Resume Help – Audit to Financial Due diligence

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    Topic
  • #201331
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I am a big 4 senior in one of the major US city trying make a move into Financial Due Diligence. I am trying to transfer within my firm and also been talking to other Big 4 firms.

    I have tried to spin some of my audit experiences for more finance and leadership points. Would really appreciate any feedback and suggestions on my resume. Please see the link below.

    Thanks!

    https://i.imgur.com/2qjtWsP.png

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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  • #772027
    jeff
    Keymaster

    I'm not sure I would have the soccer, football, etc on there.

    AUD - 79
    BEC - 80
    FAR - 76
    REG - 92
    Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
    NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71
    #772028
    ruggercpa2b
    Participant

    I second what Jeff said about the soccer stuff. Also, have you always been a senior? Looks like you graduated in May 2013 and then on your resume you have Audit Senior Sept 2013 – Present. I would list how long you were a staff for if you started out as a staff.

    I would talk to people that work in those groups within your firm to find out how they managed to get in if they transitioned from Audit. I know at the green dot they had experience requirements to transfer over to M&A. I think it was 5 years of being in audit to make the transition. If your firm has something like that they it would be of help to know that way you can figure out a way to spin it in your favor. Another thing is to look at other firms. I know one girl wanted to get into M&A but did not want to wait so she left the green dot for PWC I believe.

    AUD - NINJA in Training
    BEC - NINJA in Training
    FAR - NINJA in Training
    REG - NINJA in Training
    AUD - 1/6/18
    FAR - TBD
    REG - TBD
    BEC - TBD

    AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
    BEC - 8/20/2016
    REG - TBD
    FAR - TBD

    I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

    #772029
    Mayo
    Participant

    “I would list how long you were a staff for if you started out as a staff”

    I would only do this if your resume is light. Standard practice is to just list Senior. If you're Manager, then listing Manager and Senior is enough. No one really cares what you did as a staff to be honest.

    EDIT: I can't view your resume because the hosting website is blocked by our network at work. Mind pasting a text version?

    Mayo, BBA, Macc

    #772030
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    here you go Mayo: and thanks!

    EXPERIENCE

    Big4 firm XXXXX,XX
    Audit Senior September 2013 – Present
    • Analyzed financial statements to ensure compliance with US GAAP, statutory and SEC regulations and reporting requirements.
    • Assessed the audit procedure of spin-off transaction of a $2.9 bn oil-field service mainly in the areas like property plant and equipment and impairment
    • Advised a client on IFRS conversion to facilitate statutory reporting
    • Led a team project to facilitate work-life balance of an enagament team consisting of 12 members
    • Assessed company’s near-term liquidity and short-term prospects in evaluating the company’s ability to continue as a going concern
    • Supervised, trained and mentored staffs and interns during engagements
    • Built strong, collaborative relationships with team members and client personnel to foster a productive teamwork environment.

    EDUCATION & LICENSING

    University of XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX,XX
    Bachelor of Science in Business Administration May 2013
    Double Major: Finance and Accounting
    GPA: 3.86

    CPA Status
    Passed all four sections; certification in process

    CFA Level 1 candidate December 2016

    LEADERSHIP & INVOLVEMENTS

    Peer Group representative (Big4) October 2013 – June 2015
    • Represented peer group in sharing ideas and communicating directly with the leadership
    • Assisted in planning various social events for the audit service line of about 300 people

    Other involvments
    • United Way LINC, ALPFA

    OTHER INFORMATION
    • Language: Fluent in XXXX; Conversational proficiency in XXXX
    • Interests: Ping-Pong, Sudoku, Soccer, Football

    #772031
    Stilgoin
    Participant

    I would remove the ambiguous qualifiers- for instance:

    “mainly in the areas like” could be changed to “in areas such as PP&E and impairment”
    “of about 300 people” could be changed to “over XXX people”

    I would also try to quantify or at least qualify some results for the work you have performed. “Advised a client on IFRS conversion to facilitate statutory reporting” in order to do what? Or were you successful? Also, you might consider this- each specific task you have listed could have broader initial descriptions with these specific tasks as secondary examples.

    I agree with the others. Take out the interests- it is wasting precious space.

    Change staffs to employees- it sounds weird. Add “Continuously built strong,” Change “$2.9 bn oil-field service” to “$2.9B oil field service”

    Just my opinions- good luck with the job!

    Stilgoin, CPA

    There are enough critics. Be an encourager

    B | 62, 78
    A | 73, 67, 79
    R | 82
    F | 59, 59, Waiting

    Ethics | 93

    "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
    ~Winston Churchill

    “In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

    #772032
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    thanks stilgoin, will make changes accordingly!

    #772033
    Mayo
    Participant

    OP, don't take this the wrong way, but your resume needs a good amount of work. It's way too generic and does not target due diligence at all. I'll have a longer response tomorrow, as it is late right now.

