Marcus Wooling
Senior Audit Associate
KPMG
Los Angeles, CA USA
“It's okay not to be stereotypical. Leverage your uniqueness by channeling it as your competitive edge.”
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
I attended Radford University where I double majored in Dance and Accounting. During my junior year, I left school to pursue my career as a professional dancer and traveled the world for 2 years.
After a two year hiatus, I returned to university to complete my studies and obtain a full time position with KPMG Federal Practice in Washington, DC.
After nearly two year with KPMG, I left the and went into industry and work as an Internal Audit Senior for a year. I was able to leverage my knowledge and skills cultivated at KPMG to be successful.
During my time in industry, I had to opportunity to work on many types of audits (i.e. compliance, performance and etc.) test SOX controls, and travel internationally to London for client engagements.
After a year in industry I came to a crossroad where I had to itch to travel and dance again. As such, I auditioned, booked an international dance gig, and put my auditing career on pause.
During the gap year of dance, I knew I wanted to come back to accounting, live in a new city, work specifically with KPMG. As such, I interviewed with KPMG LA in the efforts to begin my career again.
The summer of 2019, I accepted my offer at KPMG LA and began to lay the stone to a successful career in audit.
Education
High School
Greenbrier East High School
Greenbrier East High School
Career
Senior Audit Associate
I am a Senior Audit Associate and work primarily in the Public Sector providing audit service to our S&LG clients.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Travel
Education
Teaching / Mentoring
Day to Day
As a senior associate, I am tasked with managing a team of two to eight people at any given time. I work and collaborate with my engagement team to achieve our goal (i.e. meet deliverables, opinion on the financial statements). In addition, I communicate the status and findings to the client and KPMG management to ensure we have an efficient audit. I also coach and mentor associates and potential recruits to foster a safe and healthy environment for our future leaders.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Be proactive and network. Attend as many events as you can to learn about the different firms, industries, and the work you will be doing. Remember it's about who knows you. So make a great first impression!
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"Based on your personality, way of life and interests does not align with the typical accountant. Why did you did you choose that career? You should not be an accountant; rather a creative."
Challenges I Overcame
LGBT
