SENIOR ASSURANCE ASSOCIATE JOB DESCRIPTION

A Senior Assurance Associate in plain terms: the person who makes sure client financial records are accurate, compliant, and defensible. That simplicity masks real complexity. This role owns the day-to-day execution of audit and assurance engagements under GAAP, GAAS, and PCAOB standards, serving clients across industries while operating within a public accounting firm's structured engagement model. Senior Associates occupy a distinct middle layer - accountable for work paper quality and junior staff development, while remaining answerable to Managers and Partners on every engagement. CPA licensure is the professional benchmark the role is measured against.

As the Senior Assurance Associate, you lead the execution of client audit engagements from pre-engagement planning through final deliverable, ensuring financial statements, work papers, and audit conclusions meet firm quality standards and applicable regulatory frameworks. You operate within an engagement team structure, developing junior Associates while maintaining direct accountability to Managers and Partners across a concurrent portfolio of client accounts.

Career Impact: Senior Associates who achieve CPA licensure and demonstrate consistent engagement leadership position themselves competitively for Manager-track roles within public accounting firms.

Business Impact: The accuracy and defensibility of a client's audited financial statements depends directly on the work papers, journal entry reviews, and control testing this role produces each engagement cycle.

Growth Opportunity: Managing concurrent engagements under GAAP, GAAS, and PCAOB standards builds a technical foundation that transfers across industries, client sizes, and service lines within assurance and advisory.

• Lead pre-engagement planning, including work plan development, budget setting, and schedule coordination with client management.
• Review financial statements, footnotes, and work papers to verify completeness, accuracy, and adherence to firm quality control procedures.
• Execute audit procedures covering IT General Controls, application controls, and key report testing across assigned client engagements.
• Serve as primary client contact during engagements, managing expectations, resolving issues, and communicating findings clearly.
• Mentor and evaluate junior staff, providing consistent feedback to support their technical development and engagement performance.
• Monitor engagement progress against the approved work plan and communicate schedule or scope changes to Managers and Partners.
• Research and resolve significant audit or assurance issues, applying knowledge of US GAAP, GAAS, and PCAOB standards.
• Prepare and deliver staff performance evaluations at engagement close.

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 2 or more years of audit and assurance experience in a public accounting setting, with exposure to financial statement engagements.
• Active CPA license or documented progress toward CPA licensure.
• Working knowledge of US GAAP, GAAS, and PCAOB rules, including standards applicable to financial statement audits.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent engagements against competing deadlines without loss of work paper quality.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting findings to client management.
• Proven ability to mentor junior staff and provide structured, actionable performance feedback.
• Solid analytical and research skills applied to resolving audit issues and evaluating audit evidence.

• CISA, CIA, or CISSP certification, or active pursuit of one, particularly for engagements involving IT General Controls or SOC reporting.
• Familiarity with Hedge Fund Accounting, FAR, or CAS standards applicable to specialized client portfolios.
• Experience in SOC engagements or IT controls testing, including application controls and key report evaluation.
• Interest in business development activities, including participation in client relationship building and firm recruiting events.

• Work paper review pass rate, measuring the proportion cleared by Manager review without material revision.
• Engagement budget variance, tracking actual hours against planned budget across concurrent client engagements.
• Staff evaluation completion rate, reflecting consistency in providing junior Associate performance feedback at engagement close.
• Client findings resolution cycle, measuring average days from issue identification to documented resolution per engagement.
• CPA exam progress milestones, tracked against firm-defined timelines for associates pursuing licensure.
• Typical tools: audit engagement management (commonly GoSystems or Caseware); spreadsheet and document platforms (commonly MS Office suite).

• Base Salary Range: $65,000 to $90,000 annually, varying by market and firm size.
• Bonus: Annual performance bonus, typically 5 to 10 percent of base salary.
• Equity: Not standard at this level in public accounting firms.
• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer contribution varies by firm.
• PTO: 15 to 20 days annually, plus standard federal holidays.
• Common Perks: CPA exam fee reimbursement, study materials, professional development stipend, CPE support.

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

Background check completion is a condition of employment for all positions. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship now or in the future. All applicants are evaluated without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities are available upon request throughout the application and employment process.

