View from

the Next
Rung:
Moving
from Staff
to Senior
Accountant
By Catherine Saadat, CPA

The first time I was sent out as the senior-in-charge accountant for a
tiny nonprofit audit client, I was petrified that the client would ask me
a question I could not answer, that I would be confused by an issue
and blow the budget or that the partner would realize that I had no
idea what I was doing.

The more involved I become with mentoring staff members, the more
I realized that these fears are very common among rising seniors. The
transition from staff to senior can be very difficult, as the position
comes with both increased responsibilities and higher expectations.

24 Career Development • Disclosures • September/October

 These expectations can be very dif-
ficult to meet … especially if you don’t
know what they are! You can make the
transition easier by being aware of the
new responsibilities and challenges that
you will face, such as:
•• Understanding the engagement as a
whole
•• Working on more complex audit areas
•• Delegating work and developing up-
and-coming staff members
•• Acting as the main point of contact with
clients
•• Juggling multiple assignments and com-
pleting engagements
Understanding the engagement
As a staff accountant, I usually worked
on a few audit sections for a job and
moved on to the next project as soon as
fieldwork was completed. Being as inex-
perienced as I was, the thought of being
in charge and responsible for the entire
engagement was daunting.
I found the most difficult part of
stepping into the role of in-charge was
changing my perspective from focusing
on the details, such as an audit section,
to seeing the result of the total engage-
ment, or the big picture. Understanding
how each audit or review section affects
another, seeing the impact of an event on
the financial statements as well as the tax
return, and adapting procedures based on
new information are just a few examples
of big-picture skills.
Don’t worry. No one expects you to
be able to do this overnight, but you can
start developing these skills by recogniz-
ing a significant or complex issue and
then communicating it to the manager or
partner. Pay attention to how the issue is
resolved. What was the thought process
behind the response? On what research
was it based? What were the overall im-
plications? Take the opportunity to learn
from each issue and you will find that you
grow very quickly.
Understanding the big picture is also
paramount when planning. Tasks such
as documenting the understanding of the
client and internal controls, performing
preliminary analytics, determining the
timing and scope of procedures and tax
planning all require a thorough under-
Career Development • Disclosures • September/October 25
standing of the client’s business or orga-
nization, a feel for the overall industry
and knowledge of significant current year
events.
You can learn a lot by reviewing the
client files and reading the related audit
industry guide. Also, discuss the job with
the previous in-charge and manager. The
manager has likely been in touch with
the client throughout the year and will
be able to update you on any pertinent
information. I found this to be sufficient
to get started with the planning proce-
dures, and it will be much easier in the
future once you have started to develop a
relationship with the client.
Tackling new or complex audit areas
Some of the more complicated sec-
tions of an audit, such as revenue, income
taxes or investments, are typically not
assigned to the staff level and thus most
rising seniors have had very limited expo-
sure to these areas.
I found that reviewing the prior year
workpapers of any difficult or unusual
audit areas identified during planning was
very important. The engagement plan-
ning meeting is a good time to discuss the
key procedures and any questions with
the manager or partner.
No matter how familiar I have become
with an audit area or a client, I still run
into questions. Some questions might be
resolved quickly using an audit industry
guide (an easy, portable, go-to resource)
while others might require more re-
search. Make sure that you are familiar
with your firm’s resources. What books
are kept in the library and when might
they be useful? What tools are available
online and how are they accessed? As it is
likely that you will come across the same
issue again, retain your research where
you can easily find it.
Sometimes it may be better to go
to a manager or partner for assistance,
particularly regarding significant or
complex issues, as you might not realize
all of the implications. It can be helpful
to ask if there is an example to review or
if the firm has a standard response to a
particular issue. Managers and partners
have years of experience and will guide
your research in the right direction. Re-
member that figuring out the answer on
your own is good, but efficiency is just as
important. w
Delegating work and
developing staff members
Senior accountants are instrumental in
teaching new staff because most training is
done while in the field. Assigning work to
staff, teaching them and answering ques-
tions, all while trying to complete your
own work, is one of the hardest parts of
being a senior accountant.
Since it hasn’t been long since you
were a staff person, you probably remem-
ber what it was like when you were given
a project with the instructions, “Take a
look at last year and see what you can do
with it.” You probably also remember
that this was not ideal for learning or ef-
ficiency.
