PwC Wine and Cheese

Hey Everyone,

The busy recruiting season is in full swing and everyone is getting busy with first interviews, second interviews and different events.  This is a big milestone in your career, make sure that you take everything in and enjoy the experience.  For those of you that have been invited, the PwC Wine and Cheese is quickly approaching.  Even two years later, I can still remember my first PwC Wine and Cheese.  Keep these tips in mind:

Steady Handshake and Eye Contact
In the professional services industry, business is all about building relationships.  This starts with a firm handshake and eye contact to show the person you’re talking to that you are interested.  After that everything else is like cherries on top. 

Smile and be Yourself
The PwC wine and cheese is your opportunity to get to know everyone from the firm.  Conversely, it is everyone’s opportunity at PwC to get to know you.  They want to get to know you for you, not who you think everyone would like.  So if you like to go catching butterflies, talk about that not how you read the business section of the Globe and Mail every morning because . . . unless that’s what you do. Be yourself and don’t forget to smile. 

Know you Interests
The PwC Wine and Cheese is your opportunity to get know people and what is offered by the firm.  Do you have aspirations of where you would like to be in 5 or 10 years?  Would you like to be seconded to a PwC office outside of Canada?  Would you like to move your career into the tax, consulting and deals or small business practice?  Make sure that you let people know these interests.  That way you can meet people from all lines of service and get to know what they do in a day.  

Not a House Party
The PwC Wine and Cheese is not a house party.  It will be an open bar but make sure to pace yourself.  At my first PwC Wine and Cheese I had a few drinks but made sure to switch over to tonic and lime when I felt it was time.  This made sure that I was remembered for all the right reasons. 

Anyways, don’t think too much, it is your time to shine.  Just treat it like you are getting together with a few of your very close friends because you never know what the future will hold.  You could be in my position in a couple years with these great people as your colleagues. 

I look forward to meeting you all at the upcoming PwC Wine and Cheese. 

 

Happy Anniversary PwC!!

Hey Everyone,

Happy Anniversary PwC! 

It will be exactly two years since I started with PwC on October 4, 2010.  This got me thinking about my past experiences and where am I going.  It’s just like yesterday that I started with the firm.  Man...I am getting a little sentimental.  

My First Day
I was very nervous for about a week before I started at PwC as I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Nevertheless, October 4, 2010 approached very quickly and before I knew it I was riding the elevator in the Richardson Building to the 23rd floor.  When I arrived I entered the large corner board room to meet the 20 other new associates that were starting on the first day.  During the first week we learned a lot about the firm’s computer systems, firm policies, control environment, auditing and of course the coffee machine.  And it didn’t end there, at the each day we were all instructed to get out of our chairs.  Not to leave the building silly...to play catch obviously.  A ball was passed to everyone in the group for which each person recited one thing that they learned that day.  Before I knew it I had my first week under my belt. 

First Client Assignment as a New Associate
Shortly after training finished I was assigned to my first client engagement.  There were 5 team members on the engagement and I was the new associate.  The experienced associate took me under their wing and introduced me to everyone at the client site.  Then they helped me get started on my first test (We call the EGA’s or evidence gathering activities).  I asked so many questions that I felt like I was being bothersome.  I shouldn’t have been concerned as this is the normal learning curve.  It is not expected that anyone will know everything on their first day.  That client assignment went so fast and before I knew it I was rolling onto my next engagement. 

Promoted to Experienced Associate
I was promoted to experienced associate during the summer of 2011.  With this came a bit more responsibility but this was not a problem as I was prepared for everything they threw at me.  I was given the assignment to help plan an engagement and was assigned a tougher section of the audit file.  In addition, I was given the responsibility for being the first contact for the new associate that had been assigned to the engagement.  This was a great year; my knowledge allowed me to adjust the audit approach in some of my sections improving the engagements efficiency. 

Promoted to Senior Associate
This year I was promoted to Senior Associate.  In this role I have moved from managing an individual section of the file that I was assigned to managing an entire team.  This includes communicating with the team to ensure that we are all on track and coach the entire team.  Moving into this position is a big jump for me but not to worry I am prepared.   I have only been in this position for about a month now.  I will keep you posted how this progresses. 

Unlimited Future
There are many options for my future.  I could remain in the audit and assurance group and pursue manager, move into tax department, move into valuations in the consulting and deals department or move to start in the PwC investment management practice in Toronto.  That’s where my career has taken me in the last 2 year at PwC and where I could be going in the future.  So enough about me, where do think you will be in five years?  Leave me a comment where you see yourself in the next five years.

