SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

My leadership experience in both educational settings allow me to

communicate effectively and work cohesively with groups of people from
various backgrounds to achieve a common goal. I have held leadership
positions professionally as a manager with Wawa, Inc. in which I was
responsible for ensuring that all tasks essential to the daily operations of the
location were completed correctly and efficiently. Furthermore, as a student I
have held several leadership positions as both a tutor at Towson University
and a learning assistant at Harford Community College in which I was
responsible for facilitating and leading individual and group supplemental
instruction sessions in various subjects including economics, finance,
accounting, and mathematics.

My internship experience in the assurance field has prepared me to become a

viable asset to any firm. I have had experience during the busy season in
which I was responsible for the testing of various accounts including cash,
receivables, payables, fixed assets, revenues, and insurance accounts for
clients within the real-estate industry. Furthermore, I have additional
internship experience involving completing full-scope as well as limited-scope
audit engagements of various non-profit organizations as well as
engagements involving employee benefit plans. Finally, I have gained
experience in client relations as well as various computer applications
essential to the accounting field including Microsoft Excel and Caseware
Working Papers.

Weaknesses:

My communication skills, specifically my public speaking skills are something

that I am working to improve. My lack of experience speaking to large
audiences has limited my ability to improve in this area; however, my
positions at Towson University and Harford Community College as well as my
internships with CohnReznick, LLP and RSM US, LLP have recently given me
numerous opportunities to continue to improve in my skill set.

I tend to take on too many assignments at one time. For example, as a

student at Towson University I had my educational responsibilities, as well as
my two part-time jobs as a learning assistant at Harford Community College
and a Manager at Wawa, Inc., and my various community service obligations.
At times, tendency to spread myself too thin inhibits my ability to complete
all of my assignments to the high standards I typically hold for myself.
However, my busy season internship experience as well as my
organizational skills have allowed me to improve my performance while
handling multiple assignments as well as taught be how to communicate
when I have taken too many responsibilities.

Opportunities:

One of the best opportunities I have to improve myself professionally is to

continue to grow my network. A strong and diverse professional network is
essential to any successful career and my diverse background has allowed
me to build relationships in several industries as well as educational
backgrounds. Moving forward I will continue to grow my network my reaching
out to meet new people and share my experiences.
Diversifying my experience during my first few years as a professional will
pay dividends as I move forward. Currently my professional experience is
limited to real-estate, retail, manufacturing, and non-profit organizations;
however, during the beginning of my career I will look to expand my horizon
to industries including education, healthcare and financial services.

Threats:

One of the biggest obstacles I have moving forward is obtaining my CPA

license. In order to move forward in the accounting profession I will need to
complete my examinations and obtain my CPA license. Although I am not
eligible to sit for the examinations yet, I have already developed a plan
outlining how I will study and when I will sit for each exam beginning
immediately after I graduate from Towson University.

Although my education is adequate for the accounting profession, I will

continue to expand on my education by attending graduate school after
obtaining my CPA license to help strengthen my skills in the event of a
downturn in the economy.