Financial Reporting Associate

Financial Reporting Associate

Open positions: typical hiring occurs for January and June start dates, however, we welcome the opportunity to meet and hire exceptional candidates at any point during the year.

We are looking for an energetic professional who enjoys problem solving, aspires to create genuine impact to clients, and appreciates working through technical finance and accounting issues.

With ~100 professionals and experience serving hundreds of publicly traded clients (including 40 Fortune 100 companies), Equity Methods seeks to combine the best of a large professional services firm with the best of an entrepreneurial, technology-enabled company. We work hard in the quest to have high impact and deliver exemplary client service that supports our client retention and overall growth story. We have consistently been rated a Top Company to Work for in Arizona.

About the Successful Candidate

You built a reputation as someone who loves problem-solving and learning. You learn quickly, and you enjoy the challenge of doing so. You think about your career and hope to find a home where you can make a genuine impact and see a link between your effort and the firm's performance. Teammates view you as someone who moves quickly and follows through on your commitments.

You enjoyed your finance and accounting course work. While perhaps you were not exposed to programming languages, the idea of taking a manual, multi-step process and automating it sounds interesting to you. Learning how to interact with clients and communicate complex technical issues clearly is something you think you would enjoy.

In short, you're analytical, low on politics, and high on impact.

Typical Qualifications:

1. Bachelors or Masters in accounting, finance, economics, or related discipline. Please be sure your GPA is listed on your resume.
2. 0 4 years experience in a financial reporting, finance, advisory or audit role. Candidates at a more senior level may be considered for a different position within the practice.
3. Expertise and experience in theoretical accounting subjects: capability to interpret complex accounting theory and translate into a process-based understanding of how data should flow and be manipulated.
4. Ability and willingness to think critically and solve "out-of-the-box" problems independently.
5. Creativity in engineering processes from both a controls and efficiency perspective.
6. Maturity in internal/external communication and time management.
7. Desirable: Exposure to database design principles.
8. Desirable: Exposure to SAS or another programming language for high-volume data handling.
9. Desirable: CPA license or CPA candidacy; CFA or other similar pursuits also welcomed.

The Financial Reporting Group at EM:

Our award-winning Financial Reporting team specializes in developing controlled processes to manage the external and internal reporting for publicly traded companies' share-based payment programs.

• External reporting needs span compensation expense, diluted EPS, and deferred tax (ASC 718, 260, and 740, respectively). We also assist clients with ASC 805, 820, 470, and 480 matters.
• Internal reporting needs span forecasting and budgeting, international tax management, and related varieties of management accounting.

The Associate Role

As a new associate at Equity Methods, you will have an immediate opportunity to begin applying the skills you acquire in training to client work. You will then gain exposure to client processes, engagement structures, project deliverables, and how we engineer well-controlled algorithms to reduce risk and drive automation. As your career progresses, you will begin interacting with clients, mastering the theory behind our reporting areas, leading reengineering efforts, supporting new client implementations, and more.

More specific roles and responsibilities include:

1. Completing our new-hire training program. The training covers our internal algorithms, programming tools, and client report categories.
2. Supporting ongoing financial reporting engagements, by learning the inner workings of client processes, what purposes they serve, and how they address client needs.
3. Executing client processes, thereby demonstrating excellent attention to detail, drafting client emails, and collaborating with more experienced team members to ensure client expectations are met.
4. Designing, implementing, and documenting the underlying data handling processes, ensuring that solutions are consistent with the terms of the client's compensation plans and adhere to accounting standards.
5. Participating in client delivery meetings and external audit review sessions, ensuring that clients understand the work product delivered and can utilize the reports in their financial reporting, and their external auditors grasp all essential features of the solution.
6. Support in various practice initiatives related to risk management, process reengineering, and technical research.
7. Implementing and enhancing control measures within the practice to ensure risk is being properly managed in client engagements. Developing specific control tests, performing end-to-end analyses of processes to understand where there is risk, and assisting in compilation of high-quality work papers for future reference and re-performance.

Consulting associates will be supported by leaders of the practice in an effort to train and develop skills related to engagement management early in their careers.

More About Equity Methods

Equity Methods serves a diverse clientele from dozens of Fortune 500 firms to early-stage pre-IPO firms. We have served 40 Fortune 100 firms all the way to early-stage venture-backed organizations. Our clients span the entire United States, in addition to some in Canada, South America, and Europe. We offer a diverse array of services that solve mission-critical priorities within corporate accounting and human resources functions.

At our size of ~100 professionals and countless brand-name clients, we combine the best of a large professional services firm with the best of an entrepreneurial growth venture. The culture fosters excellence in client service, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. We have a bias toward promoting from within and we celebrate the diverse strengths of our colleagues. We have consistently been rated a Top Company to Work for in Arizona.