The Wine and Cheese is Quickly Approaching

Hey Everyone,

It’s that time of year again on campus, the leaves are changing colour, students are filing in and out of classes, and the line at the bookstore is starting to die down (finally). For most students the school year is still just ramping up, but for accounting majors the busiest time of year has already begun.

That’s right, it’s recruiting season! PwC has already been on campus a few times this year meeting students and giving them important tips for recruitment, but a large event is still on the horizon. The annual CA Wine and Cheese is coming up in less than a week! This is an important event for potential CA recruits as they will gain valuable networking time with the staff at PwC. Nothing looks better on a CACEE form than being able to refer to a specific conversation about an interesting topic you had with a senior managers. Attending this event certainly will give prospective recruits an advantage going throughout the recruiting process.

The event will be held on September 27 in the beautiful lobby of Manitoba Hydro place, located on Portage Avenue. The event will be set up with booths from all participating firms and their representatives. They will be there to meet with you and give you promotional material, as well as to talk about their firm. The evening will start off with a meet and greet session from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, where you can check out each firm’s booth and introduce yourself. This is a fantastic way to learn about the culture and what the people are like at all the firms. Following the meet and greet session will be the wine and cheese portion of the evening from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. This is a less formal setting where you can have a drink, enjoy some excellent hors d’oeuvres, and get to know the staff at each firm on a personal level.

The wine and cheese is the part of the night where you can really make an impression on the people who will be doing the hiring at the firm. Just be yourself! Be sure to smile and give a firm handshake to people you meet. If you have a set of business cards, bring them! Hand them out to everyone you meet, this way the recruiters are able to put a name to the bright young faces of the recruits more easily. It also increases the chances that they will remember exactly who you were. Also, don’t just start asking a list of pre-made questions about the firm. The recruiters want to get to know you on a personal level, so talk to them about things you enjoy. For example, do you play sports? How do you feel about the NHL lockout? Are you into travelling? Working at a firm is all about the people you work with, so they will be looking for someone they will be able to get along with. In addition, be sure to get a business card from everyone you talk to! A quick thank you email the day after the wine and cheese will go a long way in the recruiters’ books, as it shows you really enjoyed meeting them. Try to even refer to a specific topic you were discussing with them, such as, “I really enjoyed hearing about your trip to California last summer!” 

Tickets for this event can be purchased from the ASBAA booth in the Asper School of Business, the Career development centre in Asper, and Dallas Hull at the University of the Winnipeg Faculty of Business and Economics. If you are an ASBAA member, tickets are only $15! The dress code for this event is business formal, so bring out the suits and ties!

Final tip of the day... Relax! Firms want to get to know the real you, so be yourself. Enjoy the event, it is a fantastic evening filled with delicious food, great drinks, and outstanding people. So enjoy the experience!

Hope to see you all there.

The Auditor

Hey All,

Imagine you are at a house party and someone asks you what you do for a living.  You respond with I am an “Auditor”.  The room goes quiet as you start explaining that you are instrumental to reliability of financial reporting information to stakeholders.  Nobody understands what you are saying.  A few moments later someone cracks a joke about how they need to be careful about what they say to you.  Next time someone asks you the question you respond with an “Accountant”. 

Make that CACEE Form Shine (Winnipeg and Montreal)

Hey Everyone, 

The new school year is quickly approaching in September and we all know what that means.  The CA Recruiting Season will follow shortly.  So it important to take a little time out of standing in line to buy your text books and get a head start preparing your CACEE forms.  These forms can be a daunting task but provide very important information about not only your grades but your character to the prospective firms and will act as one of your first impressions.  I thought why not; let’s provide some insight into preparing CACEE forms. 

General Information (The Easy Part)
This is the easy part.  What position are you applying for? How do firms get in contact with you?  It may seem weird but sometimes people spell the firm’s name incorrectly or enter the wrong name all together.  For Example, it is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP or PwC LLP not Price Water House Coopers LLP.  Also the position name should reflect the actual title of the position.  At PwC the position is referred to as an Associate.  The email address speaks volumes about the applicant.  Surfer21 probably surfs or maybe just thought that the name sounded cool.  Either way, like all the professors in university have told you, let’s switch that email to a first name last name at domain.com.  You may have gone to a really nice pre-school when you were a child and gained some really good life skills but this was a long time ago.  This should list your education going back to your high school days. 

