Currently I am taking Professor Bradshaw‘s Fraud Examination class as an accounting elective. In the course we learned about the typical white-collar criminal and I believe most of us were surprised by the statistics. (I know I was!)
Maybe I have watched too many episodes of Law and Order: SVU, but I pride myself in being able to read others and anticipate who is the “bad guy” in a movie or TV show before it is revealed to the audience. Being able to read people is a valuable skill to have and, unfortunately, a necessary one because professionals in the workplace may not always be as honest as we hope they will be. In this respect, we cannot let stereotypes bias the way we view our colleagues and others in the professional environment.
Before discussing who is most likely to be a corporate fraudster, Professor Bradshaw prompted the class to describe the quintessential fraudster. In our minds, it would typically be the sinister looking professional who is either A) quiet and viewed to be anti-social or B) really aggressive. It is easy to convince yourself that the corporate “bad guys” are going to resemble the ones that you see in Hollywood dramas. However, statistically, the typical fraudster is not who you would expect.
Here are the characteristics of a typical corporate fraudster:
Male, aged 35+
Strong accounting/finance background and above average education
In a position of trust
Stable family/personal situation
Good psychological health
No criminal record
These characteristics, as Professor Bradshaw humorously pointed out, are more believable to be descriptive of the average McCombs professor, not a white collar criminal.
I would highly recommend Professor Bradshaw’s class if you are looking for an accounting elective to take! And remember to be wary in the workplace- the fraudster may not be who you most expect!
“It’s never the person you most suspect. It’s also never the person you least suspect, since anyone with half a brain would suspect them the most. Therefore I know the killer to be Phyllis, AKA Beatrix Bourbon, the person I most medium suspect.” –Dwight (during a Murder Mystery on The Office)
Be prepared- It is nerve racking coming into an event trying to make a good impression on an employer. Being prepared will ease your fears, and let you focus on what you are there to do. Being prepared goes farther beyond company research, being prepared means also know your own schedule and accommodating your recruiting events so you are not stressed about how much study time you are missing out on. Being prepared also means being sure on what the dress code is, where the event is, and how you plan on getting there, so you can show up on time and ready. Unfortunately, in both accounting and recruiting, the devil is in the details, and taking the time to account for them will help you not sweat the small stuff.
Be inquisitive- Ask lots of questions at these events. You have questions, and they have answers, so be sure to ask away. Asking questions about the work you are going to see as first year staff, advancement opportunities, training and mentorship programs, etc., shows you are serious about pursuing a career with the company.
Be eager- Every year, I see students at events for a firm they have firmly decided to not accept an offer that are completely disengaged and are making no attempt at hiding this decision. Even if you have decided to not go with a firm, if you find yourself at that firm’s event make an effort to seem be eager to be there because this network you establish in recruiting will follow you during your professional career. Not to mention recruiters talk to each other. In my experience, eagerness is the quality that translates to recruiters the most and is the hardest to fake. Recruiters remember people that are eager to be at their events.
Be professional-You will bond with recruiters, but remember they aren’t necessarily your friends. Avoid topics and language that would make a future employer hesitate to put you in front of a client. Again, remember that recruiters talk, so things can carry across firm lines.
Be yourself- This is the most important “Be” by far. The whole purpose of recruiting is to see where your personality and skill set will fit the best. It’s impossible to determine if you fit if you are not being yourself, and being whoever you think recruiters want you to be.
LinkedIn is the quintessential social network for the modern business professional. It is basically Facebook for the business world, right? I have to admit that I do not use it to its potential, but there is a profusion of bloggers and would-be self-helpers who optimistically point out the 10 steps to success with LinkedIn. They would have you believe that it is the key to an effective business networking effort, but I am not sure I completely buy it.
Personally, I believe that the key to business success is personal connection. It may be argued that LinkedIn provides an additional avenue to connect with those who you know in the professional realm. Certainly, it is a good alternative for those who wish to keep their Facebook a little more casual. To me, you are not really making a personal connection with others on LinkedIn, but you are instead solidifying an existing professional relationship. This may not always be the case, but still there is some value to that.
Some argue that there’s really no point – they use it to keep up with old co-workers and may eventually enjoy its potential, but feel like there is little use for the average Joe six-pack. Further, this guy claims that it is impossible to forge a meaningful relationship with anyone on LinkedIn who has the ability or willingness to further your career. Those who are successful are not hanging around on LinkedIn waiting to give you a leg up.
Others, alternatively, point to the potential opportunities to be seen by recruiters who notoriously comb the site looking for an experienced new hire to fill voids for firms all over the world. Recruiters are known to scour LinkedIn for public accounting employees with a few years of experience, hoping to scoop top talent from the ranks of Deloitte or PricewaterhouseCoopers. In fact, that’s why I have kept my LinkedIn profile maintained – to be ready for when recruiters start looking for people like me. Also, the MPA Career Services team has pointed out to me that there is a Texas MPA network group on LinkedIn, which I searched around to get a feel for what MPA grads were doing on down the road as I was feeling out my recruitment strategy.
