Katie Maxwell, CPA Senior Accountant

RANGE OF EXPERIENCE

Katie joined Zouzias and Zouzias in 2017 and has almost 10 years of experience in the accounting profession. Previously, she worked for Ernst & Young as both an auditor and consultant, and for Zurich Insurance as an internal auditor. Through her experience, she has had to opportunity to work in a variety of different client-serving situations, which has allowed her to develop the skills needed for being able to assist clients with the specific scenarios or challenges they may be faced with.

In her role as auditor with Ernst and Young, Katie was responsible for leading and supervising the audit of financial statements for a mix of public and private companies. She collaborated closely with her internal team members and client contacts to plan audit engagements, and assess companies' internal control environments and financial statement balances. Through her work, she was able to deliver quality service and complete work in an efficient manner for her clients.

In her role as an internal auditor for Zurich Insurance, Katie planned, led and executed internal company audits over key issues and functions within the company. She worked closely with employees from a variety of areas within the company to gather information regarding their processes and key risks, assess whether there were issues within these areas that were exposing the company to an unnecessary amount of risk, and also look for opportunities for improvement. She was responsible for developing relationships and communicating audit findings to key members of management, which helped encourage performance improvement within these company functions.

In her role as a consulting manager with Ernst & Young, Katie had an opportunity to provide more of a hands-on impact to her clients. She worked with both public and private company clients to help them achieve a variety of accounting and finance initiatives established by company leadership, including assistance with implementation of new and complex accounting standards, process improvement for different accounting and finance functions, and strengthening of internal control environments. She was responsible for managing different project workstreams on client engagements and was a key member in providing advice and helping develop solutions for challenges encountered.

CERTIFICATION AND EDUCATION

• Certified Public Accountant, Active License Since 2011
• BSBA, Valparaiso University, 2009 - Majors in Accounting and Finance, Minor in Economics

PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS HISTORY

Zouzias & Zouzias, Inc

• Senior Consultant, 2017 - present

Ernst & Young

• Consulting Manager, 2015 - 2017
• Senior Consultant, 2014 - 2015

Zurich Insurance

• Senior Internal Auditor, 2013 - 2014

Ernst & Young

• Senior Auditor, 2011 - 2013
• Staff Auditor, 2009 - 2011

SPECIFIC SERVICES AND EXPERIENCE

• Prepared statements of marital assets and liabilities and analyzed different scenarios for asset division
• Developed and evaluated accurate budgets to effectively minimize post-divorce taxes and post-decree issues
• Prepared lifestyle analyses for collaborative, mediation and litigation cases to assist clients in understanding their individual and family needs and plan for future lifestyle needs
• Engaged on a number of key client projects and initiatives for public and private companies, specifically for insurance companies; types of projects included providing guidance for new and complex accounting standards, process improvement for different accounting and finance functions, strengthening of internal control environments for SOX 404 adoption and public company readiness purposes
• Researched complex accounting and audit topics to ensure that engagement procedures performed were consistent with accounting and public company standards
• Led weekly internal team meetings to discuss business development, client engagements, and other internal initiatives
• Supervised and managed teams of five to ten team members during client audit and consulting engagements, was responsible for providing on-the-job training to team members and communicating performance reviews related to their work
• Planned, performed, and communicated results of internal audits to company management for a variety company functions and key risks, located across the US and Europe
• Performed financial statement audits, including reviews of quarterly financial information
• Performed audits of internal control over financial reporting