Branden K. Soo

Profile

About Me

I'm a recent May 2026 graduate from USC's Marshall School of Business and Leventhal School of Accounting, with a joint Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance (3.6 Cumulative GPA), now actively searching for entry-level AI Finance, Financial Analyst, and Investment Analyst roles. My academic foundation spans financial modeling, DCF and LBO analysis, M&A, financial statement analysis, audit, accounting systems, and Tableau analytics - the technical toolkit top finance firms look for in new analysts. My focus is the intersection of finance and AI: beyond using these tools, I've helped train frontier models on financial reasoning, and I work to understand where the technology is heading before it arrives.

What sets me apart is real-world experience that most entry-level candidates don't have, across six different roles in four distinct fields:

AI Research: Finance & Accounting Expert at AfterQuery (YC W25), a lab that raised $30M to teach frontier models real professional expertise. I author the 10-K analysis and finance training tasks used to benchmark and sharpen how leading AI models reason, and earned a spot on their top-repeat-expert list.
Sports Law: Legal intern at ATHLAW LLP, running exhaustive open-source intelligence audits and due diligence for partners representing retired NFL players in complex disability and retirement benefit litigation against the NFL.
Founding CFO: Built the financial infrastructure from the ground up at WCHype LLC, a retail goods wholesale company, during its founding stage, scaling revenue from $10K to $2M annually. Managed capital allocation, established $1M+ in credit facilities through staged financing, audited tax returns, oversaw bookkeeping, and built inventory tracking systems.
Business Finance Consulting: Financial and legal strategy consultant for Sole and Laces, a California-based clothing and sneaker retail store chain with 6 locations across the state. Recovered $200K+ in accrued A/R across 4–5 distressed vendors via multi-source due diligence and litigation-threat negotiation, reviewed and audited tax returns to maximize write-offs and ensure accuracy, strategically planned over $1M in business expenses and purchases for tax optimization and ROI, and oversaw $3M+ of inventory.
High-Net-Worth Tax: Tax administrative assistant at Seiler LLP (now Baker Tilly US), assembling, processing, proofing, and filing complex returns for ultra-high-net-worth, high-profile individuals, and entities across Individual, Business, Estate, and Gift filings. Managed IRS correspondence, engagement letters, Form 1099s, and TIC statements via GoSystems Tax RS. Supported Partners and Tax Managers through multiple tax seasons at 40–100 hrs/week while carrying a full college course load; retained as 1 of only 2 of 12 new hires, and trained new hires aged 24–48 as the youngest member of the team.
Inventory Management & Internal Audit: Inventory Manager and Senior Sales Associate at Sole and Laces, securing over $300K in inventory through wholesale distribution partners and resellers. Organized and transitioned the company's inventory system from Shopify POS to Lightspeed POS, prepared and opened the Daly City location, trained employees on POS systems and inventory organization, created and led an internal audit system to improve inventory accuracy, and maintained ongoing audits.

This hands-on exposure across finance, law, accounting, and AI complements my academic training and means I can contribute from day one.