The reality is that LinkedIn does have some value, but I do not agree that it is some key to success. I still firmly believe that the ability to form personal relationships is the most valuable resource for successful people.
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a matchFind me a find, catch me a catch
It’s all about the fit.
It is hard not to be reminded of this classic song as recruiting season heats up. Though Fiddler on the Roof was referring to a marital arrangement, I think the analogy still holds true with recruiting. At the end of the day, it is about how a candidate fits with the firm culture and whether a relationship can blossom. This is one thing that I have noticed employers emphasize more and more during interviews. The main question is whether our values and personality align with theirs.
I like to think about this exercise as a search for our perfect match. If only there was a Match.com or E-harmony website we can use to help us in this quest, recruiting can be much easier. One only has to look at the number of personality matches and boom we have a match and a 90% chance that the relationship would end up in a lifelong state of happiness. But, there is none.
What I am finding out is that as much as I am learning about future employers, I’m also realizing things about myself, my career goals, the kinds of people I want to work with, and my passion. Just like any serious relationships, I am looking for folks I like and whose company I enjoy. In short, I am looking for my perfect match.
I am reminded of an advice I heard in a career panel once. The question many students ask in deciding which firms to apply to is how the first few years are going to look like. The representative commented on how myopic this perspective is and how much better of a question it is to ask how one sees himself/herself in the firm in 5, 10, 15, 20 years. His point is that finding the right fit, the right people, and the right match to our values can make us happier in our careers in the long run. Putting all factors aside, the crux of the matter is whether chemistry exists between us and the firms or not.
What a relief it is to realize this! Passing an opportunity becomes not so much because of inadequacies but simply a difference in nature and there’s nothing wrong with that. Ultimately, we’re looking for the firm that complements us. This takes the stress of recruiting away and encourages us to simply be at ease with who we are. After all, our personality is our greatest asset and the best matchmaker we have. Now, that is something we can definitely sing about.
You gain wisdom in your graduate year of MPA…along with a backpack.
Hello MPAs – I hope the semester is going well for all of you! I have recently started recruiting for full-time positions, which has led me to reflect on my internship recruiting and work experience. The benefit of going through the process again is that I can identify ways to make myself a stronger candidate than I was as a third-year MPA. Of course, I have more experience and coursework than I did two years ago, but there are also ways you can prepare outside of the classroom that will help you stand out among your peers. Here are a few lessons that I have learned since my first year in the program:
1. Read the newspaper – every single day. “But I don’t have any time!” – myself, as a third year. The thing is, if you have time to keep up with your news feed on Facebook, you have time to follow real news as well. As an accounting student, it is important to be aware of what is going on in the world, because events can impact our future clients, the standards and regulations in which we operate under, and the entire profession. A recent example is the Detroit bankruptcy and the city’s underfunded pension, which has led to pension accounting standards being questioned. We are not going to be able to simplify problems someday as we do in class and ignore tax effects or pretend that interest rates will remain constant – our work is going to be affected by market forces and world events, and we need to understand how these complexities interact. I highly recommend subscribing to the Wall Street Journal; student subscriptions are very affordable and will definitely help you make an impression.
2. Take finance courses. “But I want to be an auditor…why do I need to know about beta?” – myself, as a third year. I think we sometimes we accounting students feel smug when our fellow finance majors do not know how to record journal entries or build a balance sheet – however, it works both ways. We are missing a piece of the puzzle if we only focus on accounting. How can you audit a financial instrument someday if you don’t understand how the derivative was priced or what features it includes? Finance coursework will strengthen your skill set and will make you a more well-rounded accounting professional in the future.
3. Practice case interviews. “But I don’t want to go into management consulting!” – myself, as a third year. I am guessing that the majority of us do not plan on going into management consulting – however, we all plan on going into some type of client service, which involves the exact scenario a case interview simulates. Our clients or managers will ask us to identify problem areas and propose solutions, and we will likely be put on the spot. Case interviews help you practice organizing your thoughts and communicating them in a concise and coherent way. I recently did my first mock case interview, and while I correctly identified the problem and solutions, the path getting there was a little bit rough. This is a skill I will continue practicing, because it will help me sound more organized, confident, and articulate when I have to give impromptu proposals or presentations in the future.
4. Explore a variety of career options. “But I already know what I want to do!” – myself, as a third year. I was fully confident when I started the program about what position and employer I wanted to apply for. A year and a half later, I ended up declining my full-time offer for that exact position and employer and had to go back to the drawing board, because the experience was not what I had expected. The MPA program affords you so many different options, and I recommend taking some time to research all of them during the early stages of your career exploration. You may end up signing your offer with your original top choice, but you also may end up discovering a career path that is a better fit for you.
Career exploration is something I have really been concentrating on over the past few months, and I am excited about pursuing several different opportunities this fall. So far, I have decided on applying for positions in industry, financial services, and forensic accounting. I will keep you all updated on my recruiting journey – feel free to comment if there is anything you would like to know more about!
Currently I am taking Professor Bradshaw‘s Fraud Examination class as an accounting elective. In the course we learned about the typical white-collar criminal and I believe most of us were surprised by the statistics. (I know I was!)
