The Accounting Times Spring '08

MPA Leads to International Posts for Warren Marine

Marine says his McCombs education clearly gave him a significant head start as compared to graduates of other universities—and garnered him the privilege of working overseas.
 
Warren Marine, who was in the first graduating class of the integrated MPA program (formerly PPA) in 1988, has parlayed his degree into international posts with KMPG in Munich, Berlin, Moscow and Siberia. Via e-mail, the Accounting Times interviewed Marine, who is currently partner, auditor commercial clients with KPMG in Munich, Germany, about his overseas experiences and how his international career took shape.
 
AT: You’ve had an illustrious overseas career. Tell us about your work and travels.
 
I worked in Germany from 1992 to 1994, primarily in Munich and for a short time in Berlin. While in Berlin, I was sent to work on a project to audit a large oil and gas entity in Russia. After working several months in both Moscow and Siberia, KPMG Moscow offered me position as an audit senior manager. I worked in the audit department of KPMG Moscow for approximately three years, serving clients primarily in the energy business. During this time I often traveled to western Siberia and the Arctic Circle regions of Russia to visit client operational sites. From 1997 to 1999, I returned to the U.S. where I worked in the KPMG's Houston office. In 1999, I was called upon to assist in the U.S. listing of a German electronic component manufacturer based in Munich. While working on that project, KPMG Germany asked that I return for a period of 18 to 24 months to work on the U.S. GAAP conversion of a very large German company that also was seeking to obtain a U.S. listing. I accepted the offer and returned to Munich in January 2000 for a "short" rotation on this very interesting, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, project. As it turns out, I am still in Germany today. I would not yet say this is my last port of call, especially with the newly formed KPMG Europe, the first cross-border professional accountancy firm in Europe. KPMG Europe's founding members are composed of the partners of KPMG's German, United Kingdom and Swiss partnerships. So, once again, I find myself in a situation where I am "getting in on the ground floor."
 
AT: How did you make your decision to work overseas? Did you begin working overseas right after graduation?
 
Marine: I had firmly decided to obtain overseas experience prior to graduating. This desire was stoked by the events that began to happen in Eastern Europe during my last year at UT and eventually lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall and disintegration of the Soviet Union. During interviews on campus with what was at the time the Big 8, KPMG demonstrated a clear willingness to try and meet this desire to work internationally. This fact, coupled with the recent merger that had occurred between Main urdman and Peat Marwick to form KPMG, helped sway my employment decision towards KPMG. After working in the Houston office of KPMG for four years, I finally fulfilled my objective when I was offered a position in KPMG's Munich office for a two-year international rotation.

AT: What special traits and training are required for working overseas?
 
Marine: Patience and open mindedness are the traits that have served me best during my various overseas assignments, in particular during my first assignment in Germany. Language training is clearly the most useful tool one should acquire in order to gain the most from an overseas assignment. All the cultural training in the world can't compare to the ability to communicate with people of another culture in their native tongue. However, cultural training in combination can be a potent force to help integrate you much quicker into a foreign culture.
 

AT: How did your accounting education at McCombs prepare you for an international career?
 
Marine: My education at McCombs clearly gave me a significant head start as compared to graduates of other universities at the time I began my career. It provided me the opportunity to stand out, which in turn led to me being duly considered for my international assignment which, even today, is a privilege at most companies rather than a right or expectation. br> & 

AT: What advice do you have for current students who are interested in working overseas?

Marine: In no particular order I would advise the following:

• Become proficient in at least one foreign language (both spoken and written) before graduating
• If possible, travel internationally prior to graduation. Try to visit regions with which you feel an affinity
• Research where opportunities exist in your area of specialty or interest
• Ask recruiters about international programs of the companies they represent
• Keep an open mind about foreign cultures and practices