Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

💰 $70,000 - $145,000

AccountingFinanceCPATaxAudit

🎯 Role Definition

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a licensed accounting professional responsible for preparing and reviewing financial statements, conducting audits, managing tax compliance and planning, implementing and testing internal controls (including SOX), supporting month‑end and year‑end close, and advising management on strategic financial decisions. This role requires strong technical accounting knowledge (GAAP/IFRS), expertise in tax law and filings, experience with ERP systems and accounting software, and excellent communication and client-service skills. CPAs routinely lead engagements, mentor junior staff, interact with external auditors and regulators, and drive improvements in financial processes and reporting.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Staff Accountant (Public or Private)
  • Tax Associate / Tax Accountant
  • Internal Audit Associate
  • Financial Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Senior Accountant / Senior Auditor
  • Accounting Manager / Audit Manager
  • Controller / Assistant Controller
  • Director of Accounting, Tax Director, or Finance Business Partner
  • Senior Manager / Partner (Public Accounting)

Lateral Moves:

  • Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Manager
  • Corporate Tax Manager
  • Internal Audit Manager
  • Compliance & Risk Manager
  • ERP/Finance Systems Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and execute full-scope external and internal audit engagements, including planning, risk assessment, testing of internal controls, substantive testing, preparation of audit workpapers, and communication of findings to management and audit committees.
  • Prepare and review accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements in compliance with GAAP and/or IFRS, including consolidated statements, supporting schedules, footnote disclosures and management reporting packs.
  • Own the month‑end and year‑end close process: post journal entries, reconcile balance sheet accounts, coordinate intercompany eliminations and prepare closing checklists to ensure timely and accurate close.
  • Manage preparation of complex tax returns and compliance deliverables (federal, state, and local), coordinate with external tax advisors, prepare tax schedules, and ensure timely filings to minimize risk and penalties.
  • Perform ASC 740 (income tax provision) calculations, deferred tax analysis, uncertain tax position evaluations, and coordinate tax provision reviews with tax leadership and external auditors.
  • Design, document and test internal controls for SOX compliance (Sections 302/404) or other regulatory frameworks; coordinate SOX testing and remediation activities with stakeholders and external auditors.
  • Lead account reconciliations and variance analysis for major balance sheet and P&L accounts, identify drivers of variances, and present clear explanations and action plans to management.
  • Prepare and review cash flow analyses, working capital metrics and bank reconciliations; support treasury activities such as cash forecasting and bank covenant monitoring.
  • Execute financial planning and analysis tasks: prepare budgets, rolling forecasts, detailed variance analysis, scenario modeling and KPI dashboards to drive business decisions and strategic planning.
  • Oversee consolidations and intercompany transactions across multiple entities, ensuring appropriate eliminations, foreign currency translations and compliance with consolidation policies.
  • Supervise, mentor and coach junior accountants and associates, review their workpapers and tax returns, delegate tasks, conduct performance feedback and develop training plans to build a high-performing team.
  • Coordinate and manage relationships with external auditors, tax advisors, regulatory agencies and banking partners; prepare audit schedules, provide documentation and respond to inquiries in a timely manner.
  • Implement accounting policy changes and new accounting standards (e.g., ASC 606, ASC 842), project-manage the transition, prepare impact assessments and update financial statement disclosures.
  • Lead special projects such as system implementations (ERP migrations, chart of accounts redesigns), process automation (RPA, workflow optimization), and accounting system integrations, ensuring controls are maintained and documented.
  • Provide technical accounting support and advisory on complex transactions such as mergers & acquisitions, revenue recognition, leases, equity compensation and debt instruments; prepare memos and recommend accounting treatments.
  • Review, prepare and file regulatory and statutory reports (e.g., SEC filings, 10-K/10-Q schedules, state registrations), ensuring accuracy, timeliness and compliance with regulatory requirements.
  • Manage fixed asset accounting, including capitalization, depreciation schedules, impairment testing and disposals; maintain fixed asset registers and policies.
  • Support payroll accounting and payroll tax compliance, work with HR and payroll providers to reconcile payroll journals, benefits accruals and related tax filings.
  • Drive continuous improvement in accounting processes by identifying inefficiencies, implementing best practices, creating standardized templates and leveraging automation tools to increase accuracy and reduce close time.
  • Prepare and present financial analysis, board-level reporting and ad-hoc financial models to senior management to inform strategic decisions, pricing, cost-control initiatives and operational performance.
  • Ensure high levels of professional ethics, confidentiality and adherence to firm/company policies, professional standards and continuing professional education requirements for CPAs.
  • Prepare client-facing deliverables and proposals (for public accounting roles), manage billing and engagement profitability, and maintain strong client relationships through proactive communication and strategic advisory.