The Senior Assurance Associate owns the evaluation and testing of client IT controls environments, identifying areas of risk and supporting financial statement audits within a firm that provides access to leaders, mentors, and structured training programs. Reporting to engagement team leadership, this role builds client relationships and delivers advisory that strengthens overall client processes and IT controls understanding.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, execute, and complete engagements to evaluate and test IT controls, identify areas of risk, and support financial statement audits.
• Identify market trends to provide proactive advisory to clients and colleagues.
• Communicate clearly with clients about engagement expectations and findings.
• Train, supervise, and provide regular feedback to less experienced team members.
• Work flexibly at client sites, in-office, or remotely based on team and client needs.
• Represent the firm at recruiting and professional networking events.
• Build technical and professional skills through formal training programs.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, IT, MIS, or related discipline.
• CISA certification preferred; CPA, CISSP, CIA, or CISM is a plus.
• Minimum two years of experience in public accounting or equivalent, delivering controls-based services with exposure to IT General Controls for financial statement audits, including testing of key reports and application controls; SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, or NetSuite experience is a plus.
• Knowledge of at least one area: access control software, security architecture, firewalls, network security, operating systems (Windows, UNIX, AS400, Mainframe), or databases.
• Proficiency in managing multiple engagements and competing priorities with agility and teamwork.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Embedded within a collaborative team of Managers and Partners, the Senior Assurance Associate delivers across three core focus areas - Audit and Accounting, Task and Engagement Management, and Personal and Professional Development - as the primary lead on client engagement walkthroughs and work paper reviews. Working closely with Associate-level staff through mentoring and collaborative workgroups, this role shapes client relationships and drives resolution of audit issues across engagements.

Core Functions

• Review and prepare financial statements, footnotes, and work papers to firm standards.
• Demonstrate professional creativity in addressing client matters and suggest operational improvements.
• Perform accounting procedures and tax applications accurately and timely, including proposing journal entries.
• Serve as Engagement Lead, taking responsibility for pre-engagement planning, execution, and final deliverables.
• Develop detailed engagement work plans illustrating budgets and schedules.
• Monitor project status against the work plan and communicate schedule adjustments to managers or partners.
• Develop professional client relationships and serve as the primary point of contact.

Qualifications & Experience

• BS/BA in Accounting; CPA designation or eligibility highly desirable.
• Minimum 2–3 years of audit and accounting experience in public accounting.
• Strong analytical and auditing skills including knowledge of US GAAP, GAAS, PCAOB rules, FAR, and CAS.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Excel, Word, Outlook); audit software including ProSystems, GoSystems, or Caseware a plus.
• Exceptional client service skills with demonstrated ability to build and maintain outstanding client relationships.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, written, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Solid organizational skills with demonstrated ability to multi-task.

Reporting to the Dublin QA Lead, the Senior Assurance Associate leads ongoing QA and QC reviews of SARs, No-File cases, and CAR functions across multiple filing units to ensure controls and standards are consistently met. Partnering with key stakeholders and senior management, this role strengthens the Global QA framework by identifying deficiencies, conducting root cause analysis, and delivering clear reporting on control environment issues.

Primary Duties

• Perform ongoing QA and QC reviews of SARs, No-File cases, and CAR functions across multiple filing units to ensure controls and standards are met.
• Investigate the reliability and integrity of data, validity of conclusions, and appropriateness of assumptions.
• Review quality of completed cases based on quality testing standards.
• Identify key issues, trends, and observations, and report summary results to stakeholders.
• Perform root cause analysis and recommend solutions for identified deficiencies.
• Provide recommendations for improvements to business processes.
• Ensure consistency with the Global QA framework and governance approach.
• Raise and present control environment issues to relevant stakeholders and senior management in a concise and persuasive manner.
• Act as Second in Command and support to the Dublin QA Lead.

Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in the Financial Services industry, particularly Anti-Money Laundering.
• Investigative or QA/controls background preferred.
• Exceptional research and analytical skills with ability to analyze large volumes of data.
• Ability to translate technical data into clear business reports and presentations.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, documentation, and metrics.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with strong attention to detail and problem-solving ability.
• Ability to read and comprehend German given Eurozone branch coverage; additional European language skills, particularly French, a plus.