If you invest time with new staff by ex-
plaining the objectives, reasoning behind
the project and how the step or project
fits into the overall engagement, they will
learn a lot more. Also, teaching helps staff
progress in their careers, which will en-
able them to take on your responsibilities
in the future, leaving you to move into
more of a supervisory role.
For example, explain that subsequent
disbursement testing is done to gain as-
surance that accounts payable and accruals
are complete as of the end of the year.
If you can identify areas of difficulty and
anticipate questions, it will be helpful to
address these up front as well.
Always give staff an estimate of how
long it should take to complete the as-
signment. This will help them gauge
their time and know when they should
ask questions. Check in occasionally to
see how they are doing. While some staff
might ask questions every two minutes,
others spend hours going down the wrong
path. It is much easier to catch and cor-
rect a problem as it is occurring. Because
everyone learns in different ways, you
may want to change your approach until
you become more familiar with the staff’s
learning and work styles and you find
what works well for them.
The best way to balance your work
with training is to ask staff to take a proj-
ect as far as they can before asking ques-
tions. Also show them how to find client
information easily by looking at prior
workpapers, the financial statements or
client files. This will reduce the number of
questions and will increase your efficiency
because you will not have to continuously
stop your work to respond to questions.
26 Career Development • Disclosures • September/October
Communication with clients
One of the scariest parts of becoming
a senior is the increased client contact. I
remember being very nervous about talk-
ing to clients because I was still becoming
comfortable with my role and working
on developing a solid knowledge base.
What if they asked me something that I
couldn’t answer?
Before going out to the client site,
make sure you are aware of the lines of
communication. For example, who is the
main point of contact for the accounting
questions? Sometimes clients prefer all
questions are passed through manage-
ment, while some prefer that questions
are directed to the accounting depart-
ment. Consider running questions by a
manager or partner first to ensure that
the response is not already known or to
see if they would prefer to broach the
issue themselves. Sometimes sensitive
issues like litigation or going-concern are
left for the partners to discuss with the
clients.
Show respect for your client by mini-
mizing the interruptions in their work
day. During an audit or review, the cli-
ent’s accounting staff is trying to get their
normal work done as well as respond to
your inquiries and requests. Wait until
you have collected all of the questions for
an area then ask the questions in a clear
and concise manner. You may find it
helpful to explain what you are trying to
achieve in order to get the best response.
Make sure you are organized and have ad-
equate detail ready so that the client can
research their response.
If you are asked a question that you are
unsure of (and you will be), it is perfectly
acceptable to respond by saying that
you need to look into it further and will
get back shortly with a response. Make
sure that you understand what the client
is asking and respond to them a timely
manner. If necessary, pass the request to
the manager or partner on the job.
Juggling assignments with Thompson,
and completing engagements
It is common for seniors to have
multiple assignments in various stages
of completion ongoing at any point.
Although you have moved onto another
job, you will still be responsible for keep-
ing outstanding jobs moving, even while
you are out of the office.
Because distractions are inevitable
once you return to the office, complete
as much work as possible while at the cli-
ent site, including any financial statement
preparation. Make sure that you have ev-
erything you need from the client before
leaving the field, such as any information
necessary for tax return preparation.
Confirm any key dates and deadlines and
communicate them to the engagement
team.
Once you return to the office, you will
be responsible for navigating the various
levels of review, wrapping up loose ends
and finalizing the engagement in a timely
manner. Managing and prioritizing work
will become imperative. Create a daily
to-do list keeping in mind the level of
completion of each job and any deadlines
you must meet to determine which as-
signments are a priority. For example,
smaller assignments that can be done
quickly, larger jobs with small outstand-
ing items or jobs with upcoming dead-
lines should be done first.
Embracing your new role
My favorite thing about public ac-
counting happens to also be the hardest
part of the job: It is a never-ending learn-
ing process. Stepping into the role of a
senior accountant is one of the biggest
changes and challenges you will face in
your career. New skills such as delegat-
ing, teaching and communicating will
take time to develop, and gradually you
will become more comfortable with the
new responsibilities. Look to someone
at your firm, perhaps a mentor, to help
guide you along the way. 
Catherine Saadat, CPA,
is an audit supervisor
Greenspon & Co. in
Fairfax, where she
specializes in audits
of construction and government
contractors. She graduated from the
University of Mary Washington in
2004. Contact her at cas@tgccpa.com.