Audit Manager

Job Description

Job Description

ABOUT THE FIRM

Our client is an established full-service CPA firm serving clients throughout the United States and internationally. The firm delivers Big 4 technical expertise with the personal service and accessibility of a boutique practice, and is known for its depth in servicing micro-cap, small-cap, and mid-cap publicly held companies across virtually every industry.

The firm is registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It is subject to both the PCAOB inspection process and AICPA peer review requirements.

Industry concentrations include consumer goods and apparel, distribution, leisure, life sciences, media and entertainment, manufacturing, real estate, and technology.

POSITION SUMMARY

Our client is seeking an experienced Audit Manager to join its Assurance & Audit practice in Los Angeles. The Audit Manager owns the planning, execution, and delivery of a portfolio of audit, review, and compilation engagements for public and private company clients, serving as the primary day-to-day point of contact for client management and as the senior reviewer of engagement work product.

This is a hands-on leadership role. The Audit Manager supervises and develops seniors and staff auditors, manages engagement economics and timelines, resolves complex technical accounting and auditing matters, and works directly with engagement partners on reporting, quality control, and client service. The role offers substantial client contact, exposure to SEC reporting and capital markets transactions, and a defined path toward Senior Manager and Partner.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Engagement Management

• Plan, scope, budget, and staff audit, review, and compilation engagements from initial risk assessment through issuance of the report.
• Develop the audit strategy and detailed audit programs, including materiality determination, risk of material misstatement assessment, and the planned response at the assertion level.
• Manage multiple concurrent engagements against competing deadlines, including SEC filing deadlines for Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and registration statements.
• Monitor engagement economics, including realization, budget-to-actual performance, work in process, and billing, and communicate variances to the engagement partner promptly.
• Coordinate with client personnel to establish PBC schedules, manage the flow of requested information, and keep the engagement on timeline with minimal disruption to the client.

Technical Execution and Review

• Perform detailed review of workpapers, financial statements, and footnote disclosures prepared by seniors and staff, and confirm that documentation supports the conclusions reached.
• Research and resolve complex technical accounting and auditing matters under U.S. GAAP, GAAS, PCAOB standards, and SEC rules and regulations, and prepare or review technical memoranda supporting significant judgments.
• Address matters commonly encountered in the firm's client base, including revenue recognition, business combinations and acquisition accounting, consolidations and variable interest entities, going concern, stock-based compensation, embedded derivatives, impairment of goodwill and intangibles, and debt and equity transactions.
• Evaluate internal control over financial reporting, identify deficiencies, and communicate significant deficiencies and material weaknesses to management and those charged with governance.
• Support engagements involving initial and secondary public offerings, reverse mergers, PIPE transactions, registered direct offerings, roll-ups, special purpose acquisition companies, and mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
• Assist in responding to SEC comment letters and in the preparation of related client correspondence.

Client Relationships

• Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for client management, including CFOs, controllers, and audit committee members.
• Communicate audit findings, adjustments, and control recommendations clearly and constructively, in writing and in person.
• Identify opportunities to add value through management reporting, control and procedure improvements, and coordination with the firm's tax and consulting groups.
• Build and maintain long-term client relationships consistent with the firm's emphasis on continuity of the service team.

Team Leadership and Development

• Supervise, coach, and mentor senior and staff auditors on engagement execution, technical matters, and professional standards.
• Deliver timely, specific performance feedback during and at the conclusion of each engagement, and participate in the formal performance review process.
• Contribute to in-house training, seminars, and technical updates for the assurance group.
• Participate in recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding of assurance professionals.

Quality and Firm Contribution

• Maintain compliance with firm quality control policies, independence requirements, and documentation standards.
• Support the firm through the PCAOB inspection process and AICPA peer review, including remediation of any identified matters.
• Contribute to practice development activities, including proposals, scoping, and fee estimates for prospective engagements.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Active CPA license in California, or an active CPA license in another state with eligibility for California reciprocity.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or a related field; 150 semester units toward CPA licensure.
• Minimum of five to seven years of progressive audit experience in public accounting, including at least one to two years at the manager or supervising senior level.
• Demonstrated experience auditing SEC registrants in accordance with PCAOB standards, including preparation or review of financial statements included in Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. GAAP, GAAS, PCAOB auditing standards, and SEC reporting requirements.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent engagements, engagement budgets, and audit teams.
• Proficiency with electronic audit documentation software and Microsoft Excel; familiarity with EDGAR filing and XBRL tagging concepts.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical conclusions to non-accountants.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Big 4 or national firm audit training, followed by experience in a middle-market or boutique firm environment.
• Experience with capital markets transactions, including IPOs, reverse mergers, SPACs, and PIPE financings.
• Experience auditing employee benefit plans subject to ERISA, including defined contribution and defined benefit plans.
• Experience with cross-border engagements, foreign private issuers, or clients with international operations.
• Industry depth in one or more of the firm's concentrations: consumer goods and apparel, distribution, leisure, life sciences, media and entertainment, manufacturing, real estate, or technology.
• Professional fluency in a second language in support of the firm's international client base.