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EisnerAmper Ireland | US secondees blog 2017 Archives - EisnerAmper Ireland Ireland

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US secondees blog 2017 Archives - EisnerAmper Ireland

12.4.2017

New York, Week 13 – Homeward bound

Aidan Lundy

Our secondment here in New York has come to an end.  We all worked very hard to ensure our audits were completed by the deadline and now that it has past, “busy season” here in the US comes to a close.  The past two weeks were spent wrapping up all our jobs and processing the final few comments on our files.

Hard to believe, it is time to leave New York already.  We have had such an amazing time here and experienced so much with trips to Madison Square Gardens, Yankee Stadium, Washington, Philadelphia to name a few.  We have learnt so much and made great friendships during our secondment, both with the New York staff, and the South African secondees.

US secondees blog 2017
5.4.2017

New York, Week 12 – Deadline week

Joey Halligan

This week, the audit of a large hedge fund I had been working on for the past month has been finalised before the deadline of March 31st – it was a great learning experience which helped a lot when I began to work on other clients.  I am now working on completing the audit of a private equity fund that has a deadline of mid April, which should keep me busy until the end of our trip.

During the week, Aidan and I decided to make a trip to Chelsea Piers to try out their 4 tier driving range, which had been recommended by some of our fellow secondees.  It’s safe to say that our golf games could do with some improvement, but it was an enjoyable evening with some great views over the Hudson river.

US secondees blog 2017
30.3.2017

New York, Week 11 – Road trip

Niamh Hickey

This week I started working on what may be my last client in New York. It’s a strange feeling. The team is a lot smaller, I’m working directly with the Engagement Director and we have been making good progress so far.

This weekend, Aidan, Joseph and I decided to explore outside of New York with fellow Secondee, Lauren. We joined a tour group and headed to Princeton University, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. We also had an opportunity to visit an Amish museum and learn about their fascinating culture from our entertaining tour group leader. We’re certainly trying to make the most of our last few weeks here!

US secondees blog 2017
20.3.2017

New York, Week 10 – Busy season still in full effect

Aidan Lundy

I have continued to work on a private equity fund for the past number of weeks and we are entering into the final stages of the audit. I have also begun work on another engagement. I am currently working on a Fund which invests primarily in distressed debt such as Trade Claims. I’m working closely with my manager as the deadline is fast approaching.

The temperature dropped severely over the past week and we had a full-scale blizzard on Tuesday which brought the city to a standstill. However, that did not impact on our weekend which saw many visitors over from home! We took in many of the sites and enjoyed some of New York’s famous restaurants and bars. We’re very much looking forward to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this coming weekend.

US secondees blog 2017
10.3.2017

New York, Week 9 – New York evening views!

Joey Halligan

This week I completed the audit of my first client.  I really enjoyed completing the job from start to finish with the help of my manager.  This job allowed me to gain valuable experience that will help me on my current jobs, which are much larger clients with more complex structures.

Last weekend we got an early taste of the New York’s St. Patrick’s Day experience as we took a trip to New Jersey for Hoboken’s St. Patrick’s day.  It was a great day out and it really made our South African colleagues excited for the real thing next week.  We rounded off the weekend by taking a sunset stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge – the views of Manhattan were spectacular.

US secondees blog 2017
3.3.2017

New York, Week 8 – A new client

Niamh Hickey

This week I have finished working on my first client and I’ve learnt a lot from my Manager and Director.  I’m looking forward to moving onto another hedge fund with a less complicated organisational structure.  It’s a great opportunity to work on all sections of the financials from investment valuations to capital allocations.

The weather in New York is finally clearing up which means we’re doing more exploring in the city.  Myself and the other secondees are always on the hunt for new places to eat or sights to see that are off the beaten track.  We’re looking forward to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day soon!

US secondees blog 2017
24.2.2017

New York, Week 7 – Busy season in full swing

Aidan Lundy

For the past two weeks I have been working on a large private equity fund which holds investments in mining companies.  The audit itself is very interesting as the fund has four SPVs in its structure which I have never seen before. I have completed tasks such as Capital and Investment schedules, journal entry testing, and legal confirmation tie-outs.  The work is challenging but rewarding and our team is progressing well through the audit.

