ASSURANCE ASSOCIATE JOB DESCRIPTION

An Assurance Associate in a public accounting firm occupies a defined place on the competency ladder: above clerical support, below the engagement manager, and directly responsible for the audit work that client financial statements depend on. The role owns execution of audit procedures under GAAS and GAGAS standards, from documentation through fieldwork at client sites. Junior in title, not in consequence. Errors in audit sampling or internal control evaluation flow directly into the opinion letter a client's lenders and regulators read.

As the Assurance Associate, you execute audit and review engagements for privately held and publicly reporting clients, applying GAAP and GAAS standards to financial statement line items including Cash, Accounts Payable, and Inventory. You work within an engagement team reporting to firm Principals or senior managers, with a defined path toward CPA licensure and, for high performers, a partner-track trajectory.

Career Impact: Audit experience under GAAS and GAGAS at a CPA firm is one of the few credentials that accelerates licensure hours, opens doors to both industry and advisory roles, and is verifiable by any future employer through public accounting tenure.

Business Impact: The engagement opinion this role supports determines whether a privately held construction client, a regional manufacturer, or a professional services firm can access financing, satisfy a regulatory review, or close an acquisition.

Growth Opportunity: Associates who demonstrate audit skepticism and client management skills move into in-charge and senior associate roles within two to four years, gaining ownership of full engagements and, eventually, staff mentoring responsibilities.

• Execute audit procedures on financial statement line items, including Cash, Accounts Payable, and Inventory, to ensure figures are properly supported.
• Document audit procedures clearly and accurately in accordance with engagement objectives, budgeted time frames, and applicable standards.
• Identify potential audit issues through analysis of relevant client documentation and escalate findings to senior team members.
• Develop working knowledge of GAAP, GAAS, and GAGAS standards and apply them consistently across assigned engagements.
• Collaborate with engagement team members in setting goals, dividing responsibilities, and contributing ideas to the audit approach.
• Maintain a client-focused demeanor at client sites, responding to requests efficiently and sustaining productive working relationships with client personnel.
• Pursue professional development through internal training, external courses, and professional association memberships, sharing knowledge gained with peers.

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or Economics, or equivalent work experience.
• 0 to 3 or more years of audit or assurance experience in a public accounting firm, with demonstrated exposure to financial statement engagements.
• Active progress toward CPA licensure, including sufficient credit hours to sit for the CPA exam.
• Working knowledge of GAAP and GAAS principles as applied to audit and review engagements.
• Ability to document audit procedures and workpapers accurately within established time budgets.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the capacity to connect testing results to financial statement assertions.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in a team and interact professionally with clients.

• CPA license obtained or exam sections passed, demonstrating commitment to professional credentialing beyond the minimum threshold.
• Exposure to construction industry accounting, including percentage-of-completion revenue recognition or job-cost reporting structures.
• Experience mentoring entry-level staff or interns on audit procedures and workpaper standards.
• Demonstrated interest in business development, including participation in networking events or client relationship expansion activities.

• Workpaper completion rate within budgeted hours per engagement, reflecting execution efficiency against the firm's time targets.
• Rate of audit findings requiring rework or senior review correction, measuring documentation accuracy on first submission.
• Client responsiveness turnaround time, tracking how quickly open client requests are resolved during fieldwork.
• Chargeable hours as a percentage of available hours, reflecting contribution to firm utilization and engagement staffing goals.
• CPA exam progress by milestone, measured against the firm's standard licensure timeline for associates at this level.
• Typical tools: audit workpaper platforms (commonly CCH Engagement or similar); spreadsheet applications (commonly Microsoft Excel)

• Base Salary Range: $55,000 to $75,000 annually, varying by market and firm size.
• Bonus: Annual performance bonus, typically 5% to 10% of base salary.
• Equity: Not standard at this level in public accounting firms.
• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; firm typically covers majority of premiums.
• PTO: 15 to 20 days annually, plus standard federal holidays and firm-designated busy-season policies.
• Common Perks: CPA exam fee reimbursement, study materials, licensing bonuses upon passing, and continuing education support.

Figures are estimates based on general US market benchmarks and may be outdated. Adjust based on location, company size, and seniority level.

Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process; requests should be directed to the hiring firm. Employment in this role is contingent on successful completion of a background check. All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. Consideration for employment is extended to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

The PT Quality Assurance Associate owns sanitation, safety compliance, and customer service execution across store departments at Food Lion. Working within store operations and reporting to the Manager on Duty, this role shapes a safe, clean shopping environment that supports regulatory compliance and a positive customer experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain an atmosphere of enthusiastic customer awareness with primary emphasis on fast, friendly, and accurate customer service to create a positive shopping experience.
• Be courteous and helpful to other associates.
• Sweep and clean floors on nights with no scheduled vendor services.
• Complete weekly cleaning of Produce, Market and Deli Departments.
• Clean and organize the store mop room.
• Find more efficient ways to do the job and seek to reduce costs and improve labor productivity.
• Follow QA daily check list and sanitation standards set by Food Lion.
• Follow current Standard Practices regarding cleanup of Hazardous Waste product.
• Maintain a complete understanding of and adherence to company guidelines, policies and standard practice.
• Understand and follow Food Safety and Workplace Safety guidelines and procedures.
• Observe and correct all unsafe conditions that could cause associate or customer accidents.
• Report all associate and customer accidents in accordance with established Food Lion procedures to the Manager on Duty.
• Ensure compliance with local, state and federal regulations.
• Wear the Food Lion uniform complete with name badge, when on duty, has a neat and clean appearance while adhering to the Food Lion dress code.
• Successfully complete Computer Based Training (CBT), Training Packet and Training Aid courses.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• High school graduate or equivalent preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, communication and customer service skills.
• Ability and willingness to learn multiple tasks and technical requirements of the job.
• Ability to use technical information to solve problems.
• Must meet minimum age requirements to perform specific job functions.
• Must be able to meet the physical requirements of the position, with or without reasonable accommodations.
• Ability to use computers and other communication systems required to perform job functions.
• Perform repetitive hand and arm motions; bend and lift products weighing up to 15 lbs. continuously, 25 lbs. frequently, and 50 lbs. on occasion.
• Pull or push up to 75 lbs. on occasion; stand 100% of the time, frequently walking short distances.
• Handle a variety of substances associated with cleaning and packaging materials, fresh fruits, vegetables, house plants/flowers and household cleaners.
• Use hands to frequently/continuously handle currency and operate equipment such as cash register, scanner, computer, and calculator.
• Perform frequent reaching and grasping at waist level; occasionally above shoulder or below waist level.

Meet established volume activity standards for the position; tolerate working in extreme hot/cold temperatures for up to 20 minutes at a time.

Have sufficient visual ability to check ID cards, checks, invoices and other written documents.

Reporting to engagement management and partners, the Assurance Associate delivers hands-on, day-to-day audit support across multiple audit techniques while building professional relationships internally and externally with clients. Partnering with engagement teams at client sites, this role advances audit quality and professional development outcomes that directly support client satisfaction and firm growth.

Primary Duties

• Understand and recognize potential audit issues through analysis of relevant documentation.
• Clearly and accurately document the execution of specific audit procedures in accordance with the engagement objectives, budgeted time frame, and appropriate standards.
• Demonstrate an approachable, professional and competent demeanor in the client's environment.
• Maintain a strong client focus; respond to client requests in a friendly and efficient manner and develop/maintain productive working relationships with client personnel.
• Collaborate with team members in setting goals and assuming responsibilities.
• Contribute ideas/opinions to the audit teams and listen/respond to other team members' views.
• Develop a command of GAAP, GAAS, GAGAS and any other common audit techniques.
• Pursue professional development opportunities, including external and internal training and professional association memberships, and share information gained with co-workers.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration required.
• Must be able to sit for CPA exam, already sitting, or have obtained CPA license.
• 0–1 year of working experience in a public accounting firm.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel; willingness to learn a variety of accounting and auditing software and systems.
• Excellent communication skills with a strong desire to work in a team environment and partner with a variety of clients.

Sitting at the intersection of client service and firm leadership, the Senior Assurance Associate manages assurance engagements across a range of industries while mentoring junior staff and working directly with firm Principals toward a partner-track trajectory. Operating across client management, professional standards compliance, and internal goal-setting, this role shapes the firm's assurance quality and long-term client relationships.

