Job Summary:

Working under the authority of a Practice Leader and/or Managing Director, the Assurance Director, Accounting Advisory & Outsourcing (AAO) will be responsible for assisting Practice Leadership in managing their local office and delivering high value solutions to multiple clients in the areas of outsourced Finance & Accounting.  This role will be charged with managing engagement teams through all stages of advisory engagements to include planning, field work, engagement wrap up and report composition, along with providing recommendations regarding engagement economics and legal risks to the Firm.  The AAO Director will be responsible for ensuring exceptional client service and high-quality engagement deliverables.  This position will also be responsible for developing new business with existing clients and prospects of the Firm.  The AAO Director, in conjunction with the Practice Leader and/or Managing Director, will be responsible for all aspects of project administration including time entry, client contract administration, billings, collections and adjustments to engagement realization when needed.

Job Duties:

Client Service Delivery:

Oversees the full-life cycle of all assigned engagements by providing technical expertise in all areas within the finance and accounting function Identifies opportunities for technological and process improvements to the practice’s service offerings; constructs business cases, develops technical arguments, and persuades leadership on adopting the new approach; implements approved changes effectively across the full practice Facilitates effective discovery meetings with large and complex clients; uses open ended questions to identify client objectives, what financial information clients value for management/decision making and why, and creating a map of client’s current internal finance and accounting structure; looks for root causes and does not take information at face value; understands the complexity that can lie behind data Designs integrated solutions for large and complex clients that respond to the specific situation; open to new ideas and solutions, and avoids “locking-in” to a single solution; understands BDO well enough internally to identify when services outside of AAO 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 out a solution;  calculates the benefit to a client in dollar terms of the solution; uses the pricing process and understands how to price an engagement to ensure it is profitable proposes a fixed fee based on current scope and reviews the engagement economics on an ongoing basis to ensure the engagement remains profitable Advises client leadership on technical accounting issues, financial accounting policies and procedures and financial management issues; uses their broad financial, accounting, business, and industry knowledge to educate clients on how their finance and accounting needs will evolve as their business grows; easily helps clients identify next steps and persuades the client to value those unperceived needs; identifies what needs are critical versus what are not; looks at the business of the client holistically Reviews solutions periodically with their clients to determine if it is still the right solution for the current state of the business; develops a compelling future vision for a client; communicates in such a way to inspire clients to take the journey towards that positive future, proactively mitigates conflict; uses negotiation techniques to drive difficult agreements between opposing parties/ideas and generally leaves parties satisfied with the result Leads the client through business changes and facilitates the change management process; is comfortable with ambiguity, knows when to create clarity (or when clarity is possible) versus when to make progress without full definition; acts as a partner to clients, as part of their team; diagnoses the relationships and political structure of groups and appropriately navigates these complexities; quickly and accurately assesses people’s perspectives Maintains strong business relationships with clients, both internal and external Understands tax planning considerations/concepts for various business entities; comprehends the information presented on different tax return forms, analyzes this information to draw conclusions and have an intelligent conversation with clients – helping clients navigate business decisions and their potential financial and tax implications  Appropriately refers tax related matters to Core Tax and Specialty Tax Services

Business Development

Achieves business development goals by developing and executing business development strategies and service offerings targeted for various industries; maintains sales pipeline of at least two times business develop goal  Ensures prospect and sales information is entered into Client Relationship Management (CRM) as appropriate Participates in the roadmap/strategic planning process Refines designed solutions and work plans into a compelling proposal document that speaks the language of the client and identifies the value clients will be receiving; effectively manages the proposal process and negotiates contract terms and conditions to be incorporated into the statement of work Evaluates clients for acceptance (e.g., general risk matters, regulations that affect our work, international business, background checks, etc.), and reviews and approves statements of work Delivers industry resource expertise and leverages relationships with firm colleagues to execute on business development opportunities; integrates firm industry expertise into personal business development plan Identifies new prospects and cross sells to existing clients Explains Firm and Advisory service offerings to a client, prospect, or contact Develops relationships with local BDO Alliance firms; participates in BDO Alliance mini-area meetings and forums; presents AAO and BDODrive service offerings and solutions