We had amazing weather here in New York over the weekend, with highs of 17 degrees celsius (better than an Irish summer!).   Barry Horan from the EisnerAmper Ireland visited during this time and we took full advantage of the weather taking-in sites such as Central Park, the Rockefeller Centre and Times Square.

US secondees blog 2017
17.2.2017

New York, Week 6 – Our first EAI visitor

Joey Halligan

This week I have been assigned to three different clients; two hedge funds and one private equity fund.  Time management has therefore been the main priority but I’m enjoying it as I’m getting exposure to numerous parts of the audit process and I’m learning a lot of different things from each of my Managers.

Last week we were joined by Clodagh Byrne, the first of our EisnerAmper Ireland colleagues to visit us during our secondment.  It was quite a hectic weekend that included rising early at 9am on Saturday to venture to the Meat Packing District of New York to watch the Ireland v Italy 6 Nations rugby match.  The area was a welcome change to the hustle and bustle of Midtown Manhattan. The highlight of the weekend was on Friday night where we joined by our fellow secondees to say farewell to one of our friends who was heading back to Australia after a 3 month visit to New York.

US secondees blog 2017
13.2.2017

New York, Week 5 – Celebrating with our team

Niamh Hickey

I am currently assigned to work on the audits of three related master-feeder funds, with a parent company in Canada.  After a couple of very busy weeks, I’m delighted that my team has met our first deadline, delivering approval of the figures to the Canadian auditors.  To celebrate, our Director brought the team out for lunch in a local steakhouse.

This past weekend has been very busy as I was eager to show off our new hometown to the first visitor from Ireland.  We managed to fit in visits to iconic spots such as the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Building and the Natural History Museum.  We were even lucky enough to win lottery tickets to a Broadway matinee show! I’m thankful the city is so well connected by public transport as we had to cover a large distance in a very short space of time!

US secondees blog 2017
6.2.2017

New York, Week 4 – Assigned and work underway

Aidan Lundy

I was assigned to two clients this week, one being a Broker-dealer and the other a large Hedge Fund.  It was a little daunting at first but I feel I have settled into my role well. The work is challenging at times but the teams I am working with are very helpful and I am learning a lot.

One of our fellow Secondees from South Africa got engaged this week so all of the Secondees went for a celebratory dinner in the Hard Rock Cafe on Times Square.  Myself, Niamh and Joey returned to Madison Square Gardens for a college ice hockey match. Another great game which went to overtime and was won with a golden goal!  We are very much looking forward to the Rugby 6 Nations starting this weekend, even though for us the Ireland game is at 9.30am!

 

US secondees blog 2017
27.1.2017

New York, Week 3 – Visiting Trump Tower

Joseph Halligan

We are now 3 weeks into our secondment and New York has really been amazing so far. We’ve had some time to review the material that we received in our training week to ensure it is still fresh our heads. That was very helpful as we are going to be assigned to our first clients this week!

Last week we managed to fit in a trip to Trump Tower before the Presidential Inauguration. It was very much a case of the calm before the storm as we got caught in a snow shower on the walk home. On Wednesday night we joined Katie, a fellow secondee from Australia at a local bar to celebrate Australia day with her.

 

US secondees blog 2017
27.1.2017

New York, Week 2 – Sightseeing in NYC

Aidan Lundy

Our first two weeks in the New York office have flown by. Our intensive training is now complete and we are fully up to speed with the systems and audit approaches used here by the US team. It was nice to know a couple of the Managers who were delivering the training such as Mark Klingensmith and Amit Karsael who have both visited and delivered training in EisnerAmper Ireland.

We explored Lower Manhattan and the financial district last weekend visiting sites such as One World Trade Centre, Battery Park and Wall Street. The highlight of the week – Charly Weinstein (CEO of EisnerAmper LLP) very generously gave us tickets to see the New York Rangers play in Madison Square Gardens. The atmosphere was incredible and a total of thirteen goals were scored in the game! It definitely will not be our only visit to Madison Square Gardens while we are here.

US secondees blog 2017