Assurance Experienced Senior

About the role

The Assurance Experienced Senior will be responsible for coordinating the day-to-day "in-charge" duties of planning, fieldwork, and "wrap-up" to include the preparing of financial statements with disclosures, applying most areas of GAAP as necessary and documenting, validating, testing, and assessing various control systems. This position is also responsible for acting as the client contact for basic questions and information and may be involved in reviews and agreed-upon procedure engagements.

Responsibilities

• Apply knowledge and understanding of the collective effect of various factors on establishing or enhancing effectiveness, or mitigating the risks, of specific policies and procedures.
• As Auditor in charge, be responsible to the engagement manager for the day-to-day conduct of the audit work and in particular for ensuring that the field work is executed and completed as planned, in accordance with timetable, with Firm's policies and procedures and to budget.
• Apply knowledge of transactional flow and key transactional cycles to complete audit work.
• Document, validate, and assess effectiveness of internal control system.
• Determine and communicate improvements to client internal controls and accounting procedures.
• Supervise the work of audit staff and review workpapers and conclusions and explain any shortcomings to them.
• Apply knowledge and understanding of governing principles; applying these principles to client transactions; and documenting and communicating an understanding and application of these principles.
• Understand and effectively communicate financial statement disclosure requirements to clients.
• Identify and apply new pronouncements to client situations.
• Identify, analyze, and discuss alternative generally accepted accounting principles for the client, when necessary, with the Manager, Senior Manager and engagement partner.
• Identify complex accounting issues and bring them to the attention of superiors for resolution.
• Apply knowledge and understanding of SEC regulations and PCAOB guidelines, and document and communicate the application of these principles.
• Read and review clients' SEC filings, ensuring accuracy and completeness, and also ensuring all financial information is supported in the workpapers and appropriately tested.
• Prepare required communications to the Client and the Audit Committee.
• Plan and execute Section 404 internal control audit including obtaining an understanding of the control environment, designing test plans, evaluating deficiencies, and assessing the overall financial reporting control environment.
• Apply knowledge and understanding of professional standards; application of the principles contained in professional standards; and the ability to document and communicate an understanding and application of professional standards on an engagement.
• Formulate and communicate the audit plan.
• Apply GAAS to a variety of complex issues and consult others as appropriate.
• Apply audit skepticism and determine when to reduce or expand testing.
• Use BDO audit manuals as appropriate for the situation.
• Document deviations from BDO policy with approval.
• Look for opportunities to suggest improvement to company's internal controls and prepare draft communication required by professional standards.
• Apply knowledge and application of BDO standards that guide effective and efficient delivery of quality services and products.
• Apply BDO audit approach and methodologies, including tools and technology, to execute the audit with quality, efficiency, and completeness despite pressures of deadlines.
• Identify and propose outcomes to critical issues.
• Apply methodology used to seek or maintain information from authoritative sources and to draw conclusions regarding a target issue based on that information.
• Apply knowledge of the use of internal and external research tools and select methodology for routine research requests.
• Research more complex areas of accounting and form an initial opinion on the correct treatment independently and consider and document the impact on the client and audit engagement.
• Document and organize complicated findings in a usable format, based on information obtained from Accounting Research Manager, BDO Assurance Manual, Yahoo Finance, etc.
• Assist the engagement manager with gathering sufficient appropriate information about the business and information system, including the accounting system, to form an adequate basis for the preparation of the audit strategy.
• Coordinate timing of planning, fieldwork, and review with audit team and client and assist engagement executives in developing the audit engagement budget and identify appropriate resources.
• Develop the draft Audit Engagement Planning Memorandum, audit programs and budgets.
• Establish with the engagement manager the responsibilities of individual audit staff for specific areas of audit work.
• Monitor and report engagement budget to actual and advise engagement executives of possible overruns.
• Supervise a team of audit professionals ranging in size from 1 to 5.
• Provide verbal and written performance feedback to associates.
• Teach/coach associates to provide on the job learning.
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics or Statistics, required OR Bachelor's degree in other focus area and CPA certification, required.
• Master's degree in Accountancy, preferred.
• Three (3) or more years of prior relevant audit experience and/or public accounting, private industry accounting or consulting/professional services experience, required.
• Prior basic supervisory experience, preferred.
• Eligible to sit for the CPA exams upon starting employment, required, and actively pursuing completion of the exams, required.
• CPA, preferred.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, preferred.
• Experience with assurance applications and research tools, preferred.
• Possess proven solid verbal and written communication skills.
• Possess people development and delegation skills.
• Possess executive presence - needs to be able to be primary contact for the client.
• Ability to "in-charge" all stages of the audit, including planning, fieldwork, and "wrap-up".
• Ability to perform the completion of an audit of a complex company.
• Ability to prepare and/or review financial statements with disclosures in accordance with GAAP requirements.