Leadership Responsibilities

• Perform and manage client assurance engagements across a range of industries working directly with firm and client management.
• Work directly with clients in response to inquiries and develop strong relationships with client personnel.
• Mentor and direct junior staff members.
• Complete all tasks assigned in a timely and efficient manner according to instructions.
• Follow all professional standards, GAAP, GAAS, and ethics.
• Actively establish plans to meet deadlines in advance and maintain accountability for self and client-assigned tasks, keeping the team informed of progress.
• Actively seek work to meet chargeability goals and complete administrative duties timely.
• Set individual goals that support departmental and firm goals.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with coursework sufficient for CPA licensure.
• 3–5 years of tax or assurance experience at a CPA firm.
• CPA, or progress toward, licensure.
• Proficiency with QuickBooks, Sage FAS, and CCH Engagement.
• Experience in tax compliance and familiarity with Lacerte tax software a plus.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and team management skills.
• Ability to work within a team and manage team members; interest in business development.

Embedded within the Quality, Regulatory, Operations, Service, and Sales teams, the Quality Assurance Associate delivers implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of assigned aspects of the Quality System in line with internationally recognised standards and Olympus requirements. Working closely with customers, manufacturers, and internal stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand, this role builds a compliant quality infrastructure that supports audit readiness and operational excellence.

Core Functions

• Manage department corrective and preventative (CAPA) actions and non-conformances (NCs).
• Partner with key stakeholders in Olympus Australia and New Zealand to deliver their CAPAs and NCs.
• Complete internal audits of the quality system.
• Participate in external compliance inspections for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
• Report metrics and maintain the QARA reporting dashboards.
• Maintain QARA documents including their creation, revision, review and publication.
• Ensure training record requirements are met.
• Train internal customers in their quality requirements.
• Participate in local and global QARA improvement initiatives and projects.
• Support other team members within the department as required.

Qualifications & Experience

• Knowledge of ISO 9001 or ISO 13485 compliance desirable.
• CAPA management, supplier management or internal/supplier audit experience desirable.
• Strong reporting and MS Office skills.
• Experience with SAP, Salesforce, Power BI and Office365 would be highly regarded.
• Demonstrated excellence in communication with customers or manufacturers; self-motivated and able to take initiative.
• Excellent attention to detail, commitment to business improvement, and strong process analysis and problem-solving skills.

A key member of the Learning and Development-supported engagement team, the Assurance Associate builds auditing knowledge and client collaboration skills through live training, direct audit work on financial statement line items such as Cash, Accounts Payable, and Inventory, and hands-on client delivery. Collaborating across engagement teams and client organizations near California offices, this role leads to a full-time career pathway in public accounting with opportunities to mentor future associates.

Duties

• Participate in live Assurance and soft-skills training with members of our Learning and Development team.
• Research basic and intermediate accounting topics and present more senior members with your proposed solution.
• Develop and apply an intermediate knowledge of auditing theory and a sense of audit skepticism.
• Identify key issues and work with more senior team members to come up with an audit approach.
• Contribute ideas/opinions to the engagement teams.
• Connect key testing areas to the financial statement line items and ensure figures are properly supported.
• Collaborate with clients, working hand in hand to deliver a quality product within the client's time frame.
• Perform direct auditing work on key financial statement line items such as Cash, Accounts Payable, and Inventory.

Experience & Qualifications

• BS/BA/MS in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, or Economics with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
• Pursuing sufficient hours/credits to sit for the CPA exam.
• A desire to begin a career in public accounting, graduating between 12/1/2022–8/1/2023 and interested in a full-time position.
• Interest in working near one of our California offices: Irvine, Long Beach, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa, or Walnut Creek.
• Excellent communication skills with a strong desire to work in a team environment and partner with a variety of clients.
• A desire to eventually teach new associates or interns on our processes.

Sustained audit quality for privately held construction businesses depends on the Assurance Associate, who leads planning, supervision, and execution of all phases of audit and review engagements delegated by Principals while managing client relationships and developing staff. Based within a public accounting firm and reporting to Engagement Principals, this role delivers full-cycle assurance services that support client retention and staff growth in the construction sector.