Skills Information (The Hard Part)
The skills information is the first insight into your character and personality that the reader receives.  Let’s focus on the skills that apply to the position that you are applying including working on teams and critical thinking skills.  But let’s not leave it at that.  Let’s apply this to an experience during university or work experience.  The goal of this section is to set yourself apart, so think hard and long about your skills. 
Educational Experiences and Accomplishments (The Harder Part)
In this section of the CACEE form you need to think deep and hard about your accomplishments over the past few years.  You want to focus on a few select events including your involvement in the student association and the accomplishments that you made as a group and what you learned, that championship that you won and the perseverance that it took to be successful.  Be original, focus on things that differentiate you. 

Extracurricular Activities (The Harder Part)
The extracurricular activities may appear as unimportant.  However, this is very important to the position.  This shows that you have focused on other parts of your life other than just your education.  This also shows that you are able to relate to people including clients in an effective manner.  Therefore, let’s focus on some of those activities that sets you apart.  Do you volunteer for an organization where you interact with people on a regular basis, do you play on a sports team that requires exceptional team work.  Tell them about these experiences. 

Summary (The Hardest Part)
The Summary is your opportunity to glimmer.  This is like the conclusion when writing a paper.  Tailor this section to organization that you are applying.  Make sure to integrate your interactions from the Wine and Cheese, other events on campus and interactions with people.  Then outline how you fit into the culture. 

Review and Finishing
Like when your finishing a house all that is seen are the details like how well the trim is aligned and the beautiful colours on the walls.  The idea is the same with the CACEE forms, make sure there are no spelling mistakes, make sure that the punctuation is correct, again make sure the firm name and position are appropriate to the entity (Don’t forget to check the summary page where you tailored it to the firm) and have someone else look at the form. 

I wish you all the greatest of luck with filling out your CACEE forms.  Let me know if you want my opinion on something. 

PwC - Your Employer of Choice

The past 2 days have been some of the happiest moments I've had since joining PwC.  Since May, I have been working with 9 people from the People and Change Practice across Canada to develop the HR Transformation & Technology Course for the PwC Consulting University.  The past several months have been extremely busy as we had to develop the course materials in parallel to our client engagements.  These past 2 weeks have been especially eventful coordinating the finalization of all the materials from all the content owners.

Being a Road Warrior: Week-In-The-Life of Consultant, Volume 1

Each consultant will tell you a different variation of their story of “week-in-the-life”.  Here is my variation of that story.

As I’ve mentioned in my first post, I am one of PwC’s “Road Warriors” – making the weekly trek from Winnipeg to Calgary.  A typical week for me starts either on Sunday night or early Monday morning.  To be honest, when you travel to work as often as I do, packing is like a mastered sport – getting better each time you do it to a point that it just becomes second nature.  I was always terrible at packing – but 31 countries and 111 cities, across 4 continents, gives you the opportunity to perfect this choir. 

Yah!!! Vacation Time

Hey Everyone,

With me going on vacation for the next couple of weeks I have many interesting thoughts going through my head.  Should I stay in Manitoba and explore?   Should I check out the East or the West Coast?  Anyways, this gave me an idea...What a great time to talk about PwC and Work/Life Flexibility.  PwC’s Work Life Flexibility policy is defined by two principles, you are in the driver’s seat and the firm is committed to removing as many road blocks as possible.  You are put in the driver’s seat by incorporating personal goals into your annual performance goals to ensure that they are kept top of mind.  The firm removes as many road blocks as possible by providing 3 weeks of vacation when you start, periodic absence days for personal appointments and sick time, floater days, Flexible Time Away during the summer, Study and Face to Face Days for each CASB Module, UFE Study Leave and Reward Days and  Team Volunteering Days. 

Lessons Learned in 3 Months: Branding, Mentorship, Humility

I’m celebrating three months and six days at PwC Canada - time sure flies when you're having fun! I was very fortunate to have joined two big engagements having only spent three months in my role as Senior Associate in the People and Change Consulting practice.

Scott in Winnipeg

Hey all,

My name is Scott and I am an Associate in the Audit and Assurance Group of PwC, working in the Winnipeg office. I graduated from the University of Winnipeg Faculty of Business and Economics in the summer of 2010 and completed a few classes at the University of Manitoba Asper School of Business. The next steps in my career will be completing Module 4 in August 2012 and writing the UFE in the summer of 2013.  Wish me luck.