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Full Time Associate

HBK CPAs & Consultants
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 Professional Level Associate

 
For Yourself:

A beginning associate may or may not have work experience in public or private accounting and have little experience in auditing or preparing tax returns. Such a person knows the basic accounting concepts involved, but may not know the exact procedures to be followed. Most of these activities must be supervised. Some of the associate functions are:

  1. Prepare simple financial statements
  2. Reconcile bank accounts and trace discrepancies
  3. Reconcile subsidiary accounts to control accounts
  4. Assist in preparation and mailing of confirmation requests
  5. Schedule confirmations returned, list exceptions, and follow up on their disposition
  6. Perform, or assist in, inventory observations.
  7. Assist with engagement planning.
  8. Perform interim accounting services (monthly or quarterly) of small companies where the work is of a repetitive nature and prepare substantiating workpapers in a format that is sufficiently detailed for a reviewer to evaluate
  9. Excerpt leases, minutes, and other documents and prepare transmittal of journal entries to clients
  10. Prepare work papers that are organized, neat, cross-referenced, and supported by conclusions.
  11. Search for unrecorded liabilities by examining unpaid bills, accounts payable and disbursements subsequent to balance sheet date
  12. Take ownership of engagements, meet (or beat) established deadlines and budgets.
  13. Update and calculate depreciation and amortization and enter asset activity into depreciation software.
  14. Prepare payroll tax, sales and other local tax, personal property and simple to average income tax returns.
  15. Be able to compile raw data into trial balance format, including recapping cash receipts and disbursements.
  16. Be able to prepare tax returns as needed using HBK software.
  17. Prepare tax adjusting journal entries tax reconciliation, and perform import into tax software.
  18. Identify potential management letter comments.
  19. Practice effective communication when completing all tasks.
  20. Identify problem areas that need to be discussed with engagement leader.
  21. Maintain professional conduct at client offices and internally.
  22. Take the CPA exam at every offering and pass it within two years.
  23. Know how to use reference materials as needed using HBK resources in researching situations involving non-complex tax questions.
  24. Know how to use reference materials such as PPC and CCH in researching non-complex accounting questions.
 
The associate is guided by the engagement leader who briefs him/her in advance on the assignment, suggests expeditious methods, answers questions, makes decisions on remedies when difficulties are encountered, and reviews progress periodically.
 
The associate ordinarily does not deal directly with client personnel without guidance and supervision by the engagement leader.

Associates, although they are involved in the client's planning meeting, generally do not set time budgets. They are made aware of the budget through the planning meeting or by the engagement leader when a planning meeting does not apply. The engagement leader monitors the time schedule. However, the team associate should monitor their own performance in relation to the budget and alert the manager/senior manager/principal if they are exceeding the budget.

The work of associates is the foundation on which the work of others is based. As staff associates gain experience and proficiency, they are given more difficult assignments and greater responsibility including some of the duties of the engagement leader. In due course, they should be handling entire engagements. When they do so satisfactorily, they are ready for promotion.


For your Career:


  1. Promote name recognition of the Firm.
  2. Join community, church, charitable and social organizations of your choice.
  3. Maintain quality of service to current clients to ensure referrals.
  4. Be knowledgeable about the firm's service offerings
  5. Develop good relationships with clients.
  6. Keep an eye out for articles on firm clients and share them with the team.
  7. Acknowledge every guest in the office.
  8. Develop good working relationships with clients.
  9. Develop name recognition with clients and their personnel.
  10. Have breakfast/lunch with client's personnel and the engagement leader.
  11. Be alert to client needs for possible expansion of services.
  12. Associates are not expected to be part of a niche team. If they have special interest and want to be involved, they can speak to a principal and express their interest.


Suggested Goals:


Client Care: Call two (2) clients per quarter or a minimum of eight (8) calls per year, just to check in, see how their business is going. See if there are ways that the firm can improve the way we service their account. Perhaps there are additional services the firm can provide to help their business operate more profitably. Use the Employee Marketing Score Card to submit the activity to the Practice Development Committee.

New Business Development: Attend one (1) business mixer or community event every quarter or a minimum of four (4) per year.


For your Team:


  1. Follow guidelines in employee manual and all firm operating procedures
  2. Record time daily per guidelines
  3. Become proficient at time and billing software
  4. Use Lotus Notes efficiently and keep calendar current on the system
  5. When out of the office - check voice mail at least daily
  6. Monitor their own billable hour budget/goal and proactively seeks out additional assignments.
  7. Give a report to the team after attending outside CPE sessions
  8. Enhances personal image and image of the firm by demonstrating "executive presence." (This means instilling confidence in those you meet by manner, spoken and written word and professional appearance.)