Sitting at the intersection of internal audit and IT governance, the Senior Assurance Associate leads client advisory engagements spanning information security, system availability, and IT service continuity across a diverse client portfolio. Operating across both client-facing and team coordination responsibilities, this role supervises audit teams and coaches junior staff to deliver high-quality assurance services that strengthen client controls and business operations.

Duties

• Provide internal audit and business advisory services to a variety of clients.
• Participate in projects to improve IT governance and controls, including information security, system availability, and IT service continuity.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with new and established clients.
• Liaise with client and specialist staff to deliver high-quality services as part of a collaborative team.
• Provide on-site coordination for audit clients, including coaching and training of junior staff.
• Supervise teams and report directly to senior staff.

Requirements

• ACCA, CIA, CISA, or similar certification (qualified or in progress) is an advantage.
• Experience in financial audit, internal audit, or consultancy services.
• Strong analytical, organizational, listening, and questioning skills with a strong drive for continuous improvement and client-facing responsibilities.
• Strong teamworking skills with experience supervising and developing junior staff.
• Proven project management skills.
• Strong English language skills; German or French is a plus.

A key member of a primarily office-based team with a clear path toward partnership, the Senior Assurance Associate leads client assurance engagements across a range of industries while working directly with firm and client management. Collaborating across junior staff, supervisors, and client personnel, this role builds strong client relationships and upholds professional standards including GAAP and GAAS to support firm growth.

Functions

• Perform and manage client assurance engagements across a range of industries, working directly with firm and client management.
• Work directly with clients to respond to inquiries and develop strong relationships with client personnel.
• Mentor and direct junior staff members.
• Complete all assigned tasks in a timely and efficient manner following professional standards including GAAP, GAAS, and ethics.
• Establish plans proactively to meet deadlines and maintain accountability for self and client-assigned tasks.
• Seek work actively to meet chargeability goals and complete administrative duties timely.
• Set individual goals that support departmental and firm objectives.

Experience & Qualifications

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

Delivering accurate, well-supported assurance work across SOC and IT general controls engagements depends on the Senior Assurance Associate, who performs complex analysis, resolves significant assurance issues, and ensures firm quality control standards are consistently upheld. Serving as a technical contributor within the engagement team, this role advances the team's compliance with GAAS pronouncements while managing multiple engagements with competing deadlines.

Accountabilities

• Perform complex analysis and draw meaningful conclusions for assurance engagements.
• Ensure accuracy of reports, evaluate test results, and identify or recommend solutions for SOC and IT general controls engagements.
• Research and resolve significant assurance issues.
• Perform thorough review of work papers to verify completed procedures, supported conclusions, and adherence to firm quality control standards.
• Contribute technical expertise to assurance engagement teams and maintain current knowledge of GAAS pronouncements.

Technical Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Computer Science; Master's degree a plus.
• CPA or CISA required.
• 4+ years of relevant work experience, including managing multiple engagements with competing deadlines.
• Network management and database experience is a plus.
• Excellent computer skills including the full Microsoft Office suite.
• Outstanding interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to travel and work overtime when necessary.

As the Senior Assurance Associate, this role plans and supervises accounting and audit engagements under the direction of Supervisors, Managers, or Partners at a growing New Jersey professional services firm. The engagement team relies on this work to maintain rigorous work paper review, timely issue resolution, and productive client management relationships that support continuous improvement in business and audit processes.

Activities

• Plan and supervise assigned accounting and audit engagements.
• Supervise and train staff assigned to engagements.
• Review all work papers and financial statements including note disclosures prior to Manager review.
• Research and facilitate resolution of issues arising during engagements.
• Interact with key client management to gather information, resolve problems, and recommend business and process improvements.
• Prepare staff evaluations.

Position Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in a public accounting setting; Bachelor's degree in Accounting and/or Finance.
• Solid knowledge of accounting and auditing standards including GAAP, GAAS, Financial Statement Preparation, and Hedge Fund Accounting.
• Solid analytical, mathematical, and research skills.
• Microsoft Excel proficient.
• Strong attention to detail with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Great interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with clients and team members.