Bruce Boatner, CPA

SearchLight Finance LP
1042 Martin St.
Houston, Texas 77018
281-558-2628

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Specialty

Accounting and Finance

Bio

Bruce started his career as auditor with Arthur Andersen in Houston, Texas in 1985. He was eventually promoted to Audit Manager and left in 1995 a few years before the Enron debacle caused Andersen to melt-down. Bruce claims no responsibility for the demise of Andersen other than weakening part of the moral pillar supporting the standards of the firm as a result of his departure. After a less than stellar career at Andersen, Bruce became the Director of Internal Audit for Owen Healthcare, a $500 million publicly traded company in Houston with the goal of moving into a position not involving much in the way of crunching numbers. Before realizing this dream, Owen was purchased by Cardinal Health, a multi-billion dollar drug distribution company based in Dublin, Ohio. Bruce turned down an offer by Cardinal to become their director of internal audit (too cold in Ohio for a Texas boy) and was terminated shortly thereafter. Bruce decided to latch on to the tech boom in the late nineties and accepted a position as senior finance manager with Dell Computer Company in Austin, Texas in 1998. Although a terrible fit for this position, Bruce’s in-depth research of interview techniques and skillful execution thereof enabled him to blind key decision makers about his shortcomings and he landed an attractive offer. Despite his best efforts, Bruce was unable to sustain the illusion of competence for more than a few days. After many stressful and uncomfortable “episodes” at Dell, Bruce slowly started to recognize that alcohol provided only temporary relief and he needed to look for a different path. Bruce performed an introspective analysis and determined that his main strengths were his gift of gab, ability to persuade others he knew what he was talking about even if only half true, and love of money. Bruce decided that recruiting finance and accounting professionals offered a way to leverage these strengths and make the 15 years of pure hell he spent crunching numbers not entirely worthless. Thus, Bruce began his career as a recruiter in 1999 and has not looked back. Unlike many of his colleagues, Bruce actually sought out a role as a recruiter instead of stumbling on it by accident. Bruce has consistently been a top biller with each of three different recruiting firms he has worked with focusing on finance and accounting professionals in Houston, Texas. After struggling in roles he was not a fit for, Bruce feels he “belongs” in recruiting and has a passion for the profession. Professionally, Bruce is a CPA (inactive) and an officer in the Houston Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors. Personally, Bruce and wife Carole recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. In his spare time, Bruce enjoys restoring and maintaining classic automobiles. His current collection includes a 1955 and a 1970 Chevrolet pickup truck (he is from Texas) as well as a 1964 Corvette. Bruce is also an avid home improvement junkie. He recently built a gazebo complete with functional cupola in his backyard and is currently finishing out the interior of his weekend house in the Texas hill country near Austin, Texas. Bruce started his own firm, SearchLight Finance in Feb. 2008 and expects great things!

 

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