INTERVIEW ON CPA RECRUITMENT WITH ANDREA BRENNAN, TALENT SPECIALIST
Hello Everyone,
Below is an interview conducted with Andrea Brennan who is campus recruiter for Toronto, Deloitte. She has agreed to answer some questions that many of you out there may have about cpa recruitment. I hope it is as helpful to you as it was for me.
1. How many student do you recruit for your student
positions?
· This number varies each year and is dependent on our business
needs.
2. What are the kinds of experiences you value in the
students that you recruit?
· We are looking for well-rounded individuals who are doing
well in school, are involved in extracurricular/volunteer activities and have
transferable skills from their work experience. From a soft skills
perspective, we look for individuals: who are strong communicators (both verbal
& written), take initiative, critical thinkers, work well in teams and on
their own.
3. How many years of experience do you require for your
staff positions?
· The staff accountant positions are entry level roles, so
students are required to have completed their undergraduate degree and related
CPA courses, but there is no required number of years of previous experience.
4. Do
you recruit staff accountant from other industries other than the chartered
accounting industry? For example can someone with
experience in internal audit for non-profits get an auditing position at
Deloitte or do you recruit solely those with chartered accounting experience.
· Through campus recruiting, we are only filling CPA positions.
As a candidate it is the individual’s responsibility to show how their previous
experience (whether work, extracurricular or volunteer) will help them be
successful as a CPA at Deloitte.
5. I am currently an independent
student meaning that i already completed my degree and I am now
independently taking the 51 credit hours required by Cpa Ontario in order to
sit for the cpa-ca exams, since i am not affiliated with any specific program,
how would you advise me on securing a position from chartered accounting firms
such as yours, that usually recruit from programs.
· Our next recruitment cycle will take place in September 2014
for positions starting in September 2015. To apply you will need to
include your resume, cover letter and unofficial transcripts. Our
postings will go live towards the end of August and be up until
mid-September. If there are any networking opportunities available
through the CPA Ontario Institute or the alumni program at your university, I’d
encourage you to attend those events. Additionally if CPA Ontario offers
any resume review sessions you should participate in those activities, you can
also reach out to friends you know who work at the various firms to understand
their experiences with the recruitment process and see if they are willing to
review your application.
6. What is the work culture at Deloitte?
· I’ve found Deloitte to
have an open/supportive environment and a work hard/play hard attitude.
For new staff accountants their first year is focused on learning: about their
clients, the work that they are doing, the Deloitte methodologies and passing
their CPA exams. As staff progress to intermediate and senior roles, they
will take on more leadership responsibilities and will be involved in
training/leading junior staff.
7. How does Deloitte prepare their
student to take the Cpa exams, what kind of support do you offer?
· Deloitte offers in
house prep sessions, study days and a buddy system for the exams.
8. What sort of work do junior
accountant or co-op student get exposed to at your firm?
· Junior staff will be
put on client engagements from when they join the firm. These engagements
will vary by group and time of the year, so it may be that a new hire is
staffed on a large engagement that takes several weeks or months to complete
while his/her peer could start off staffed on several small engagements.
In addition to working on client work, new hires will complete various
mandatory training programs, so of which will take place during down time
between engagements.
9. How big is your downtown firm, how
many people work there?
· There are currently
over 2000 staff who work in the Toronto region. The Toronto region is
made up of 8 offices that are located in Vaughan, Mississauga and downtown
Toronto. Our staff work in Audit, Tax, Enterprise Risk Services,
Financial Advisory, Consulting and our internal services.
10. Does
Deloitte do any work in their community such as donate to certain causes or volunteer for certain causes or community?
· Deloitte is associated
with several charities, some of our larger initiatives include United Way and
Deloitte Impact Day (an annual event that has all Deloitte staff taking a day
to volunteer in their community
11. What is your firm’s preference between
for example; a student who graduate from a non-accounting degree and has
completed the 51 credit hours versus, one who has completed a master of
accounting program. Is one preferred over the other? Or do they both have the
same chance?
· We consider both
candidates and do not value one over the other. As a candidate, you are
responsible for using the application process to show us what skills you will
bring to the firm and how you will be successful as a staff accountant.
12. What would make a cpa student stand out
to you?
· As I mentioned before
we are looking for well-rounded individuals. Please refer to question two
for additional information.
13. Please find my resume below. What sort
of skill or experience do you think i should be pursuing in order to put me
more attractive
· I encourage you to
connect with the Career Center at your university and get their feedback on
your application.
