Cpa Associate

City of Toronto•Union, NJ

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The City of Toronto is Canada's largest municipality serving 2.9+ million residents & thousands of communities in Toronto. We have consistently been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers. As a leading public sector employer, the City of Toronto provides meaningful opportunities for aspiring professionals to develop their skills while contributing to the communities we serve. An exciting pathway for building this experience is the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) Rotational Program, which is currently recruiting for CPA Associate positions. Over a 30-month term, this program will provide CPA Associates with the experience needed to qualify as a Chartered Professional Accountant. In alignment with the new CPA Professional Program which will launch in January 2027, CPA Associates will gain professional experience through two rotational assignments in either Accounting Services or Financial Planning, with an optional rotation in Internal Audit. The City of Toronto also supports CPA Associates in preparing for CPA examinations by providing training and study support, including ample study leave for preparing for and writing exams.

Requirements

Post-secondary undergraduate degree that meets the qualifications for enrollment into the new CPA Professional Program (meet the requirements to begin at minimum the Foundational Development module)
Admission to the CPA Professional Program and in good standing with CPA Ontario.
Experience leading and participating in extracurricular activities.
Experience conducting research, data analysis, and summarizing findings for various audiences.
Excellent time and project management skills to successfully complete multiple projects concurrently, meet deadlines and work with diverse groups
Ability to apply critical thinking, professional skepticism, and sound judgement when analyzing financial information, evaluating assumptions, and developing recommendations.
Strong investigative skills to identify and evaluate inconsistencies, emerging risks, and unusual trends, and communicate findings to stakeholders.
Excellent presentation skills to prepare and communicate clear, concise, and audience-appropriate reports, presentations, and briefing materials for financial and non-financial stakeholders of all levels of the organization.
Ability to work effectively as a team member and build collaborative relationships with divisional staff, senior management, and other stakeholders to support better support decision-making activities.
Proficient computer skills to use a variety of software packages (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SAP).
Effective decision-making, conflict resolution and problem-solving skills with a results-oriented approach and strong customer service orientation.

Nice To Haves

Post-secondary transcripts may need to be provided upon request.

Responsibilities

Research, interpret, and apply new and/or revised Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS) to complex and non-routine accounting transactions and consolidated financial statements.
Analyze and provide recommendations of appropriate accounting treatment for complex accounting matters.
Support the development, implementation, and ongoing review of corporate accounting policies, and financial reporting practices to ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards and relevant legislation.
Contribute to the preparation of the annual financial statements and reporting requirements, including the consolidation of relevant agencies, corporations and other consolidated entities.
Prepare and evaluate relevant financial statement accounts and note disclosures and ratios for routine and non-routine financial statement elements and reporting.
Assist in the preparation of ad hoc financial analysis, staff reports, and presentations for submission to City executives, Committees or Council.
Investigate significant fluctuations in financial results and general ledger balances, identify root causes, and provide recommendations to management for compliance with PSAS.
Assist the Supervisor or Manager with various tasks/operational requests and attend meetings where confidential financial information is discussed.
Support the development of corporate budget systems/ reporting tools that support strategic corporate and political decision-making.
Assess and challenge budget assumptions, revenue projections, expenditure forecasts, staffing plans, economic assumptions, and service delivery impacts using historical trends and analytical techniques.
Assist in the preparation of corporate and divisional financial planning and analysis for capital/operating budget estimates and submissions that align with council directives, corporate guidelines, and City service and operational needs based on the most cost-effective use of City resources.
Perform multi-year financial forecasting, scenario analysis, and sensitivity analysis to evaluate financial sustainability and support strategic planning initiatives.
Support the development of strategic approaches, analytical techniques, and fiscally sustainable solutions to meet the City's fiscal challenges/opportunities, including cost containment, full cost recovery, and revenue maximization.
Analyze costs and revenues for both operating and capital budgets, including resources required to deliver identified services and appropriate business case analysis.
Supports cash flow forecast validation to monitor and report on the City's overall cash availability.
Review budget impact on programs/agencies' service delivery and performance measures and prepare finding summaries that guide the City's strategic objective discussions.
Assist in the planning and execution of risk-based audits by contributing to the development of audit objectives, scope, criteria, report writing, findings, recommendations and audit reports.
Conduct audit procedures in accordance with approved audit plans, including interviews, process walkthroughs, control testing, documents reviews, data analysis, site visits, etc.) to assess the effectiveness of governance, risk management, and internal control processes.
Perform financial, operational, compliance and performance reviews across the City of Toronto to evaluate the reliability of information, effectiveness of the internal control environment, and compliance with applicable legislation, organizational policies and procedures.
Support the planning, coordination and execution of audits for the organization's major business and accounting processes to identify control weaknesses, opportunities for process improvement including cost savings and improvements to the efficiency/effectiveness of operations.
Assess the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls and provide recommendations to strengthen risk management practices, enhance accountability, and support achievement of organizational objectives, ensuring they are in accordance with City by-laws, policies, and best practices.
Prepare concise, well-documented audit working papers, reports, executive summaries, and presentations that communicate audit results, conclusions, and recommendations to stakeholders at all levels of management.
Effectively present audit observations and recommendations to management and be able to support discussions regarding corrective action plans to improve controls, mitigate risks, and enhance business processes.