Dan Walsworth

CNS220
OPCD Event #2
For my second OPCD event, I attended an informational session with Dixon
Hughes Goodman. They are currently the 17th largest accounting firm, which was a bit
shocking, as I had not heard as much about their company. It was also pretty cool to hear
that he current CEO was actually a Wake Forest alum, Matt Snow. I do not have much
previous knowledge with anything to do with accounting except one of my friends is the
Accounting Club president and told a few others and me it would be an interesting
discussion. I am familiar with the Big Four accounting firms, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC,
and EY so it was interesting to hear about a less known name. They highlighted that those
large companies are great places except they thought you could benefit more from a place
like DHG. They discussed that there is room for growth and opportunity and chances to
work with smaller groups, that overall leads to more hands on experience. This is
something I actually thought about with my job search this past year as I interviewed for
a consulting job with PwC. I already had an offer for a smaller consulting firm and after
traveling to New York and having my interview in the PwC headquarters, I could see how
one may feel as just another number. I ended up taking the position with the smaller
consulting firm, not just because of size, however that was something I considered when
making my decisions. Even though I will not pursue a career in accounting, it was
interesting to hear about similar business concepts and skills one may learn working with
a smaller company. Overall, the session was enlightening and was glad I attended.