What Do Public Accounting Job Titles Mean?
Taking a job in public accounting is a huge step for your career. However, it can be confusing as to what your role might be at any given point in time. Public accounting firms typically have a career ladder that allows young professionals to chart out their future roles and responsibilities on a standardized timeline. With many people asking questions like "is it worth it to go into public accounting?" and "is it worth it to stay in public accounting?", I thought it would be useful to outline some key information about the standard job titles for client- facing accountants at a public accounting firm. Let's get started!
Associates - (1-3 Years of experience) - associate is the entry level role for public accounting firms. In this role, professionals will learn the ropes of their service line (usually audit or tax) by completing work papers over the more basic areas. As they gain experience through repetition and exposure, associates become more efficient at performing their role. Depending on the firm and circumstances, associates may get the opportunity to supervise people. Sometimes, associates are given the responsibility to supervise an intern or an offshore resource supporting their engagement.
Senior Associates - (2-5 years of experience) - a senior associate is a more experienced associate that has been given plenty of additional responsibilities due to their newly developed expertise. These extra responsibilities may include:
Being the main point of contact for a client
Reviewing staff workpapers
Creating the first draft of technical documentation such as memos
Creation and maintenance of more complex workpapers
Mentoring new staff
And many more!
The senior associate role is often described as the most difficult role in public accounting because of the sudden mix of different types of responsibilities and questions coming from the people below you (the associates) and the people above you (managers and partners). However, it is also where most people learn the most in their public accounting career
Supervisor - (3-7 years of experience) - the supervisor position can be different depending on the public accounting firm. Some firms don’t have the supervisor title, and just have senior associates and managers. Some firms use the supervisor position to bridge the gap between a senior associate and manager, which involves a conscious effort of training certain soft skills and people management skills. Other firms use the supervisor title for what will be described as a manager below.
Manager - (4-7 years of experience) - A manager is responsible for managing the overall workflow of a client engagement, from planning to completion. They oversee a team of staff, including associates and senior associates, review workpapers, and ensure that the team is meeting client expectations. While they may or may not be the external point of contact for a client, they are internally responsible for ensuring that everything gets done. At the manager level and above, internal initiatives like training, business development, and industry specialization start to become more important.
Senior Manager - (6+ years of experience) - A senior manager does everything a manager can do, but better, and has proven themselves to be particularly competent or interested in one or more internal initiatives. Senior managers typically stand out as some sort of leader in the firm’s practice through their chosen specialization or initiative(s) and a few years of success as a manager.
Director - (8+ years of experience) - While continuing to perform components of the previous roles mentioned above, a director is usually responsible in some way for the continued direction and strategy of their given area of the firm. They work closely with partners and other senior leaders to develop and execute the firm's long-term strategy, including identifying new markets and service offerings. Directors typically understand their standing and expectations when it comes to their future with the firm. I know some people who have no interest in becoming an equity partner and are more than content about staying in a director role for the foreseeable future, while others that treat the director role as the partner waiting room. At this level and above, the actual name of the title may vary depending on the firm, but the sentiment remains the same.
Partners - (8+ years of experience, luck, risk, blood, sweat, tears) - Partners literally own the place (usually). They are the ones taking responsibility for the firm’s strategic direction, sales, and overall operation. More often than not, partners need to put up money to purchase an interest in the firm in exchange for their share of annual distributions of profits. Partners come in many shapes and sizes as some lean into a more technical role to further the firm’s ability to provide excellent service to clients, while others may be more focused on business development. These partner specializations become more prominent as firm size increases, and partner-level needs become more diverse and specialized.
While different firms may have different particulars for each of the positions above, these descriptions will be widely applicable to most traditional public accounting firms operating in the traditional services lines of audit and tax. Hopefully, you can use this information to your advantage the next time you interact with someone in public accounting for networking or interviewing purposes!