Professional Networking Event

In May I was able to attend a netwroking event with the firm KPMG in Atlanta. It was a two day event where I was able to meet with audit, tax and advisory professionals across a wide variety of different service lines and industries. It was a great event and I was able to learn a lot about the different services that KPMG provides. 

Going into the event I was failry confident that I wanted to work as an auditor. I talked with many asscoiates, managers and partners about the side of the business and was even able to interview with a few of them. However, the department that was the most interesting to me was the forensis department in advisory. I learned that they work with major corporations across the country and help them determine areas for risk in their financial processes and helping them identify accounts where fraud is committed. I was able to talk with the managing director for forensics and had a good converstation with him about what they look for in new interns. 

The event I attended was primarily for audit and tax recruiting and was able to network and get an invite for the advisory recruiting event in August. I wil be able to have an interview with the managing director for forensics in the Atlanta office for an internship opportunity next summer. I have learned the importance of networking and the opportunities that it provides your career. Without networking, I would not have the chance to pursue a career in forensic accounting. 

I am going to continue to network throughout my life. It is so valuable and can provide you with connections and opportunities throughout your life. 

Remote Meeting Blog Post

Our group had a meeting via google hangouts. We held the meeting at 10 a.m. at our individual homes. It was difficult at first to get all three of us on the same feed. It took a few minutes of figuring things out before we were able to really start. The meeting went really well once we had everyone logged in. It was great quality and very productive. It is a great option for meeting as a group when group memebers are away.

Overall I learned that remote meetings are a great option for teams that have members that are away. In a real business setting, if you are planning on holding a meeting via the internet it is a good idea to play with the media before hand so you know how to set it up before the meeting. Be sure to have all of your materials on hand and make sure that your in an area that has good lighting. Don't have anything too distracting in the background (people, television). Sometimes there are things that are out of your control, especially when it comes to technology so it is important to be flexible when holding such meetings. 

I hate working out, but my wife loves it!

Marriage is wonderful. The past year and a half has been the happiest time of my life, hands down. It is all about loving and supporting your spouse, even if that means every now and then you do something that you don't necessarily enjoy doing. You try and find balance in a marriage and that can lead to compromises, but when it is with your best friend you don't mind doing it, in fact you enjoy compromising. In our marriage, that is working out. Now, I can't really complain. It's not a bad thing that you have a spouse who likes going to the gym and being healthy but whenever she asks if I want to go I have an internal struggle. One side is telling me that I would hate it and would have much more fun watching a game or a movie. The other side is telling me that it would make my wife happy and I would get some exercise. 

For the majority of our marriage I agreed with the first side, but this last week I have started to choose the side that tells me to workout with Casmin. I got to say that I have noticed that I have been much happier going to the gym with her than staying home by myself and watching Netflix. It's not becasue I love the gym (I still hate it) or even that I feel healthier (that is a plus). It is becasue I am spending more time with the one that I love and she is happy when I do it and that makes me happy. So now what? Well I am going to keep going to the gym with her and start looking out for other ways that I can do something that I don't love but my wife would and giving it a try. As long as I can do it with her how bad could it be? Marriage is about compromise, it can't be all about you. And it's not just in marriage, that is with most relationships. Look for ways that you can forget about yourself and do something for others.  

Self Deception and Self Betrayal




This summer I wanted to start reading more so I started looking around for a book. I was shown a web-page through the BYU library that has links to all kinds of business books that could be read electronically so I decided to give it a try. I chose a book by the Arbringer group called Leadership and Self-Deception. I just finished it a few days ago and I highly recommend it to anyone because it's not just about business. I don't want to tell too much about the book so you can read it for yourself (the book can explain the principles 1,000 times better) but here are some things that I learned.

• We need to treat people as people and not as objects.
• Always ask yourself what your true motives are for doing something, it might surprise you as to what those true motives really are.
• Act on the thoughts and impressions that come to my mind to help others, don't make excuses.

There are several more lessons to be learned but I don't want to give everything away. It is a very eye-opening book and like I said earlier, this book can be applied in any setting. That includes family, friends, church, school, etc. The lessons taught help us build relationships and see the world as it really is. There were several times in the book where I had similar expereinces with similar results. I already began to apply the principles in the book and can see the difference it makes. I want to continue to apply the lessons I learned in my life so I can see my relationships with those around grow. 

Appreciate Your Loved Ones

   The past few weeks have been an awesome experience but have been extremely busy. I was out of town traveling back and forth from Utah to Georgia. I visited several firms for office visits and interviews.  On the plane and during the night I would try to get as much homework done as I could. I also spent a great deal of time visiting with my parents in Atlanta. During this time I was not able to see my wife. Although it was only two weeks of us not seeing each other, it felt like forever. 

