Accounting Recruiting Workshop

1. Accounting Recruiting Workshop September 11, 2014

2. Tonight’s Agenda • Introductions, Welcome, Brief Overview • Deborah Medlar • General background on careers in Public Accounting • Career Services Staff • More about the recruiting process • Specifics about who’s hiring and the use of “Husky Jobs” • Preparing for interviews • Q&A with Recruiters: Jennifer Kane (Bernston Porter) & Lizzie Rahm (Clark Nuber)

3. Careers in Public Accounting Presented by Deborah Medlar

4. Careers in Accounting • Your accounting degree will open the door to many different career paths! • The Private Sector • Companies like Boeing, Amazon, Microsoft and many more • The Government and Not-for-Profit Sectors • The State Auditor, IRS, various regulatory agencies, etc. • Public Accounting • This is the topic of today’s workshop • The recruiting process for public accounting is very structured and it happens very early in the year (now!)

5. Public Accounting Firms • Provide specialized accounting services to their clients (let’s discuss briefly the difference between publicly held companies and private companies): • Annual Audits: • Of their financial statements • Of their system of internal controls (new with SOX) • Tax Services • Consulting Services • Although such services were severely curtailed by SOX

6. Various sizes of public accounting firms Local Firms: Clark Nuber, Sweeney Conrad Berntson & Porter, Bader Martin, Falco Sult Peterson Sullivan RH2

7. Various sizes of public accounting firms • The “Big 4” International Firms • Deloitte • KPMG • PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) • Ernst & Young • National Firms • BDO, • Grant Thornton, • McGladrey • Regional Firms Moss Adams, Clifton Larson Allen, .

8. Public Accounting Recruiting • Who? • Public Accounting Firms • What? • Recruiting interns for summer and a few winter jobs • and full-time associates to start mostly NEXT Summer • When? • September-December • Why? • To get a great job and explore career options! • How? • Through on-campus interviews and recruiting events

9. Positions Available Paid Internships Full-Time Professional • Audit, Tax, Advisory • Local or Nationwide • Winter 2015 or Summer 2015 Internship (full-time) • More than 1 year away from CPA eligibility (225 credits) • Audit, Tax, Advisory • Local or Nationwide • Summer or Fall 2015 start date • Will be CPA eligible by Fall 2015 (225 credits)

10. Process • Events (Now-October) • Meet the Professionals Night • BAP Meetings • Networking Events • HuskyJobs • Resumes and other documents • Upload NOW! • Deadlines begin in early October • On-Campus Interviews (October) • Occur in Career Services (UW Seattle & UW Bothell) throughout mid-October

11. Process (Continued) • Second Round Interviews (October-November) • Interviewing at the firms office • Offers (November-December) • Usually out by mid-November, varies by firm

12. Process (Continued) • Audit vs. Tax • What are firms looking for? • Resume • Cover Letter • Types of Experience • Interview & Professional Etiquette Tips

13. Requirements to sit for the CPA exam • View them yourself at: http://www.cpaboard.wa.gov/CertificateLicense/education_requirements.shtml • Generally speaking: • A college degree • 225 credit hours – resulting in the infamous “5th year” • The 180 day provision may be relevant to many people • 36 credit hours in accounting, of which 22.5 must be “upper level” (Our program achieves this) • 36 credit hours in general business courses (Our program achieves this)

14. Specifics about the process… Presented by Evan CarmanUW Bothell Career Services

15. How it works… • Prepare your application materials • Apply for positions online via HuskyJobs and company websites • Receive invitations to interview • Sign-up for interview times • Prepare your interview outfit • Interview on-campus (Seattle or Bothell) • Interview on-site • Receive your offer(s)!

16. Prepare Your Application Materials • Make sure to include on your Resume… • GPA • Graduation Date • CPA Eligibility • Beta Alpha Psi involvement • Leadership positions • For your Cover Letters… • Address which position you are applying for • Address how you plan to complete your 5th year requirements (ie – when will you be CPA eligible?) Make an appointment and come to the Career Center to have your resume and cover letter reviewed!

17. Apply via HuskyJobs • Log-in • Set up your profile • Complete ALL of the tabs • Upload your application material • Resume, cover letter, transcript, occasionally writing sample • Apply for OCI (on-campus interview) positions • When applying, you can select what application material to include with each application • All of the firms will also ask you to apply via their website as well. YOU MUST DO BOTH.

18. Interview Invitations • At the end of the resume drop period, the employer will review applications • If you are selected for an interview, you will be notified via email as well as in HuskyJobs • On the date interviews open, you will be able to select an interview time • Keep in mind that SOME of the interviews will be at the Seattle campus • Leave enough time for parking and finding your way, 1.5 hrs is suggested

19. Preparing for your Interview… • Resources • Make an appointment for a practice interview • Learn about the Elevator Speech • Visit www.uwb.edu/career

20. Preparing for your Interview… • What to wear • Men: Clean and pressed suit and tie, polished shoes, dark socks • Women: Suit (knee length skirt or pants), panty hose (no bare legs!), minimal jewelry, no perfume, closed toe shoes, small purse • What does this look like? Please see handout

21. Preparing for your Interview… • Mock Interview

22. Bothell Interview Dates • Interviews will be held in a room in the Student Success Center. Come to UW1-160 to check in. • 10/8/14 Moss Adams • 10/10/14 Peterson Sullivan • 10/16/14 Vine Dahlen • 10/17/14 Clifton Larson Allen • 10/20/14 Clark Nuber • 10/21/14 Bader Martin • 10/22/14 Rekdal Hopkins Howard • 10/23/14 Bernston Porter • 10/24/14 McGladrey

23. Beta Alpha Psi • National honorary accounting society • Requirements: • 3.0 GPA; Cumulative and upper level accounting • Significant service hours (community service and professional development) • All students are welcome to attend the meetings. • October meetings will have speakers from accounting firms talking about careers in public and private sector • Note on the sign in sheet if you are interested in BAP THIS IS YOUR BEST OPPORTUNITY TO NETWORK AND FIND A JOB! BUT BETA ALPH PSI HAS LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND RELATED OBLIGATIONS, SO DON’T JOIN JUST FOR THE NETWORKING!

24. Upcoming Dates • Presentations will be held in the Discovery Hall Building. Come to DISC-162 to check in. • 09/24/14 Falco Sult • 09/29/14 Moss Adams • 10/01/14 McGladrey • 10/06/14 Peterson Sullivan • 10/08/14 RH2 (Rekdal Hopkins Howard) • 10/13/14 CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) • 10/27/14 Bader Martin • 11/05/14 Sweeney Conrad • 11/17/14 VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)