Woman in finance

As I continue to grow into different roles in the finance profession, I start to notice that there are fewer and fewer women at the top. As a woman, I have different interests then men, thus, it's harder for me to form the bonds necessary to make contacts throughout the finance world. These contacts are important as you move up in organizations. I'm not angry or frustrated because I am moving up and being treated with respect in my profession. I just think it's important to realize that many finance positions are held by men and a woman needs to be prepared for that when they go into this profession. It will be hard, but women are slowly making their way into all sorts of upper level positions and making it easier for those of us that come later. Sometimes it just makes me work that much harder to prove I'm just as capable. :)

Being Social

When most people think of accountants, they think of a person with glasses that sits behind a desk all day crunching numbers. While that may be true in some accounting jobs, that is not the case of an internal or external auditor. This type of job requires that you be the type of person who can talk to anyone.

The job of an auditor is to get the information they need from people in order to ensure the company is reporting numbers and processes correctly. We talk to purchasing, sales, finance, executives, advertising, etc. There is not an area of a company that we do not come into contact with. As there are different types of people in all of these positions, an auditor needs to be able to relate to all.

I've found that if you talk to a client or another department, it always helps to start the conversation about something outside of work that you both can relate to. Whether it's sports, people's children, a show that was on the night before, etc. If you come off as friendly, they are more likely to help you get what you need. It also helps because you can make a lot of great contacts this way and maybe a friend or two before you're done.

So if you are interested in accounting, but are afraid of the types of jobs and the stigma attached, remember that auditing is very different. You're social everyday, make great connections and have great opportunities in your career.

Until next time!

Home Office

Today is an end to our first week back in the office after a two-week audit in the field. It's quarter time, so we've been getting special projects from different areas in the company to complete before it's given to our external auditors. This is a nice break from what we do in the field and it gives us a higher level view of the company. We get to touch on so many different aspects of operations and finance that we really do learn a lot about our industry. We're also smack in the middle of doing our Home Office Sarbanes Cycles. This probably sounds a lot like Public Accounting, which it is. This role that I'm in is a good transition from Public accounting to an operational role. I'm still auditing but gaining experience in running a business so that i can make that transition to get more involved in making decisions that will affect company performance.

What is hard about my job is getting everything done at home that I need to get done. I only have 50% of my time at home so I have to fit everything in. When you are applying for jobs, ensure you ask the questions on how much you have to travel and really think of the impact on your life before you accept the job. I think it's fantastic, but you do give up a lot to travel. Delays, missing events at home, lost family time, etc. I do think it's worth it. My company is great about giving me flexibility when I'm home to make all those appointments and have time with family and friends. It's always good to find a company that is willing to work with your personal life when you have to travel a lot.