Accounting Career Paths
Workshop
Mike Paolini, Sr. Associate Director
Career Resource Center (CRC),
308 Alfiero Student Center
Common Industry Areas
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PUBLIC ACCOUNTING: Big 4 & Regional Firms
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CORPORATE (PRIVATE): Banks, Companies, etc.
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GOVERNMENT: Federal & State Agencies and
Military - IRS, FDIC, NYS Controller, NYS Dept. of
Taxation & Finance, Defense Contract Audit Agency, etc.
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Big 4 Public Accounting Firms are:
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young
(E&Y), Deloitte & Touché (D&T) and KPMG
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Major Corporate Firms are: M&T Bank, HSBC Bank,
Sodexho Marriott, IBM and National Fuel, etc.
Most Common Accounting
Service/Practice Areas
 Audit:
also referred to as External Audit
and/or Assurance
 Internal Audit: sometimes also referred to
using word “Risk” or within “Advisory”
“Risk” practices in Big 4 pub. acct. firms
 IT Audit: Information Assurance
 Tax
 Fraud Examination (emerging)
Description of Audit (External)
Service/Practice in Public Accounting
 Services
many publicly traded client firms.
 Provides outside (external) perspective (opinion)
on financial reporting practices of client firms.
 Opinions center upon level of compliance and
consistency with financial reporting standards.
 Standards defined by SEC, GAAP, FASB, IFRS
etc.
 Provides trusted assurance to client firms and
operates in public trust regarding veracity of
financial information reported by client firms
Description of Internal Audit & IT
Audit Services/Practices in Pub. Acct.
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Services many major Fortune 500 client firms.
Provides in-depth assistance to existing internal
audit/accounting staff, or functions as outsourced internal
auditors, for client firms.
Examines financial implications of operational efficiencies
or inefficiencies within each client firm (internal)
Recommends operational control mechanisms and other
improvements designed to enhance efficiency and
minimize financial or other types of risk
Advises management on implementation strategies to
optimize business practices/operations for best results
IT Audit does all of the above with particular focus on the
use of technology within client firms
Common Entry Job Titles by
Service/Practice in Public Acctg.
 Audit: Audit Staff, Assurance Assoc., Staff
Audit, Staff Accountant, Audit Intern, Assurance
Intern, etc.
 Internal Audit: Enterprise Risk Assoc.,
Business Risk Assoc., Internal Audit Staff;
Internal Auditor, ERS Intern, BRS Intern, Internal
Audit Intern, etc.
 IT Audit: Information Risk Assoc., Technology
Risk Services Staff; IT Audit Staff, Info. Risk
Intern, IRM Intern, etc.
 Tax: Tax Staff, Staff Accountant, Tax Intern, etc.
Some Common Entry Job Titles in
Corporate, Govt. Acctg. & General Mgt.
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Internal Auditor, Auditor, Staff Audit, Accountant, Staff
Accountant
Accounting Intern, Summer Intern, Accounting Co-op, etc.
Fraud Examiner, Bank Examiner (Govt.)
Accounting Financial Analyst (M&T)
Financial Accounting Analyst (HSBC)
Corporate Auditor, Internal Consultant, Corp. Audit Staff
Tax Auditor, Tax Auditor Trainee
Business Analyst, Financial Analyst
Budget Analyst, Loan Analyst, Credit Analyst
Mgt. Development Trainee, Officer Development Trainee
And More!
Key Desired Skills/Attributes by
Accounting Recruiters
Leadership: Student Clubs, Part Time
Jobs, Activities
Team: Class Project Teams, Athletics, etc.
Communication: Writing on Resume,
Interview, Help Desk & Sales Support Jobs
Problem
Solving: Resume Statements &
Interview Answers focused on solutions
Customer/Client
Service: Service Jobs
Key Desired Skills/Attributes by
Accounting Recruiters, continued…
 Well
Rounded/Involved: Volunteer &
Extra-Curricular
 Time Management/Organizational:
Ability to juggle activities on your resume
 Analytical Accounting Skills: GPA,
Academic Honors and Achievements
 Focus/Interest in Accounting: Objective
on resume framed around internship in
public accounting, internal audit or other
Get Ready Now for
Early Recruiting
Opportunities at Big 4
Public Accounting
Firms!
Summer Internship
Opportunities at CRC!
 Sch.
of Mgt., Career Resource Center (CRC),
Recruiting Hub at 308 Alfiero
 Mike Paolini, CRC Senior Associate Director,
Accounting Career Advisor
 Some Big 4 Public Accounting Opportunities
Recruited for in Sophomore Year
 Some Big 4 Public Accounting Firms, Recruit
Juniors in Fall (1st Semester of Junior Year)
 Resumes Collected Online Through CRC Website
 Don’t
What to do?
Call to Action!
delay; prepare a resume now or enhance your
existing resume to make it more effective
 Use CRC Online Resume Guide & CRC Resume
Templates, see link below
 Consult CRC Resume Tips page for help at
http://mgt.buffalo.edu/home/career/students/prep/tools/corresp
ondence/resume
 Submit
resumes via CRC Job Opportunities Site at
http://mgt.buffalo.edu/career/students/opportunities/jobs
 Consult
CRC Interviewing page at
http://mgt.buffalo.edu/home/career/students/prep/tools/intervi
ewing
What To Include on RÉSUMÉ
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Contact Information
An Objective focused on
internship in public
accounting
Education (college level
only)
GPA of 3.0+
Experience (part time
jobs, internships etc.)
Computer Skills
Activities, Honors and/or
Affiliations, Clubs
Volunteer work
A
What Not To Include on
RÉSUMÉ
title such as “résumé”
 Salary requirements
 A date
 Personal information
 The words “ I ”, “ Me ” or “My” or other
personal pronouns
 False information
 Reasons for changing jobs
TOP RÉSUMÉ ERRORS
 Spelling
and grammatical errors
 Typos (MUST be error free in every way)
 Sloppy disorganized format
 Poor use of print attributes
 Too much/not enough white space
 Lack of action verbs
 Inconsistent verb tense
TOP RÉSUMÉ ERRORS
Continued…
 Failure
to expand on community/student
activities
 Poor objective, does not define industry or
functional area of interest
 Failure to focus on transferable skills
 Failure to focus on accomplishments
 Inappropriate e-mail address