Senior Associate - M&A - 19078

Manager – Financial Due Diligence / Transaction Advisory (M&A)
Quality of Earnings Focus

Position Overview
Our client is seeking an experienced Manager to lead and execute Financial Due Diligence / Transaction Advisory engagements, with a strong emphasis on Quality of Earnings (QoE) and transaction execution.

This role is designed for a proven transaction professional who can own client relationships, lead teams, and drive deal outcomes—not someone looking for a narrow technical role or a bureaucratic management track.

As a Manager, you will serve as a day-to-day engagement leader, guiding associates and senior associates, interacting directly with private equity firms, founders, CFOs, attorneys, and bankers, and delivering clear, decision-useful insights that influence transactions.

This is a hands-on leadership role within a fast-growing, entrepreneurial firm where Managers are expected to think like advisors, not reviewers.

Firm Overview
Their mission is simple: treat clients the way we want to be treated and deliver the highest-quality work product efficiently. We thrive under pressure and turn numbers into narrative™.
Our client is one of the fastest-growing U.S. CPA firms specializing in Buy-side and sell-side M&A financial, tax due diligence, and Transaction accounting services

We serve as trusted advisors to private equity firms, strategic buyers, founders, intermediaries, lenders, and attorneys. They are a family-owned, dynamic firm where individual performance, perspective, and leadership materially influence the firm’s trajectory. We are intentionally building a platform for future partners, not career middle management.

What You’ll Actually Do
This is a true transaction advisory leadership role, with responsibility for execution, judgment, and client trust.

You will:

• Lead and manage due diligence engagements from planning through delivery
• Oversee and review buy-side and sell-side Quality of Earnings (QoE) analyses
• Evaluate and challenge:
• EBITDA normalization
• Revenue recognition and sustainability
• Cost structure and margin drivers
• Cash flow, working capital, and debt-like items
• Perform and review complex financial analyses, including:
• Historical financial statements
• Forecasts and projections
• KPIs and operational metrics
• Industry and company-specific trends
• Identify financial, operational, and deal-related risks and help clients understand transaction implications
• Prepare and present clear, investor-ready diligence reports
• Lead client meetings and presentations, translating complex accounting into actionable insights
• Serve as a trusted advisor to clients throughout the transaction lifecycle
• Manage, mentor, and develop associates and senior associates
• Contribute to business development, including proposals, pitches, and expanding client relationships
• Stay current on industry trends, GAAP developments, and best practices in transaction advisory

Who This Role Is For (Must-Haves)
We are highly selective at the Manager level.

You should have:

• 5+ years of experience in Transaction Advisory / Financial Due Diligence
• Experience in a top accounting or advisory firm strongly preferred
• Significant experience leading QoE engagements, not just supporting them
• Deep understanding of:
  • U.S. GAAP
  • Transaction-driven financial analysis
  • Working capital mechanics and cash flow
• CPA license (required)
• Advanced Excel skills and comfort reviewing complex models
• Strong client-facing communication skills—written and verbal
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, manage deadlines, and exercise judgment
• A mindset oriented toward problem-solving, not checklist compliance

Preferred (Nice-to-Haves)

• Master’s degree in Accounting or an MBA (with accounting background)
• Experience across multiple industries
• Prior exposure to private equity-backed transactions
• Sell-side diligence experience
  • Comfort supporting deal negotiations and structuring discussions
  • Business development experience or interest in building a practice

What This Is Not
To be clear:

•  Not an audit or accounting advisory role
•  Not a Big 4–style TAS position with excessive internal layers
•  Not a purely technical or back-office role
•  Not a place where Managers are shielded from clients

The Ideal Manager Mindset
The successful candidate:

• Thinks like an advisor and deal professional, not just an accountant
• Enjoys complexity and ambiguity
• Is comfortable making judgment calls under pressure
• Can balance technical excellence with practicality
• Leads by example and invests in team development
• Thrives in a fast-paced, unconventional, entrepreneurial environment
• Has the ambition to grow into senior leadership or partnership

Why Join them?
Strong Managers often leave large firms because:

• Client relationships are controlled by partners
• Advancement is slow and political
• Their role becomes review-heavy instead of advisory-focused
• Innovation and flexibility are limited

Our client is intentionally different.
At this firm, Managers:

• Own client relationships and engagement outcomes
• Play a visible role in live M&A transactions
• Influence firm strategy and growth
• Are evaluated on impact and leadership, not tenure
• Operate in a culture that values quality, efficiency, and trust
• Have a real path to partnership, not a theoretical one