Shannon Cotto
(’11 master of accounting; ’10 accounting)
Hometown: Grimes, Iowa
Senior specialist, financial analysis, Transamerica
Growing up an avid Cyclone fan, I always knew I would attend Iowa State University, though I wasn’t certain what I wanted to do when I got there.
After testing out a couple of majors, I landed on accounting, due to my love of numbers, of course. The College of Business provided numerous opportunities for accounting students to explore their career prospects. Assessing those opportunities led me to complete the master of accounting (MAcc) program. I knew I wanted to become a CPA, so why not continue building my accounting knowledge to prepare and allow me to qualify for the exam.
While on campus, I was part of various organizations. However, Beta Alpha Psi was what really provided me with direct exposure to companies and real-world opportunities. I recall having a running list of companies I wanted to connect with at the recruiting events. It was at one of these events that I first connected with Transamerica. This initial connection evolved into an internship, which ultimately shaped my full career history to date.
During my 14 years at Transamerica, I’ve held several different roles. I began in a rotation program that provided me with exposure to various areas of the organization, including corporate tax, annuity financial reporting, and consolidated U.S. statutory reporting. These roles all gave the opportunity to apply my accounting skills in different ways – anywhere from journal entries to legal entity financial analysis. Along the way, I’ve also helped prepare audited financials and helped with evolving our capital reporting process. These prior experiences helped build my company knowledge and set me up for success in my current role, which has evolved into project management.
Connect with Shannon Cotto on LinkedIn.
