Accounting/Finance Careers at the Parks

C

cpadude123

New Member
Original Poster
I am interested in an accounting/finance career at Walt Disney World. I've read some job descriptions posted on disneycareers.com and am looking for more information.

Does anyone here work in accounting/finance at Disney who could provide me with details about your role? What is the work like? How does it compare to accounting for other companies?

Is it difficult for someone who hasn't worked at the parks to be hired from the outside?

Do I need an MBA? (I have a CPA)


Thanks
 
mkt

mkt

When a paradise is lost go straight to Disney™
Premium Member
How ironic... my acquaintance Jen spent about a year working there. She was a recently minted Rollins MBA with over 10 years experience when Disney hired her.
 
W

wizards8507

Active Member
This past year, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts hired roughly ten new salaried employees for entry level Finance/Accounting roles. As far as I know, we were all current college seniors who were recruited on campus and had first-round interviews at our respective schools. The schools at which they came to recruit included Notre Dame, BYU, Texas, Virginia, Penn, Michigan, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, and maybe a few others that I'm not remembering.

Of the students who completed first-round interviews, roughly 30-40 were invited to WDW for a "superday" of second-round interviews. Interviewers for the second round were VP's of various departments within Parks and Resorts, including Financial Reporting, Imagineering, etc. There were about fifteen interviewers total. Each candidate had three or four interviews throughout the day, including one case study. I'm not sure exactly how many were hired, but they said their target was at least ten new hires.

For current CPAs and experienced professionals, the process would likely be very different, but that was their process this year for hiring entry level professionals for Parks and Resorts Finance/Accounting roles.
 
DisneySaint

DisneySaint

Well-Known Member
I was in an auditing role in Finance (purposely being vague); took me, as you can see, about 4 years with a LOT of networking and whatnot. Unfortunately it was only a temporary asignment (as are most positions you start in WDW) and the pay (even if I were capped) was not enough for me to raise a family on. Don't get me wrong - I LOVED the job, but don't expect things to change much from front of the house to back. I can tell you it's an extremely difficult area to get into because most of the people who are there are "lifers" and are fully engrained. I can't imagine getting into it without previous Disney experience, but maybe if you bring a substantial finance/auditing background they may overlook it.

Good luck.
 
R

robinj003

New Member
Dinsey has it's own credit union for employees and their families. It's pretty easy to get into and a nice way to get your foot in the door and move your way up
 

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