explorting opportunities in private accounting

Get my Newsletter!

greg Leiter chief accounting officer

Chief Accounting Officer

Greg Leiter is the Chief Accounting Officer of Cott Corporation and actually was my boss back when I was in grad school. He oversees the IT, Accounting, and Compliance departments of this large publicly traded company. Have a listen to the podcast to hear about his career and the challenges he's met along the way.

Check out Cott's website here and Greg on LinkedIn here.

Chief Financial Officer

Patrick Gramling is the CFO of Ironman (as in the Ironman triathlons), which is headquartered in Tampa. Before becoming the CFO, he worked in audit for Ernst & Young since graduating college. Patrick was a great guy to meet and admitted he had a non-traditional path to CFO. Most people work in private accounting for years before making to to this position.

Check out Ironman here and Patrick's LinkedIn here.

Professor

Other Private Accounting Jobs

Controller

The controller is typically responsible for implementing and enforcing the accounting policies as defined by the CFO. The controller is ultimately responsible for the month-end close process where the detailed transactions are reconciled and adjustments are made to arrive at a profit & loss statement and balance sheet.

Many controllers (although not all) start in public accounting and then work in private accounting as a senior accountant or assistant controller. Have a controller you want to interview on the show? Email me here.

Financial Planning & Analysis

The FP&A department has gained popularity in the last few years as a great place for young accountants. The FP&A department creates projections and investigates variances trying to ensure the company can plan for its operations and funding in the most effective way possible.

Many enter into FP&A as an entry-level or Senior FP&A analyst. However, some higher level executives do a rotation in FP&A to understand the financial operations of the business. Have an FP&A employee you want me to interview? Email me here.

VP of Internal Audit

The Vice President of Internal Audit is a position held mostly at publicly traded companies and the main role of this individual is to monitor the entities' compliance with Sarbanes Oxley. The VP of Internal Audit sets an audit plan, often in conduction with the external auditors, to test management's processes to ensure management's internal control structure is operating effectively.

The VP of Internal Audit almost always has a background in public accounting and often stays until reaching the Senior Manager level or higher. Have a VP of Internal Audit you want me to interview? Email me here.

Accounting Manager

The accounting manager acts as a controller in certain small businesses and interacts directly with the external auditors, part-time CFO, and regulators. However, as companies increase in size, the accounting manager reports to the controller and is often responsible for supervising the staff and senior accountants in their month-end close procedures. The accounting manager may also work on special projects such as IT implementations or compliance with laws & regulations.

Have an accounting manager you'd like me to interview? Email me here.

Sign-Up!