Role and industry
Audit Associate (staff level, including busy season) Recruiters for Construction audit practices
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: When audit staff cannot reconcile job cost ledgers or WIP schedules your construction audits halt before completion of essential revenue testing procedures.
This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- Controller
- CFO
- VP Finance
- FP&A Director
- Accounting Manager
- Director of Accounting
- Assistant Controller
- Tax Director
- Treasury Manager
- Internal Audit Director
- Senior Accountant
- Financial Analyst
- Head of Financial Reporting
- Commercial Lender
- Chief Credit Officer
- Business Systems Finance Lead
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Accounting, finance, banking and insurance
- We reach people who aren’t on job boards
- Replacement terms on standard searches
01
The Anatomy of the Round 5 Hire
This hire sits between the junior audit assistant and the senior auditor. They own specific sections of the audit file while answering directly to the manager. Their primary decision right is confirming the math in WIP schedules and tracing individual job costs to source documentation. They do not approve final reports but they define the evidence we rely on for revenue recognition.
Does the associate understand percentage of completion accounting versus cash-basis tracking? You need a person who recognizes how over-billings and under-billings signal financial distress or overstatement on projects. How do they reconcile a job cost ledger to a trial balance during a busy season? Can they reconcile a job cost ledger to a trial balance to keep the audit moving?
When interviewing, ask them how they verify change orders in a file. Ask them to explain the relationship between a bond requirement and the audit opinion. Ask them how they handle an owner who refuses to provide invoices for materials on a significant contract. Their answers show if they prioritize documentation standards or if they simply copy the prior year workpapers without questioning the underlying project data.
Focus your scoping conversation on technical evidence rather than years of experience. Ask candidates to describe identifying a material misstatement in a job cost ledger. Seek specific examples of how they reconciled trial balance variances to field reports. If they offer broad internal control concepts, ask them to identify the specific source documents they requested to trace revenue. Verify they understand the audit trail from the original purchase order to the final payment application. Candidates must explain the logic of an under-billing adjustment without reliance on reference materials to manage your field work.
02
Standard Screening Protocol
- 01We verify if they have used construction-specific software like Sage 300 CRE, Viewpoint Vista, or Procore directly in an audit capacity. General ledger experience is not enough for this niche.
- 02We check their knowledge of WIP schedules specifically related to over/under billings. They must define these concepts without checking a textbook during the screen.
- 03We audit their history for EBP or tax-adjacent work. This confirms they can balance the rigors of busy season with the specific demands of a construction practice.
- 04We confirm they understand the difference between internal financial reporting and the external audit requirements for bonding capacity. They must state why these two reports often conflict.
- 05Ask them which specific sections of the CPA exam they have passed. What is their study schedule for completing the remaining parts while managing a full-time audit workload?
- 06Request a walkthrough of a prior engagement where they performed the initial audit file setup. How did they organize the work papers in CaseWare to verify that testing documentation maps to the relevant lead schedules?
03
Candidate Sourcing and Motivators
We search within mid-tier CPA firms that maintain construction audit departments. We also look for internal accountants who recently transitioned to public accounting and want to focus on industry work. We target people who understand the rhythm of busy season and the specific pressures of year-end reporting.
Candidates move for three primary reasons. First, they want more exposure to the technical complexities of construction accounting than their current firm allows. Second, they have outgrown their current audit role and need more autonomy over fieldwork execution. Third, they seek a firm where construction audits are the primary focus rather than a secondary service line.
04
Common Hiring Mistakes
- 01Hiring a generalist audit associate who lacks construction industry experience and assuming they will learn WIP schedules on the fly during busy season.
- 02Overlooking poor communication habits with clients who are busy project managers rather than full-time accounting professionals.
- 03Focusing on resume tenure instead of the ability to identify job cost variances during fieldwork testing.
05
The Search Process
- 01We profile your specific software requirements and industry focus to target candidates with relevant audit experience.
- 02We screen candidates against your specific technical criteria and provide you with a shortlist for direct interviews.
- 03We assist with scheduling interviews and reference checks until an offer is accepted by your chosen candidate.
06
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
How your Audit Associate (staff level, including busy season) search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
One sequence, from a well-defined seat to a shortlist you can judge.
Search Calibration
We start with a call about the seat, the books, the owners and the people the hire will work with. We learn what the role must fix in the first year and what would make a candidate wrong even if the resume looks right.
You get: A written search brief: scope, must-haves, deal-breakers and the pay range, agreed with you.
Market Mapping
We map the companies and institutions where the right people already work: similar size, similar ownership, similar complexity, in your market and in others.
You get: The target list of companies and institutions we will search, reviewed with you before outreach.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We find direct ways to reach the people on the map. Most are employed and not reading job boards, so reaching them takes real research.
You get: Direct routes to people who are not on job boards, researched for your search.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We call and write to people individually and follow up. Interest varies, so we discuss the actual opportunity rather than promising a particular response.
You get: One-to-one conversations about your actual role, followed up, never a mass email blast.
Live Candidate Qualification
We speak with every candidate before you do. We check scope, systems, reporting lines, compensation expectations, location and why they would move.
You get: Only candidates we have spoken with, checked on scope, systems, pay, location and motive.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You receive a short written brief on each finalist covering what they have done, where they are thin and what they want. Then we help with interviews, references and the offer.
You get: A short written brief on each finalist, plus help with interviews, references, counteroffer risk and the offer.
Questions people ask
What happens if the hire does not stay?
If the hire leaves within the designated period, we will find a replacement under our terms agreed in writing. We only receive a fee if you hire a person introduced by us.
Do I pay for this search before you find someone to confirm my WIP math?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Can you provide candidates for busy season only?
We handle contract or temporary staffing needs for busy season work on a case-by-case basis with terms agreed per engagement.
How do you verify construction software skills?
We test their ability to audit specific revenue recognition entries in Sage 300. Describe the steps they take to verify that a project cost is correctly allocated to a specific budget line in Procore.
Are your candidates sourced from internal networks?
No, we do not employ, pay, or insure the people we introduce to you. All employment relationships are directly between the candidate and your firm.
What is the fee for a Audit Associate (staff level, including busy season) search?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The fee and terms are agreed in writing before we start.
How soon will I see a Audit Associate (staff level, including busy season) shortlist?
It depends on the seat, the location and the pay. We give you an honest read after the calibration call and we do not promise dates we cannot control.
What about counteroffers on a Audit Associate (staff level, including busy season) hire?
We ask every Audit Associate (staff level, including busy season) candidate early why they would move and what their employer might do to keep them. Counteroffer risk goes in the written brief before you make an offer.
What is your guarantee?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What don't you do?
We do not post your Audit Associate (staff level, including busy season) job and forward whoever applies. We do not send stacks of unscreened resumes, and we do not recruit outside accounting, finance, banking and insurance.
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Tell us about the seat.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
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