Assurance Manager, Accounting Advisory & Outsourcing

BDO USA•Mobile, AL

About The Position

The Manager, Accounting Advisory and Outsourcing (AAO) manages the full-life cycle of all assigned finance and accounting outsource engagements. Responsibilities include proposal development, staff assignment and oversight, final work product review and overall portfolio financial performance. In addition, the Manager, AAO will be responsible for client relationship management including regularly meeting with the client and assigned staff, reporting financial information and making financial management recommendations, timely billing and resolution of client issues.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business or Economics, required
Six (6) or more years of experience performing general accounting transactions and functions, required
Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, required
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Understands the finance and accounting functions generally performed by a business (e.g. sales, purchasing, A/R, etc.) and common best practices/processes for how they operate, as well as how they interact; understands other business imperatives/functions (e.g. data security, internal controls, etc.) and how they can affect the finance and accounting functions; uses this knowledge to analyze the current structure of a client and identify what services or processes may be inefficient or missing and where we can add value
Presents well in one-on-one and small group settings; presents well to all levels of management, internally and with clients; projects confidence and expertise; communicates in a clear and concise manner that emphasizes key points; persuades others to their points of view; self-aware – knows when an approach is not working and can change course immediately
Strong analytical and basic research skills
GAAP knowledge, financial statement presentation, and report writing
Solid organizational skills especially the ability to meet project deadlines with a focus on details
Proven ability to work in a deadline-driven environment and handle multiple projects simultaneously, while focusing on quality, customer satisfaction and service delivery
Ability to successfully manage multiple tasks while working independently or within a group environment
Ability to act as the primary contact on assigned engagements and effectively manage a team of professionals including delegating work assignments as needed
Able to effectively manage a team of professionals and contribute to the professional development of assigned staff members, while delegating work assignments as needed
Interacts effectively with people at all organizational levels of the firm as well as the capability to build and maintain strong relationships with internal staff members and clients
Ability to travel up to 25% of the time

Nice To Haves

MBA or other relevant advanced degree (Masters in Accountancy), preferred
Two (2) or more years of supervisory experience, preferred
Experience working with outsourced and/or delivery center operations, preferred
Consultative or business advisory experience, preferred
CPA certification preferred
Experience utilizing industry standard accounting software and BDODrive platform software such as Intuit’s QuickBooks Online (QBO), Microsoft NAV and Bill.com, preferred
Prior experience utilizing industry recognized accounting research tools, preferred

Responsibilities

Manages the full-life cycle of all assigned engagements by providing technical expertise in all areas within the finance and accounting function.
Performs complete general ledger reconciliation including the entire balance sheet and applies accounting knowledge by properly recording transactions in a general ledger; creates accounting records such as bill payments, client invoices, payroll, and others; identifies and records adjustments; produces accurate financial statements, and provides financial analysis
Understands the technology packages clients are using to support their accounting/finance functions; can describe the major functions each system performs, and knows how the system performs those functions; explains the purpose and value of system functions that a client may not be using; identifies when a client is not using a technology package in a proper or efficient manner; learns new technology quickly, understands the essence of technologies, how they can be used, how they interact with other technologies and business functions, what the best methods/benefits are for using them, and applies these technologies to an engagement
Facilitates effective discovery meetings with clients; uses open ended questions to identify what their objectives are, what financial information they value for management/decision making and why, as well creating a map of their current internal finance and accounting structure
Designs integrated solutions that respond to the specific situation; knows BDO well enough internally to identify when services outside of BSO should be included and describes what these services achieve and how they operate; outlines the solution in a concise document and vets it internally with their leaders and other BDO stakeholders
Accurately determines the cost of building a client solution; calculates the benefit to a client in dollar terms of the solution, using the pricing process; compares the differences between the perspectives, and if there is sufficient margin in between (given our confidence in our calculations) to have a profitable engagement, proposes a fixed fee based on current scope for review by leadership
Works with Senior Managers to learn to formulate recommendations to client leadership on technical accounting issues, financial accounting policies and procedures and financial management issues; educates clients on how their finance and accounting needs will change as their business evolves; helps clients identify areas of opportunity and future business needs.
Periodically reviews solutions with their clients to determine if it is still the right solution for the current state of the business and recommends appropriate changes
Learns to manage conflict; proactively engages senior leadership when conflict arises
Learns to support the client through business changes and helps to develop and execute the change management plan; handles full-life cycle of all assigned engagements by providing technical management for all areas within the accounting function
Gathers information necessary from the client to execute on engagements; maintains a running list of information that is needed and follows up to gather information that is missing; organizes this information so it is easily accessible for the team and the client as applicable and creates, develops and maintains strong business relationships with clients, both internal and external
Learns business development strategies and service offerings targeted for various industries and ensures prospect and sales information is entered into CRM as appropriate
Recommends and designs solutions for clients
Evaluates clients for acceptance (e.g., general risk matters, regulations that affect our work, international business, background checks, etc.), and develops statements of work based on solutions they have proposed, with support from leadership
Develops exposure to industry teams and business development resources; develops an awareness of the impact that different industries and service offerings have on the technical work and final deliverable; participates in industry trade groups and networking events
Listens for and identifies new opportunities with existing clients, and communicates those potential opportunities to leadership
Articulates the Advisory service offerings, as well as the broader firm, to a client, prospect, or contact
Understands and articulates AAO’s value proposition and understands the target market/client profile
Fosters a culture that embraces change and accountability
Identifies staff needs to develop analytics and forecasting skills at a level where they are capable of interpreting financial results, recognizing trends and gaining insights into business performance improvements
Ensures AAO Senior Associates and Associates are trained on all relevant software, processes and resources
Participates in recruiting efforts for Associates and Senior Associates and assists with the new employee on-boarding process
Serves as a resource for Associates and Senior Associates, while developing an in-depth knowledge and understanding of finance and accounting functions, technology for supporting these functions and how tax planning can differ by industry and business structure; knows what is required from a compliance perspective and develops an understanding of what is considered a standard or best practice for the industry or business structure
Creates a work plan following best practices of project management (breaking down projects into phases and tasks, estimating time/budget, setting milestones, managing dependencies, and measuring and reviewing progress)
Bills engagements in a timely and effective manner, appropriate to the client’s situation and the state of the work; contributes to economic management matters such as forecasting and monitoring/managing to key metrics
Scopes new projects and constructs a fee estimate/budget that considers all appropriate details, including, but not limited to: architecting, designing and planning/estimating a tailored client solution; identifies resource requirements and develops transition plans and estimates appropriate margins for the client engagement and the overall picture of the client relationship
Oversees client satisfaction with quality of work products, assigned staff, and engagement performance
Ensures clients are billed timely in accordance with the SOW and follows AAO billing and collections best practices; works with team to resolve any client billing issues
Supervises the day-to-day workload of BSO Senior Associates, Associates on assigned engagements and reviews work products
Supervises overall client engagement; Works with BSC personnel on applicable client engagements by reviewing work and providing feedback on final work product
Acts as a Career Advisor to AAO Senior Associates and Associates, as appropriate
Evaluates the performance of AAO Senior Associates and Associates and assists in developing goals and objectives to enhance professional development that aligns with the firm’s and AAO's objectives