    Mayo, BBA, Macc

    #772034
    HoosierDaddy
    Participant

    See what your resume looks like if you organize it using the headings I provided below. I think it looks much nicer if you center your headings and put the line above the heading title. Also you should make sure you spell out the names of your certifications and list the organization providing the certification. Also try and include an “IT Skills & Languages” section instead of “Other Information”. I'm not sure how much value the “Leadership & Involvements” section adds to your resume. Do you have internships or other work experience you can include in the experience section instead?

    Please see the resume I included below. Be sure to post an updated one so we can continue to give you advice.

    On a side note, why are you going for the CFA? I know alot of people talk about how great a certification it is and I was on that bandwagon in the past, but have you looked at the experience requirements? They are pretty strict and the certification is really for financial analysts, not accountants. There are tons of better certifications unless you want to get into managing asset portfolios. Check out the certifications section of this forum for some ideas. The CFE is a quick and easy one. You already have the experience and the exam can be completed from home.

    I would probably do something like this for your resume:

    ___________________________
    Experience

    Big Four
    – Bullet Point
    – Bullet Point
    – Bullet Point
    – Ect.

    ___________________________
    Certifications

    Certified Public Accountant (CPA) (Bold), State of XXXXX, Passed Exams,Certification in Process, Expected Month 2016 (right justified)
    Plan to sit for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) (Bold) certification December 2016 (right justified)
    Plan to sit for the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) (Bold) certification Summer 2016 (right justified)

    ___________________________
    Education

    University of XXXX, School of Business
    Bachelor of Science in Business
    Double Major: Accounting and Finance
    Overall GPA: 3.86

    ___________________________
    IT Skills & Languages

    IT Skills: • SAP, Great Plains, PeopleSoft, QuickBooks • Advanced User in MS Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook • Lotus Notes • SQL Queries
    Languages: Fluent speaker of English, Conversational Speaker in XXXXXX

    ___________________________
    Leadership & Community Service

    -Spell out the abbreviations included in this section
    (this section could probably be limited to just one line and add more experience instead.

    Hope this helps!

    -Passed all four sections of CPA exam in 2010 using Becker.
    -Former Seasonal Audit Senior with Big Four accounting firm.
    -Plan to sit for Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)

    #772035
    jm962011
    Participant

    Can you make the changes and post it again?

    1. I would add the industries that your clients have been in as I think some industries over others are seeing the M&A activity so that might help. (It'll help if the clients you have serviced are in those M&A industries). I also say this because US GAAP/STAT/SEC regs and reporting requirements are different from industry to industry. For example, a software company might have to pay special attention to their revenue accounting whereas a retail company wouldn't but that same retail company might be worried about how to account for gift cards.

    For example…
    – Analyzed financial statements FOR INSURANCE CLIENT to ensure compliance with US GAAP, statutory and SEC regulations and reporting requirements.
    – Advised MANUFACTURING? client on IFRS conversion to facilitate statutory reporting
    – Assessed RETAIL company’s near-term liquidity and short-term prospects in evaluating the company’s ability to continue as a going concern

    2. Move this bullet point to the bottom of Big 4 firm because I think you should organize your bullet points so that the analytic stuff is on top and the admin/managing people stuff is next

    -Led a team project to facilitate work-life balance of an engagement team consisting of 12 members

    3. I agree with Stilgoin's comment “Change “$2.9 bn oil-field service” to “$2.9B oil field service””… use the word FOR $2.9B oil field service not “OF” because you used of before spin off transaction

    -Assessed the audit procedure of spin-off transaction FOR a $2.9B oil-field service in areas such as property plant and equipment and impairment

    4. General stuff: watch the spaces between your words, it looked like there were extra space in between words (analyzed financial statements to ensure compliance) or am I the only one that sees this?? Also, make sure your right aligned stuff for your locations and dates is PERFECT and use the tabs functions in Word to make it PERFECT. Please don't think you can get away with just tabbing over and trying to visually align the last letter to the right margin.

    5. Finally, a mentor told me to not use the same verbs at the beginning of each bullet point. That's right, pull out the thesaurus and start finding some synonyms using some different verbs for analyzed, assessed, calculated, etc.

    #772036
    gigabyte2001
    Participant

    Check every resume for typographical errors, spacing errors etc. (in the text posted here and the original, “engagement” has a typo in it.) Every time I see a resume for an Accountant position with spelling errors or other typos I immediately question the individual's attention to detail. If you can't/didn't get the details right on your resume, how can I believe you will get them right in your work?

    I know it sounds a little harsh and probably old-school thinking, but you do want to put your best foot forward. Often a choice comes down to two candidates and hiring managers like myself are stuck trying to find something to differentiate one from the other.

    In general I agree with other posters – eliminate the last line about Sudoku, soccer etc. Yes hiring managers will want to know about who you are as a person, but that's at the interview stage.

    AUD - 87
    BEC - 78
    FAR - 82
    REG - 93
    .

    B - 11/11/16
    A - 4/16/16 87!!
    R - 2/17/17
    F - 7/26/16 - Waiting for 8/23

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