CFO Advisory, Accounting Advisory, Senior Associate (GPS -State & Local Government)

Cherry Bekaert•Atlanta, GA

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Senior Associate in CFO Advisory Services, you will play a critical role in delivering accounting advisory engagements to state and local governments, higher education institutions and not-for-profits clients. You will support clients in navigating complex financial reporting, operational challenges, and value creation initiatives. This role combines technical accounting expertise, financial analysis, and business acumen to drive performance improvement and support transformational change.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Accounting
Minimum 4 years of relevant experience within a public accounting firm, or public sector environment performing external audit, consulting, or in the accounting and finance function
Strong knowledge of governmental accounting standards (GASB)
Prior experience with audit, accounting, and/or consulting standards (GASB, AICPA, GAS including Yellow Book)
Ability to navigate Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFRs)
Ability to travel if needed (less than 25%)

Nice To Haves

Licensed CPA (or in process of completing)
State & Local Government experience (NON FEDERAL)
NFP nice to have not required
Experience with financial statement close process or proposing / reclassifying journal entries
Ability to troubleshoot and solve account reconciliation issues
Thrives working in a deadline-driven environment with a focus on details and accuracy
Ability to adapt to rapidly changing environments successfully
Solid organizational skills, especially the ability to meet project deadlines with a focus on details
Team player able to move to effectively delegate work assignments as needed

Responsibilities

Implementation of new accounting standards (GASB)
Assist clients with issues related to GASB 68,75, 87,96 application
Knowledgeable with adjustments and creating roll forwards of recent GASB standards
Complex financial statement close processes (posting accruals, reclass capital assets, debt amortization)
Help drafting (or reviewing) Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFRs)
Cash to modified accrual or full accrual conversions
Process improvement and organizational design
Client interviews and stakeholder engagement to gather insights and validate assumptions
Large data set manipulation and problem solving
Validation of information between multiple sources of financial information