In First Person

Sarah Bilotti: I'm Back!

Hello, I’m Sarah Bilotti, and I’m a member of BBD’s Class of 2011.  I graduated this past May from The University of Scranton, and started full time at BBD in July.  My experience with BBD actually began during my sophomore year of college.  I met Bobbi, our HR director, at my school’s recruiting event.  She invited me along with some other students to come visit the office to learn more about what the firm does and the kind of people that make up BBD.  Everyone I met that day was so nice and so excited to tell us about what an awesome firm BBD is. In the few short hours that my visit to the office lasted, I was able to witness the dynamic and friendly culture of BBD, and see what a great place it would be to work

During my junior year when it came time to consider an internship, I knew that BBD was where I wanted to be.  I was fortunate enough to have an internship in the Investment Management Group, which is the group I have now joined full time. 

The internship was an incredible learning experience because I was able to experience working on audits first hand.  If you have the opportunity to do an internship, I would absolutely recommend it. Of course, while it’s necessary to take accounting and auditing classes, there are some things that just cannot be taught in a classroom. I learned so much during my internship and feel like it definitely prepared me to begin my career in public accounting.

In the three months since I have been back at BBD, I have learned more and more each day and had a lot of great experiences.  I can honestly say that I’m certain BBD was the right choice for me.

Kate Rada: Hello!

Hi, I’m Kate Rada and I will be writing about some of my experiences during my first year at BBD.

Just to give you some background information on myself, I graduated in May from West Chester University with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance. It was a very hard road, but having both Accounting and Finance under my belt has really helped and prepared me for this job. Along those lines, if you still have time and are debating to take the extra step, at least try to minor in finance because it really helps you obtain a greater understanding in applying accounting concepts. While at WCU, I was a member of the Women’s Varsity Rugby Team, which definitely helped mold some time management skills and gave me various opportunities to get involved in the community.

During my sophomore year of college, I had a tax internship with a regional-size accounting firm located in Delaware.  Although I had a great learning experience there, I assumed that every public accounting firm was just black and white and impersonal like that firm was, but that was before BBD.

In the following year, I decided that I wanted more and I wanted to be able to grow.  I was so excited when I got the call from Bobbi, our HR Director, for the audit/tax internship.  I don’t even know how to begin to explain my amazing internship with BBD.  I was given such a wide array of opportunities, ranging from preparing my first 1120S, vouching invoices, searching through historical records, preparing endless Excel worksheets, and I loved it all.  And of course, during any busy season, you work long hours, but when you’re working with people that are so funny and friendly, time flies by as your crunching numbers.

I just started full-time this past August; I’ll admit I had a bit of nerves coming back but they left once I saw everyone again. BBD has such a warm, inviting environment; this is what makes them stand apart from the rest.