Audit and Accounting Manager

Join the Cerity Partners Encino team! We are a sophisticated tax, accounting and advisory practice with approximately sixty professionals, partners and administrative staff specializing in serving family office and real estate private equity sponsors with tax, and multi-generational trust and estate compliance and planning. This is a replacement position. The firm has steadily grown each and every year primarily organically via referral. This position offers remote work and flexible hours, with our Encino, CA office available when you want to collaborate in person.

Why join us?

• Growth opportunity: We invest in our people and support career advancement within the firm, including a path toward Principal and opportunities for equity.

• Seasonal flexibility: This role is designed for someone who thrives during tax season — working full time with overtime during our two busy tax seasons — with flexibility to reduce hours or take time off in the off-season.

• Remote flexibility: We offer remote or hybrid options, with in-person time at our Encino office optional for collaboration, mentoring, and career growth.

• Stability and longevity matter here: Our team includes partners and principals with decades of tenure — people stay because they love the work and our culture. Stability is critical to us. Our goal is to provide a home for the balance of your career, and we have maintained teammates for decades. We care about our people!

• Deep client relationships: Work with the same clients year after year, not transactional engagements. You will work on complex real estate, partnership, trust and foundation structures, not routine statements.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on accounting professional to join our team in a Manager or Senior-level capacity. This role focuses primarily on accounting and financial statement work — compiled, reviewed, and audited financials — with an emphasis on GAAP and income tax basis reporting for complex entities that primarily own real estate and partnership interests, high net-worth individuals (including personal financial statements), trusts, closely-held businesses, and private foundations (including audited foundation financial statements). Audit experience is a must, and we highly value candidates with a private industry background who bring solid hands-on accounting fundamentals. We are looking for a self-sufficient professional who produces accurate, complete, review-ready financial statements on time with minimal supervision, and who takes ownership of each engagement from trial balance through the final report.

About you

The ideal candidate enjoys hands-on work and complexity, and is comfortable doing research, analysis, and forensic special projects. Deep tax expertise is not required, but a working knowledge of tax concepts – particularly as they relate to real estate, partnerships, or closely-held businesses – is a meaningful advantage in this role. The ideal candidate is flexible, client-responsive, and comfortable working at an elevated pace to support team members or client needs during tax season.

About us:

Our focus is to deliver significant value through Tax Planning and Compliance, Trusts & Estate planning, Accounting and Auditing, Entertainment and Business Management, and Business Advisory and Consulting Services.

With a team that includes seasoned partners and principals, we benefit from exceptional tenure across our professional and administrative staff. This continuity means clients work with the same trusted advisors year after year, ensuring deep relationships and institutional knowledge that strengthen our service delivery and client outcomes. Our motto is that people can come but they can’t leave (meaning that you won’t want to!)

## Primary Responsibilities

• Prepare compiled, reviewed, and audited financial statements — GAAP and income tax basis — for complex entities that primarily own real estate and partnership interests, individuals, trusts, closely-held businesses, and private foundations, including drafting complete financial statements and footnote disclosures.

• Prepare personal financial statements for high net-worth individuals and families, including estimated current values of real estate and of partnership and other closely-held interests (ASC 274).

• Prepare and support audited financial statements for private foundations in accordance with GAAP (ASC 958), including coordination with the Form 990-PF.

• Apply GAAP to real estate and partnership structures, including consolidation and variable interest entities (ASC 810), equity-method investments (ASC 323), real estate and impairment (ASC 970, 360), leases (ASC 842), fair value (ASC 820), investment companies where applicable (ASC 946), and related-party disclosures (ASC 850).

• Perform audit fieldwork under AICPA standards (AU-C) and prepare compilations and reviews under SSARS (AR-C), with complete, well-organized workpapers.

• Perform research, analysis, and forensic special projects, such as reconstructing records, tracing transactions, reconciling entity and partnership accounts, analyzing capital accounts and allocations, and resolving complex accounting questions.

• Review client bookkeeping and make necessary adjustments. Most clients have bookkeepers, controllers, and some have CFOs.

• Manage and execute engagements from planning through completion independently, with minimal supervision, juggling multiple active projects simultaneously.

• Maintain high quality management standards and ensure engagement deadlines are met — including during periods of shifting client timelines.

• Actively manage client relationships and deliver exceptional, responsive service.

• Efficiently manage engagements using CCH Engagement and Workstream.

• Use Office 365 (Excel, Word, Outlook, Teams) for reporting, documentation, and collaboration.

• Work full time with overtime during the two tax seasons; reduced hours or time off available in the off-season.

Required Qualifications

• CPA (or CPA candidate with strong and relevant experience).

• Minimum 5–7 years of experience in public accounting, with hands-on, preparer-level experience. Local or regional CPA firm experience is a plus.

• Minimum 3–5 years of hands-on audit, review, and compilation experience, including preparing complete financial statements and footnotes.

• Strong understanding of GAAP and income tax basis financial reporting, including real estate and partnership entities, personal financial statements (ASC 274), and foundation reporting (ASC 958).

• Hands-on experience preparing financial statements for complex entities that primarily own real estate and partnership interests, including multi-tier structures, consolidations, and equity-method investments.

• Experience with personal financial statements for high net-worth individuals and with audited private foundation or not-for-profit financial statements.

• Working knowledge of AICPA audit standards (AU-C) and SSARS (AR-C) for audits, reviews, and compilations.

• Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to research technical accounting questions and complete forensic and special projects.

• Demonstrated ability to produce accurate, complete, review-ready financial statements on time, with minimal supervision and few review comments.

• Stable prior employment history. Stability is critical to us, and we are looking for someone who wants a long-term professional home.

• Working tax knowledge or private industry experience is highly valued.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple engagements simultaneously and meet deadlines with quality work.

• Willingness and availability to work overtime during the two tax seasons.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with real estate entities, partnerships, high net worth clients (including personal financial statements), or private foundation audits.

• Experience with partnership accounting,