Developing Others:

Fosters a culture that embraces change and accountability Ensures AAO team members are trained to understand and perform analytics and forecasting at a level where they are capable of interpreting financial results, recognizing trends and gaining insights into business performance improvements Ensures AAO team members are trained on all relevant software, processes, and resources Monitors and recommends staffing levels for the area of the practice for which they are responsible Serves as a resource for the team, having developed 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 what is considered a standard or best practice for the industry or business structure Educates other professionals on the practice’s approach, services, and client value proposition

Project Management/Administration:

Supports Practice Leaders and/or Managing Directors in various Practice Management areas including articulating the goals and objectives how it will impact the firm; defines the dependent projects that need to be completed to reach practice goals Communicates practice strategy and facilitates strategy execution, and delegates projects appropriately Ensures all engagements are billed and collected in a timely and effective manner, appropriate to the client’s situation and the state of the work; monitors the billing activity of AAO team; achieves Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) practice metrics Aware of how their engagement economics affect the Practice Profit & Loss (P&L) and can interpret common firm metrics (at a practice and an individual level); operates with the bottom line in mind; acts as a business owner and makes decisions as if they are using their own resources; weighs associated costs and their return on investment and reaches appropriate financial decisions on expenses, billing, and staff performance matters Creates and maintains strategic plans in alignment with firm and practice goals and objectives in conjunction with other members of practice leadership Accurately scopes new projects for large and complex clients 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; identifying resource requirements and developing transition plans and estimating appropriate margins for the practice and the overall picture of the client relationship Explores ways to improve client service continuously Reviews engagement economics for their practice area to ensure continuous improvement, and make necessary adjustments, in order to attain practice Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Assists Practice Leaders and/or Managing Directors in developing forecasts for their area of the practice for which they are responsible (whether an office, industry line, or administrative area) Other duties as required

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Guides and supervises all AAO personnel  Acts as career advisor to AAO management and staff; provides professional growth and career advancement opportunities for AAO management and staff Evaluates the performance of AAO team members and assists in developing goals and objectives to enhance professional development that align with Firm and AAO objectives

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or equivalent experience, required  MBA or other relevant advanced degree such as Masters in Accountancy, preferred

Experience:

Ten (10) or more years of experience performing general accounting transactions and functions, required  Six (6) or more years of supervisory experience, required Consultative or business advisory experience, required Experience working with outsourced and/or delivery center operations, preferred

License/Certifications:

CPA certification, preferred

Software:

Proficient in the use of the Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, required 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

Language:

N/A

Other Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Excellent verbal and written communication skills Fully understands the finance and accounting functions performed for large and complex clients 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 BDO can add value, as well as advise on best practices for their overall financial ecosystem Able to present with a high level of competence, confidence, and effectiveness in a variety of settings and to a variety of audiences; comfortable presenting to all levels of management, internally and with clients; communicates in a clear and concise manner, and uses impactful and memorable language to emphasize 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 advanced research skills GAAP knowledge, financial statement presentation, and report writing skills Strong organizational skills, especially the ability to meet project deadlines with a focus on details Capable of working in a demanding, deadline-driven environment while handling multiple projects simultaneously and managing a diverse staff to accomplish desired results Ability to direct and prioritize multiple teams to successfully execute on engagements Able to manage relationships for large and complex clients Capable of effectively managing a team of professionals and contributing to the professional development of assigned personnel Ability to identify with whom to build relationships at BDO to support their business; ability to build rapport and trust with other professionals easily Ability to travel up to 25% of the time

 

Individual salaries that are offered to a candidate are determined after consideration of numerous factors including but not limited to the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and geography.

National Range: $150,000 - $185,000 
Maryland Range: $150,000 - $185,000 
NYC/Long Island/Westchester Range: $150,000 - $185,000