   I knew I would miss her but I didn't realize how much. It just made me realize how lucky I am to have her in my life. You don't fully appreciate what you have until it's gone. It is so easy for us to take for granted those around us, especially family. Take some time to think about and be grateful for your family and friends. True happiness comes from relationships. If you think back on the happiest moment in your life it will involve someone close to you. It is our purpose to develop and maintain these relationships. If we do, we will have greater appreciation for those we love and we will be happier.
   What am I going to do about it? I am going to make an effort to do one kind act (out of the ordinary) each night for a family member or close friend to show my appreciation for them.

Interview Evaluation


Today I had the privelage of practicing my interviewing skills. It was an online interview which presents new challenges to the already stressful interview process. It was hard not to stare at myself on the thumbnail screen during the facetime interview. It was also more challenging for me to focus on the questions being asked becasue it is different coming from a phone rather than being face to face. It was a good experience though. I felt confident with most of my answers to the questions that I was asked. I was a little unfocused on one question and could have done a better job giving a more clear and precise answer. Overall the interview went well and it was a good experience for me to learn how to better interview.

When opportunity knocks

 I recently found out this past week that I did not get accpeted into the BYU masters program. It was a hard pill to swallow when I read the word "Denied" in the email. I was a little surprised. I didn't have the best grades by any means but I thought they were sufficient to get accpeted. After a few days of trying to process this change of plans I am still bummed but I have decided that this just presents new opportunities for me. It is scary and exciting at the same time to think that I only have one more year left in Provo and then I'm off to my next chapter in life. Whether that chapter is grad school somewhere else other than BYU or just getting a job and starting a career, I don't know. I just recently discovered an interest in pursuing a career in advisory and risk management. Maybe this set back is an opportunity for me to try something other than auditing or tax work? Maybe I am meant to seek after an MBA in a few years instead of a MAcc? I don't really know to be honest  and don't have an answer to any of the above questions. I am, however, a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I think we all have some idea in our head of what the perfect life for us will be and it just isn't going to happen. We have to be aware that plans need to change and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be a great thing. Even if we don't recognize it yet. When one door closes another door opens, or so I have been told. I can't see the open door just quite yet but I know that opportunity will come knocking and hopefully I'll be ready to answer. 

Stress...an unnecessary evil

   I can't begin to tell you how stressed I have been this past week. It has been almost overwhelming. I think I had a mini panic atack the other night with all of the stuff that I have on my plate. I'm serious, we are talking symptoms like weird, uneven breathing, slurring sentences, it was bad. But why? Am I just being a baby? Can I not handle super busy schedules? I look back now on my little episode of panic from the other night and definitely think to myself "what was my problem?" 

   I heard a quote that went something like this..."The Lord gives us more to do than we possibly have time to do, so He can see where our priorities are." I love this quote. It reminds me to give my time where it matters most. We are just constantly being asked to do more and more and more. We have demands on our time from school, work, family, friends, and church, . It can be hard to juggle everything. Sometimes the stress starts to kick in and it can affect our well being. We need to stop, take a deep breath and remember the big picture. Why are we doing the things that take up our precious time? Are there activities in our lives that don't really matter but are allocated precious minutes or hours? My goal this semester is to see the big picture and remember that it is ok to have more to do than seems possible. This is a part of our mortal journey on earth, to make choices and prioritize. A little stress is good, it keeps us productive, however, I believe that overwhelming stress is an unneccessary evil in our lives. We can  prevent it by having faith in the Lord, and remembering the big picture. 

Why is the grass always greener on the other side?

Why is the grass always greener on the other side?

      Have you ever caught yourself thinking "If I can just get through this next week, then life will be good again" or "I will be happy once this semester is over"? How about "Ugh, is it Summer yet" or "This vacation could not come any sooner"? I have. I think this stuff all the time. I tell myself that I will be happier once this or that happens. On some future date all of my current worries and cares will disappear and I can be happy go lucky again. You would think that after having been disapointed by this thought process over and over again I would start to see that is not how life works. 

     I have been taught that you always find what you are looking for. If you are looking for the miserable, the hard or the boring things of life you will find them and that is how life will feel to you. Looking for the fun, the happy and the good things in life is a much better alternative and will help you to stop noticing the greener grass on the other side. Choosing to find the good in whatever situation we are in will make life a lot more enjoyable.  It's easy to make our happiness conditional. It's hard to find joy in the journey sometimes but the grass is green on this side of the hill too, we just have to look for it.
     It's time for me to stop spending so much time looking forward and to focus on the good things going in my life right now. Stop and smell the roses. Slow down every now and then. Count your blessings and you will be amazed at how much you really have to be grateful for. Life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured until we can find true happiness in the future. That's what I am going to do. Stop enduring life and start enjoying it.