My Professional Career

I think I’m one of the fortunate people who selected my professional career while still in college, and not once have I regretted selecting my profession to this date. Most of my friends couldn’t decide which career to pursue and some of them continue to question their career selection after all these years. I was in my senior year at the University of Illinois majoring in accounting when I selected auditing as my first professional career. How I got into the accounting major initially is a bit of a mystery to me but I think I followed my intuition and interest in numbers. While in college, I knew that I liked my accounting courses but as soon as I took the auditing class in my senior year, I knew that I was gifted and interested in risk management and investigations. As soon as I graduated, I got into the internal auditing profession, which I've enjoyed to this date and I continue to pursue and explore other related positions within the boundaries of my professional career.

In my opinion, internal auditing which is also synonymous with corporate auditing is a good profession to learn about corporate internal controls and risk management and also provides an opportunity to get familiarized with company management and business model before selecting and moving into a specific area of the company such as business operations, finance and accounting, information technology, or compliance among others. Since the start of my professional career in corporate auditing, I have enjoyed executive positions managing internal audit, operations and information security groups for international companies, primarily focusing on:

- Audit management and planning,
- Risk management including risk assessment and mitigation in all areas of operations, information technology, and finance,
- Information security management,
- Process reengineering and improvement,
- Compliance with various regulations such as SOX, GLBA and HIPAA,
- Fraud investigations, and
- Special management requests related to all other corporate matters such as due diligence on merger and acquisition projects.

As my career progressed through the years, I saw the need for professional certification as a way to boost my credibility and knowledge. I started researching my options and selected the ones that related to my career. As I prioritized my professional certification options, I started getting certified in all areas of interest and market demand. Here’s a list of my professional career active certifications:

Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP)
Certified Business Manager (CBM)
Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA)
Certified Fraud Specialist (CFS)

In order to find a satisfying and successful career path, many things must be considered as soon as possible and adjustments must be made along the way as needed and as frequently as necessary. Intuition, interest, and talent play key roles initially when deciding on and selecting a successful and satisfying career path, but education, experience and professional certifications also play key roles for lasting, exciting, rewarding and successful careers. Throughout my professional career, I have learned to apply my intuition and knowledge when making adjustments to my career path and ensure a satisfying and challenging professional life.

Return to home page from "my professional career".