Audit Manager

Distinct | North America; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Distinct | North America in Chicago is seeking an Audit leader with Manufacturing & Distribution expertise. The role is hybrid in Chicagoland, offering influence with clients and a broad resource network.

You will lead engagements, develop staff, and build strong client relationships while collaborating across Audit, Tax, Accounting and Consulting to deliver integrated services. The Chicago office is personal with access to partners and a focus on getting to know people and clients first.

Qualifications

• Current public accounting experience.
• Strong Audit experience with Manufacturing & Distribution clients.
• Experience leading engagements and developing staff.
• Strong client relationship skills and visibility locally.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex Audit engagements for M&D clients.
• Develop and mentor staff within the audit team.
• Build strong client relationships and ensure quality service.
• Collaborate across Audit, Tax, Accounting and Consulting teams.

Skills

Public accounting experience

Audit leadership

Manufacturing & Distribution

Engagement leadership

Client relationship skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

CPA

Job description

Audit Leadership | Manufacturing & Distribution

Chicagoland | Hybrid

You don't have to move to a smaller firm to have more influence over your clients, your team and where your career goes next.

I'm working with an established CPA firm looking to add experienced Audit leadership in Chicago, specifically someone with a strong Manufacturing & Distribution background.

The firm has around 1,000 people nationally, so you still have the infrastructure, technical resources and breadth of services you would expect from a larger firm. But the Chicago office itself is much more personal.

Partners are accessible, the structure is relatively flat and there is a real mix of homegrown leaders alongside people who have joined from Big 4 and larger national firms.

The client base sits predominantly in the middle market. They work with privately held businesses and organisations across a broad mix of industries, alongside some larger public clients.

For this hire, Manufacturing & Distribution experience is important.

They want someone who understands these businesses, can lead complex Audit engagements, build strong relationships with clients and develop the people underneath them.

They are open on exact level depending on the person and experience you bring. What matters more is finding someone who can come in as an experienced member of the Audit team and wants to keep progressing.

What they are looking for:

• Current public accounting experience
• CPA
• Strong Audit experience with Manufacturing & Distribution clients
• Experience leading engagements and developing staff
• Strong client relationship skills
• Someone who enjoys being involved with the wider team and wants visibility locally

One thing I particularly like about the firm is how they operate across service lines.

Rather than different offices and teams competing against each other, the structure is designed to encourage collaboration. Audit, Tax, Accounting and Consulting teams can work together around the client, which gives you much broader resources to pull from as those relationships develop.

The role is hybrid and there is flexibility around how people structure their office days.

For the first 6 months, they would like someone in the Chicago office more often than not. At this level, they want you to properly get to know the people, clients and firm rather than trying to build those relationships almost entirely through Teams.

Longer term, it moves into a more typical hybrid rhythm.

If you enjoy M&D Audit but want more visibility, more involvement and the chance to make more of an impact without losing the resources of a larger firm, get in touch.

Think you only have 87% of the required experience? Perfect - apply anyway. The CPA firms we partner with want diverse, interesting people, not corporate clones stamped from the same tedious mould.

Don't overthink it. The worst outcome is a pleasant conversation about your career. The best? Well, that's where it gets rather exciting.