Accounting Grad’s Work with Department of Defense Takes Him Around the World

30 under 30 logoGeorge Hurley (SHU '10) expected his post-graduation plans to include a job offer from a Pittsburgh engineering-consulting company where he had interned for two years.

But fate intervened during Hurley’s senior year when he attended an Accounting Consortium event and found that the Department of Defense was one of the prospective employers. He put the agency at the top of his list because of his longtime interest in military affairs.

"What we do is very different from what most people think."

“I already assumed I had a job lined up but figured it wouldn’t hurt to submit my resume and see what happened,” George says. “Worst case scenario was that I would get some practice interviewing.”

That chance encounter led to a job offer working for the Department of Defense’s Inspector General in Washington D.C., a job that requires an accounting degree but no actual accounting work.

“What we do ... is very different from what most people think of when envisioning the work most auditors do,” Hurley says.

He and the majority of his auditor colleagues review Department of Defense programs, policies and procedures. George has worked on many Congressionally-mandated projects looking for fraud, waste and abuse.

George has worked across the United States and in foreign countries including Germany. Recently, he became a member of a joint-investigation team, which examined the Air Force’s Space Launch program.

One of his most rewarding projects occurred during six months in Afghanistan as he examined the oversight guiding the winding- down of U.S. forces in the country. He and his team identified significant pieces of unaccounted-for military hardware, like drone systems, and worked to locate them.

Seton Hill’s young alumni are making their mark on the world through their work in science and healthcare, finance and business, industry, entertainment and service to those in need. The Spring/Winter 2017 edition of Seton Hill’s Forward magazine featured 30 of these alumni, all under the age of 30. You can find all of their stories here on Seton Hill’s site (just look for the “30 Under 30” icon).

Find out more about the Accounting Program at Seton Hill here.