Getting a better job...

[dannubis]

Muuuch better...

2 comments:

In stead of "in previous positions" I would put "As a reserve officer with the US marine corps"... as long as you emphasise why your experience is relevant, no harm is done in mentioning where you got it from
I wouldn't put in any [Company information]. It is unnecessary and only adds to the burden of reading your letter. Besides, you might expect that those reading your cover letter know what their company is about.

[kentonio]

It's usually wise to have a bit explaining why you match the specific company requirements they described in their advert though.

[Dauphin]

If I were hiring.

- I would prefer to see "junior staff" or "team" rather than "subordinates". The current wording makes it look like you didn't actually know anything about them, and didn't care to know or develop them. The general tone with a phrase like "given my leadership skills" gives me a feeling that you are up yourself, and not a team player. Give the same message, just get the tone right.
- I would like to see more specific details of what analytical skills or knowledge of accounting has been developed in your current role. At present, it reads like generic bluff. I have no feel for what you have been doing. Where were the multinational projects - what cities, how long did it last, what did you do? e.g. For [x] months I managed a team of 56 [insert staff roles] based in [locations], [insert activity, such as researching and analysing accounting records], and [insert resolution, such as reported these findings back to stakeholders resulting in a $1.4m cost saving]
- I would remove all superfluous wording. "I had the opportunity to successfully plan" => "I successfully planned".

On a technical note, was the overcharging something that should have been identified by auditors? If I was hiring I would ask you about how you found it, whether it was material in respect of the accounts, and what the role of an auditor actually is (all leading to a conclusion of whether they would have been expected to identify the issue).

[Al B. Sure!]

The projects were military exercises in eastern Europe. The overcharges were by a government contractor. Should the US government have accountability of $1.4M lost over a three quarter period? It's not material unfortunately to the DOD budget but it was 60% of that contract's value.

There was another $4.7M the Army was overcharged that i identified but I do not know if they were reimbursed so I don't include that in my resume.

The overcharging mechanism originated in 2010 but the records didn't exist any longer for me to conclusively prove the extent of what was frankly fraud.

[Al B. Sure!]

I'm trying to think of what to call my Marines. Junior staff sounds great but that included/includes staff non-commissioned officers, some of which have 20 years experience in their job.

I really don't know what skills I've developed in my current role. They are not commensurate with 3 years experience, whatever they are since I've actually only worked there for three periods totaling 9 months.

My job really feels more like data entry and reconciliation. I make sure all sorts of trades (bonds, fx, swaps, options, futures, etc.) are booked accurately, I compile reports, and I reconcile our holdings to BlackRock's. It's just cog work that contributes to the spitting out of NAV's each day. The only thing half way unique I've done was improve and consolidate the macros.

Which is part of the reason why I need to get out because I've exhausted everything I can learn and do in the position horizontally. It's detrimental to my knowledge and skills growth.

Not sure how I can church up what I've 'learned'.

[Egbert]

I make sure all sorts of trades (bonds, fx, swaps, options, futures, etc.) are booked accurately, I compile reports, and I reconcile our holdings to BlackRock's. It's just cog work that contributes to the spitting out of NAV's each day.

I've done was improve and consolidate the macros.

This, Alby, is very much the sort of thing that needs to be made known. It shows that you do know how to correctly book these strange creatures. However, did you prepare the entries or just type them into the system. If you just typed them in but definitely can prepare the entries don't call it data entry.

Preparing reports is good.

Mentioning systems you have mastered is good. (BlackRock)

Being able to do macros is good information.

Keep working on this CV

[Egbert]

There was another $4.7M the Army was overcharged that i identified but I do not know if they were reimbursed so I don't include that in my resume.

You found it so it is appropriate to mention it. You did your duty by informing your commander of this, not your problem if he didn't get the money back.

[Egbert]

$1.4M lost over a three quarter period? It's not material unfortunately to the DOD budget but it was 60% of that contract's value.

1, It is a lot of money
2. It is material to the value of the contract (>10% )

[Dauphin]

I'm trying to think of what to call my Marines. Junior staff sounds great but that included/includes staff non-commissioned officers, some of which have 20 years experience in their job.

Call them junior staff and experienced non-commissioned officers.

[Dauphin]

1, It is a lot of money
2. It is material to the value of the contract (>10% )

Auditors wouldn't be expected to look at every contract. There is a lot of risk based approaches and sampling involved.

[Dauphin]

I've worked on projects where the rounding errors of $0.1 bn were not considered material.

[Al B. Sure!]

So I should say I identified and saved $6.1M? I don't know if the Army and Air Force recouped their money nor will I ever know.

It's humorous because the 'commander' in this case would be European Command.

As for what I do in accounting, I don't want to just reiterate my resume over unimpressive things.

To be honest, I don't know how to manually make the appropriate accounting entries for say the closing of a short swap denominated in BRL. I know what happens from a finance perspective but debits and credits in appropriate accounts is Greek to me.

[dannubis]

Which is part of the reason why I need to get out because I've exhausted everything I can learn and do in the position horizontally. It's detrimental to my knowledge and skills growth.

Not sure how I can church up what I've 'learned'.

This (reworded) needs to be in there. This is what drives you and will set you apart from the other 10 CVs.

[Egbert]

Auditors wouldn't be expected to look at every contract. There is a lot of risk based approaches and sampling involved.

True. I meant only that it is a good thing he found it. It is a big chunk of the contact value although it may not affect the materiality of the amounts in the annual accounts of whoever it was.

I know auditors do not assess materiality on a contract by contract basis.

I should not have used the word "materiality" given the specific meaning the word has in a finance context.

[Egbert]

To be honest, I don't know how to manually make the appropriate accounting entries for say the closing of a short swap denominated in BRL. I know what happens from a finance perspective but debits and credits in appropriate accounts is Greek to me.

A thought .......

You could get books to find out how to manually make the appropriate accounting entries for say the closing of a short swap denominated in USD.

If you have no experience preparing forex transactions you could look that up too.

Then learn how to account for them in BRL.