Ben Brackmann - Audit Intern

As the time draws near for me to begin my career with PKM, I recently found myself thinking back to last fall when I was in the middle of my job search. With my thoughts dwelling upon this new part of my life that I am about to begin, I found myself wanting to revisit what was going through my mind when I chose to come to PKM. What made the firm stand out from all of the others? What exactly did PKM have to offer that was so different from other accounting firms? After all, auditing is auditing wherever you work, right? Well, not really, was the conclusion I came to.

From the time I sat down to interview with Debbie Sessions at Georgia Tech until I left my office interview, it was obvious to me the PKM was and is not the typical CPA firm. The focus and attitude that everything was approached with is just not what you expect when you think about going to work as an accountant—the stereotypical “beancounter” that hides in the back room with his calculator and is a little short on social skills. Sure, you know the type of work you’ll be doing, but the people at PKM seem to approach work in a different way, with a personality and enthusiasm that I didn’t find at any other firm I interviewed with.

Throughout the process with PKM, there was a willingness to share exactly what went on every day at the firm, and an honesty that while everyone at the firm works hard, it is expected that you will also find time to enjoy what you do, and more importantly, enjoy time with people you work with. The recruiting pages of this website are filled with descriptions of events and efforts made to make work fun. I can tell you firsthand that the people at PKM are truly dedicated to keeping this true, because that’s who they are as people. The thing that really makes PKM different is its’ people, and that fact that everyone at the firm believes it, from staff to partner, speaks volumes about the type of place this firm is.