Careers

I work as part of a team of 20-30 people in Audit, primarily at the North American level in the manufacturing industry. I assign responsibilities, supervise and develop staff, and monitor engagement budgets. I'm also a national training instructor in the U.S. firm. Days can be different, though generally I'm prioritizing projects, and moving them forward, which involves extensive communication within KPMG and with the clients I serve. I'm based at the U.S. firm's office in Atlanta, Georgia, though I mostly work at client locations and sometimes work remotely.

What attracted you to KPMG?

I had a chance to go online and read about the organization's core values and they lined up pretty well with my own core values. Once I got a chance to meet the people, I was very impressed. I think overall I saw KPMG as an opportunity to be a part of a winning team that I could contribute to.

What advice and support have you received?

There's been a host of folks at various levels within my member firm that have taken an interest in me and really given me good insight that I can use to propel my career ahead. So I've been able to leverage off the knowledge that they've given me and to act on it, and it's worked out well for me.

Does KPMG support your charitable work?

In the past I've been a mentor to a local elementary child - in terms of just giving support, advice, mentoring, just kind of being a person they can look up to. The other charitable organization that probably hits most close to home is the American Heart Association. I got involved with that organization particularly, a few years back, because of my son. My son was born with two heart defects and, just through learning about the different resources, really drove me to be a part of the American Heart Association. And the U.S. firm's been great - and people within the firm have been great - in terms of supporting not only the American Heart Association but me personally.

How can someone get the most out of working at KPMG?

The advice that I would give to candidates and other people that are interested in KPMG is to definitely be career orientated, be able to map out a plan, set up short-term plans as well as long-term plans relative to where you want to be both professionally and in life. Think "big picture". Another key point: is being able to maintain a work-life balance, set priorities, plan ahead and time manage. The way that I defined work-life balance as a 19-year old intern and University student is very different for me today with a wife, a son, and another baby on the way. However, my drive to be successful in work and in life has remained unchanged.

Have you made use of KPMG's flexible working hours?

KPMG has in place both formal and informal flexible working arrangements that they use to assist individuals and make work/life balance more effective in our lives. For instance, there are informal arrangements that you can work out at the engagement level such that you can work from home, work from the client, work from our local office. Also in the summer times, at least locally, the U.S. firm has rolled out what they've called a "jump start" program. Essentially the purpose of that program is to allow individuals to more or less front load their hours in the work week such that you can leave on Friday at a reasonable time and get a "jump start" on the weekend.