Strategic Responsibilities

• Assume full responsibility for planning, supervising, and controlling all phases of the Firm's regular services for clients delegated by Principals.
• Assume in-charge responsibility; project and plan the timing of the workload to promote the most efficient operation of the staff.
• Lead the decision-making process for assigned engagements and keep the Engagement Principal fully informed of major decisions and engagement progress.
• Develop a responsible and trained team through recruiting, planning assignments, resolving problems, consulting with staff, evaluating performance, and leading professional development programs.
• Supervise preparation of the engagement letter, discuss assignment terms with the client, estimate fees, and ensure the signed letter is returned prior to engagement start.
• Evaluate internal controls and audit programs prepared by staff, revise as necessary, and present to the Engagement Principal for approval.
• Monitor time budgets and deadlines, communicate important developments with facts and recommendations, and prepare final client meetings.

Background & Experience

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Accounting or related field.
• Current CPA license required.
• 6+ years of public accounting experience with emphasis in financial statement preparation, audits, reviews, and compilations.
• Advanced technical knowledge of audit, accounting, and tax concepts in the construction industry.
• Ability to travel to client sites, including overnight travel as required.
• Demonstrated ability to manage client relationships and expand services to develop new business.
• Strong communication, analytical, leadership, and mentoring skills with a dynamic interpersonal manner.

As the Assurance Associate, this role supports implementation of the Assurance framework across policy, methodology, scheduling, and reporting while conducting control data analysis and compliance inspections against ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and SE UK regulatory requirements. The SE UK assurance function relies on this work to identify process improvement opportunities, report exceptions to management promptly, and ensure front-to-back regulatory compliance across operational and industrial environments.

Accountabilities

• Support the implementation of the Assurance framework; policy, methodology, schedule and reporting.
• Ensure that key regulation and legislation is evidenced through SE UK processes, and that regulatory change is delivered by the Risk Owner timely and completely, through a suite of assurance activities.
• Assure business critical policies and processes and report on adherence demonstrating compliance to the regulator.
• Conduct control data analysis to identify opportunities for improvement and efficiencies.
• Ensure any discrepancies, delays, mandate breaches or other exceptions are noted and reported to management promptly.
• Identify and enhance risk process improvement opportunities to improve front-to-back efficiency and controls.

Professional Experience

• Bachelor's degree in STEM or other relevant field.
• Professional qualification such as ACCA, ACA, or CII required.
• Minimum 5 years of working experience in Assurance, Audit, Quality Assurance and/or investigation; preference given to Industrial/Operational roles.
• Experience in data analytics will be advantageous.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written) to engage with all levels of the business with a high degree of professionalism and integrity; strong analytical and critical thinking skills to identify irregularities and internal control gaps.
• Ability to operate with minimum supervision on multiple projects, prioritise workload in reaction to business needs, and travel within the UK approximately 70% of the time.
• A full UK driving licence and right to work in the UK are essential.

Business Assurance Associate leads process improvement identification and implementation across the Close Brothers Retail sectors by analysing trends and MI data, resolving complaints in line with DISP rules, and engaging stakeholders at all levels. The work directly supports regulatory compliance, high-quality complaint handling, and continuous improvement of governance and assurance controls across the Business Assurance and Complaints Team.

Scope of Work

• Identify process improvements by analysing trends, data and working closely with colleagues within the Business Assurance Team.
• Drive forward and implement identified process improvements by engaging with the Business Assurance team and other key stakeholders.
• Collate Management Information and produce reports to be shared with key stakeholders including senior management; analyse trends, highlight issues and act accordingly.
• Support the communication of process improvements across the business.
• Make key recommendations of process improvements, including controls and MI support, to positively impact the Business Assurance Team and drive a high level of complaint handling.
• Provide support when required to all other areas of the Business Assurance/Complaints Team to ensure all regulatory timelines are delivered upon.
• Resolve complaints from across the Close Brothers Retail sectors.
• Ensure that all Governance and Compliance requirements are adhered to and all reporting and reviewing activities required by the Regulatory Bodies are carried out to the standards required.

Knowledge Skills & Abilities

• Strong level of complaint handling, including a full understanding of DISP rules.
• Excellent Excel skills and strong attention to detail.
• Excellent analytical and proactive skills, working logically and systematically.
• Able to demonstrate excellent communication skills and an analytical approach to problem solving.
• Stakeholder and relationship management skills with the ability to communicate effectively with non-technical people.
• Ability to work under pressure, remain effective, and work well as part of a team.