College Experiences That Helped An Audit Associate At A Big 4 Firm Succeed
Zachary's fraternity treasurer role instilled "being thorough" and "following up on things," skills directly applicable to the meticulous nature of accounting. Academic coursework, particularly understanding "how complex journal entries work," provided a foundational understanding crucial for daily tasks in the profession, despite not directly performing journal entries in the current role.
Thoroughness, Financial Management, Accounting Principles, Leadership, College Coursework
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Zachary Milano
Audit associate
Big 4 Accounting Firm
Cal Poly
None
Economics
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. He was the treasurer of his fraternity, which taught him to be thorough and follow up on things.
2. His schoolwork gave him a strong foundation in accounting principles, such as journal entries, which are crucial for his daily work.
3. He emphasizes the importance of understanding complex journal entries, even though he doesn't create them daily in his current role.
Transcript
What did you do in undergrad to set you up for success in your career?
There were two main things I did that set me up for success. The first was being the treasurer of my fraternity.
I think it taught me a lot about being thorough. A fraternity has many payments, whether it's dues or fundraisers. Being the person who had to keep track of it all made me understand what it takes to truly grasp something.
So, just being thorough, getting payments from people when they don't want to pay, and following up on things – that's what I learned a lot from as treasurer.
The second thing that was important is my schoolwork. A lot of people talk about how they didn't even use what they learned in college, but I think you use a lot of what you learned in college as an accountant.
It's not one-to-one, but in college, you spend a lot of time understanding how journal entries work and how to account for things. You don't do journal entries as an accountant, but knowing how complex journal entries work is crucial for what you do on a day-to-day basis.
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