large corporations. I manage and review the work of a team of 15-30 people. I also mentor a small group of Auditors to help them grow in their careers.

EDUCATION | BA in Economics, Masters of Accounting

HOW TO GET STARTED | My advice is to understand that it's not just a career - it's more of a lifestyle. I tell recruits it's possible they'll be working 70-80 hours per week at certain times of the year and they could be traveling 90% of the time. But, if they're looking for a fast-paced career where they'll learn a lot in a short period of time, then it could be a good fit. You learn a ton and have the opportunity to interact with C-level executives - which doesn't always happen in other companies.

MUST HAVE TRAITS | open minded, organized, analytical, communication skills, willingness to learn, drive

how I got started | All of the big Accounting firms recruited on campus. I went through a bunch of campus interviews and office visits and finally chose the company I work for now because it seemed to be the best fit personality-wise. Since then I've had a lot of really great people ahead of me who helped me learn the ropes quickly. When I started I spent a lot of time sitting at a desk using a calculator. Now I barely ever sit at my desk - there's much more interaction with my team and clients.

why this job?| I majored in Computer Engineering when I first started college...but I hated it. The only part I like were the business classes - especially Economics and Accounting. So I switched my major to Economics. Of course I had no idea what I was going to do with an Economics degree. When I heard about the Masters of Accounting program I decided to go for it. I think I'm drawn to Accounting because of the numbers - it's like a puzzle getting everything to balance and work out.

why I love this job!| I love the interaction and that things are always changing. It's exciting to work on things going on in the world. You hear about all these financial issues on the news, and my team is working on the ground in the trenches. Since people don't always have a positive view of auditors, it's cool when we really help a company and they realize we're not the enemy. Like when we help them with some new accounting regulation or we expedite our work so they have what they need to close a transaction.

my typical day| I check my email on my Blackberry before I even get out of bed. Since I work with people all over the world, I get emails at all hours. Once I'm at the office, I spend my time following up with clients about what's happening in their world, reviewing work from my team and doing technical or account research. As a Manager, I also spend some time dealing with performance issues.

what they are | It's stressful - you don't want to make any mistakes. And the long hours can be challenging. Now I just expect it every January through March. But I really like the people I work with so it's not so bad when you're all together.

all about growth | You can climb the ladder very quickly. You can move around to other practices in the company (tax, advisory, other industries, etc.), or some choose to take their experience and move to the client side in high level positions.

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