Assurance Associate

About the Role

The Assurance Associate will be responsible for preparing financial statements with disclosures, applying basic areas of GAAP, and documenting, validating, testing, and assessing various control systems. This position may also be involved in reviews and agreed-upon procedure engagements. The Assurance Associate will be expected to travel, as needed, to meet firm and client needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Control Environment:
• Applies knowledge and understanding of the collective effect of various factors on establishing or enhancing effectiveness, or mitigating the risks, of specific policies and procedures.
• Identifies and considers all applicable policies, laws, rules, and regulations of the firm, regulators, or other authoritative bodies as part of the engagement team.
• Makes constructive suggestions to improve client internal controls and accounting procedures.
• Documents and validates the operating effectiveness of clients’ internal control systems.
• GAAP:
• Applies knowledge and understanding of governing principles.
• Applies these principles to client transactions.
• Documents and communicates an understanding and application of these principles.
• Provides support of conclusions with authoritative literature.
• Drafts basic sets of financial statements with disclosures.
• Researches intermediate areas of accounting and forms an initial opinion on the correct treatment independently.
• GAAS:
• Applies knowledge and understanding of professional standards.
• Applies the principles contained in professional standards.
• Documents and communicates an understanding and application of professional standards on an engagement.
• Develops and applies an intermediate knowledge of auditing theory, a sense of audit skepticism, and the use of BDO audit manuals.
• Applies auditing theory to various client situations.
• Documents in line with BDO policy, identifies deviations, and notifies more senior team members to obtain appropriate approvals.
• Applies knowledge to identify instances where testing may be reduced or expanded and notifies more senior team members of the occurrence.
• Contributes ideas/opinions to the engagement teams.
• Methodology:
• Applies knowledge and application of BDO standards to guide effective and efficient delivery of quality services and products.
• Completes all appropriate documentation of BDO work papers.
• Ensures assigned work is performed in accordance with BDO methodology and requirements.
• Research:
• Applies methodology used to seek or maintain information from authoritative sources and to draw conclusions regarding a target issue based on the information.
• Researches basic and intermediate accounting topics and forms an initial opinion on the treatment independently.
• Other duties as required.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Proficient with the Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to apply generative and agentic AI solutions to develop work products, improve workflows, and identify potential risks.
• Emphasis on professional judgment in validating AI-generated outputs for accuracy, quality, and compliance.

Qualifications

• Education:
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or Statistics, required.
• OR Bachelor’s degree in another focus area and CPA certification, required.
• Master’s in Accountancy, preferred.
• Experience:
• Leadership experience, preferred.
• Accounting based internship, preferred.
• License/Certifications:
• Eligible to sit for the CPA exams upon starting employment, required.
• Actively pursuing completion of CPA exams, preferred.
• Other Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to follow instructions as directed.
• Ability to work effectively in a team setting.
• Ability and willingness to travel, as needed, required.
• Takes appropriate actions without being asked.
• Basic understanding and experience planning and coordinating the stages to perform an audit of a basic public and/or private company.