Secondary Functions

  • Assist with treasury and banking relationships: support cash management, bank reconciliations and covenant monitoring.
  • Support internal and external stakeholder requests by preparing ad-hoc financial analyses and tailored management reports.
  • Collaborate with IT and finance systems teams to improve ERP configurations, streamline month-end tasks and enhance financial reporting capabilities.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects (M&A integration, system implementations, process redesign) to ensure accounting requirements are embedded from project inception.
  • Provide training sessions and documentation for accounting policies, new standards and system changes to finance and business teams.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Active CPA license (or eligible/in-progress) and deep working knowledge of US GAAP; familiarity with IFRS a plus.
  • Demonstrated experience with audit procedures, financial statement preparation, and external audit management.
  • Strong technical tax knowledge: corporate, partnership and individual tax preparation; experience with state and local tax filings.
  • Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, Power Query, complex formulas) and comfort building financial models.
  • Experience with ERP and accounting systems such as NetSuite, Oracle Financials, SAP, QuickBooks, or Microsoft Dynamics.
  • Knowledge of SOX compliance, internal control frameworks and experience leading control testing and remediation.
  • Experience preparing ASC 740 tax provisions and interpreting tax accounting guidance.
  • Familiarity with consolidation tools and intercompany eliminations; experience with multi-entity accounting and foreign currency translation.
  • Experience with accounting and tax software (e.g., Lacerte, UltraTax, CCH, ADP payroll) and with financial reporting/visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau) is preferred.
  • Strong journal entry and reconciliation skills; ability to prepare detailed workpapers and audit schedules.
  • Basic SQL or data-querying ability and comfort extracting data from ERP systems for analysis (preferred).
  • Experience with SEC reporting and public company compliance (for roles supporting public entities).

Soft Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication; able to explain complex accounting and tax issues clearly to non‑finance stakeholders and executives.
  • Client-service orientation with strong interpersonal skills; builds trust and maintains professional relationships with clients, auditors and business partners.
  • Leadership and people-management capabilities: mentors staff, delegates effectively and fosters a collaborative team environment.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities; attention to detail and ability to synthesize large volumes of financial data into actionable insights.
  • Time management and prioritization: meets deadlines, manages multiple month‑end and audit deliverables under pressure.
  • High ethical standards, integrity and adherence to confidentiality and professional standards.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning mindset: stays current on accounting standards, tax law changes and industry best practices.
  • Project management skills: plans and executes cross-functional initiatives, drives accountability and achieves milestones.
  • Business acumen and strategic thinking: aligns accounting activities with broader corporate goals and identifies opportunities for financial performance improvement.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or related field plus CPA licensure required (or close to completion).

Preferred Education:

  • Master of Accounting (MAcc), Master of Science in Accounting, MBA with accounting emphasis, or equivalent advanced degree.
  • Additional certifications such as CMA, EA, or advanced technical certifications in tax or systems are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Taxation
  • Business Administration
  • Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressive accounting experience; 2+ years public accounting experience strongly preferred for audit/tax-focused roles.

Preferred:

  • Public accounting background with demonstrated experience in audit and/or tax engagements and client management.
  • Experience supporting or leading SOX/controls environments, SEC reporting or large multi-entity consolidations.
  • Demonstrated track record implementing accounting policy changes, ERP implementations or process automation projects.
  • Prior experience supervising and mentoring junior accountants and building high-performing teams.
Explore More Careers