212: Maxene Bardwell – A Career in Internal Audit

Maxene Bardwell, a highly-accomplished professional in the field of Internal Audit from the Maryland area, joined us for this week’s episode of Where Accountants Go, the Accounting Careers podcast.  If you have ever considered moving your own career in the direction of audit, or internal audit specifically, this episode will be extremely valuable for you.

Maxene’s career started in a role that she actually didn’t even realize was internal audit when she accepted it.  It was titled Risk Analyst, and was in the financial institution industry.  However, she quickly realized as she got into the job that it was an audit role at its core, and it ended up being a great career path for her.  After 24 years in the field now, she is the Associate Inspector General for a major water utility in the Northeast.

Another interesting facet of this episode is that we talk about the six, yes six (!), certifications that Maxene holds.  She became a CPA first, but then as she got deeper into the field of audit and as the field continued to adapt over the years, she continued to attain additional certifications that have helped her to continue to show excellence and capability across many aspects of the work.  Luckily, as we find out in this episode, much of the continuing education is cross-applicable.