Throughout the month of November, we are posting a blog series spotlighting Protiviti’s Women in IT.
Let’s meet Brandy Tedesco. Brandy works as a Senior Consultant in our Internal Audit and Financial Advisory Technology Practice in our Boston office. Her career with Protiviti began June 2010 as an intern and began full-time with us in August of 2011 after obtaining her Master’s in Accounting and a B.S. in Accounting Information Systems from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. Brandy became interested in Protiviti after a class presentation, which led her to apply for the technology internship. After a phone interview and a trip to Boston for an in-office interview, a fun internship, she knew Protiviti was the best place for her to launch her career. She has now been with our organization for over 4 years!
When we had some time to connect with Brandy, we asked her the following questions:
- What attracted you to Protiviti? “What initially attracted me to Protiviti was the focus on technology solutions. I found this to be really refreshing when most firms were coming to students at my school with accounting and financial audit points of view. What further attracted me to Protiviti was how personable and friendly all the employees were during my interview and subsequently through my internship and full time employment. I appreciate how our management treats us like peers, how well people worked together, and to amount of team building activities we do such as community service events and fun office meetings.”
- What excites you the most about your work in IT? “The ever-changing landscape of the technology environment excites me the most. It is not a ‘learn it once’ and it never changes. I love the challenge of having to stay educated on the upcoming changes to the technology solutions our clients are or soon will be faced with. It’s exciting to always be learning something new and to actually be able to apply what you learn to deliver real value to our clients.”
- What has been the biggest challenge you have faced working in IT? “The technology universe is so wide and so deep, it’s challenging to know about everything our clients ask for when it comes to their own technology environment. I appreciate having the Protiviti’s wealth of knowledge to leverage. Having subject matter experts (SMEs)to turn to has been very helpful in addressing this challenge. I also appreciate having the opportunity to learn from the SMEs when we need to bring them onto an engagement.”
- Where do you see Protiviti in the IT space in the next 5 years? “In the next five years, I can foresee Protiviti’s IT teams performing an increased amount of IT Consulting and Risk and Compliance work, as regulators’ focus continues to expand and deepen and as our clients’ needs increase. I can envision more Protiviti SME’s and more areas of specialization. Additionally, I can see Protiviti having more IT SOX Champions throughout our offices to help lead our IT SOX Teams to getting to a more exceptional level. I can see our IT SOX Teams strengthening through having a stronger understanding of the PCAOB’s focus, a stronger understanding of the IT SOX controls and risks, and better prioritization of testing.”
- Who has played a critical role in the development in your career? “There have been four people who have played critical role in the development of my career.
- My first MD, Tom Taverna, for taking a chance on me by hiring me. He saw the potential in me and gave the opportunity of a life time. He always supported me and guided me towards opportunities and encouraged me to press onward to achieve the goals I wanted. His advice, guidance, and support were the keys to unlock the opportunities that helped craft me into the professional I am today. My favorite piece of advice Tom gave to me is “There is no crying in auditing”, I still have to remind myself of that from time to time!
- My current MD, Carl Hatfield. Carl has been such an inspiration as he started as a consultant and is now MD; that is definitely the track I want my career to take. He is living proof of Drake’s song ‘Started from the bottom now we’re here.’ Carl has shown me what hard work and a strong work ethic looks like. Throughout all the ups and downs we have had as an IT team in the Boston office, Carl has always been by my side as a peer, not a superior, and has always shown me that even during the rough times, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that all your hard work does pay off.
- My mother and father. The words “consultant” and “easy” do not usually appear in the same sentence unless you’re saying “consulting is not easy.” Although my parents may not fully understand what I do for work, they have always been my support system throughout my entire professional journey including moving to another state, crazy client experiences and late nights/early mornings during busy season. When I am feeling overwhelmed, I think of most important pieces of advice I know from my parents: “No one said it would be easy” and ‘You don’t give up just because it get tough’.”
- What do you enjoy doing outside of work? “Outside of work, I enjoy baking, reading, and going for walks with my dog.”
Thanks Brandy for sharing your background and knowledge during our month of spotlights on Protiviti Women in IT! We appreciate the time you took to share with others about your career and for your focus in this important field.